UK leads the way for online shopping
More consumers in the UK use the internet for shopping than other major countries, a new Ofcom report has revealed.
Ofcom’s sixth International Communications Market report found that eight in ten UK internet users (79%) said they had ordered goods or services online in 2010, higher than any other European country. This compared to just 27% of consumers in Italy claiming to have bought goods online.
UK internet users were also more likely to visit retail websites online than other countries, with nine in ten (89%) claiming to do have looked at retail sites in 2011.
As well as more UK consumers shopping online, they also spent more time on retail sites – an average of 84 minutes in January 2011, compared with around 20 minutes for consumers in Poland and Italy.
The report into the global communications market looked at take-up, availability and use of broadband, landlines, mobiles, TV and radio in 17 countries.
It showed that despite the economic downturn, global communications revenues grew by 3.4% in 2010 compared with 2009, mainly driven by strong growth in the BRIC countries of Brazil, India, Russia and China.
