UK Leads European Online Shopping, Says GfK Survey

The survey of 12,500 Western European consumers shows that whilst almost half have access to the internet, only around 20% have actually bought anything online in the last six months. Even those that do buy via the web are only making small purchases – only a third of those questioned had spent more than €200 (about £120). This compares with average online spending in the US of around €320 a month, according to Forrester Research.

The research, published in the Wall Street Journal Europe‘s Convergence magazine, shows that whilst Western Europe’s online retail sales account for only about 1% of all sales (in the US it is about 3%), the market is still growing at a ‘reasonable’ rate as more and more people gain access to and become accustomed with the web.

The UK and Germany are Europe’s most advanced e-commerce markets, even though Scandinavia is widely regarded as the most wired region in Europe, says the report. The survey also found that while UK consumers have relatively few qualms about buying online, in internet-savvy Sweden there is an unusually strong reluctance to give out credit card details over the web.

The British favour airline tickets and hotel bookings, whilst the Germans are heavier users of online financial services. In the past six months 36% of British internet shoppers have either made hotel bookings or bought travel tickets online, compared with a Western European average of 21%.

The French, meanwhile, are put off by the expense of using the internet. Only 35% of French people have access – the lowest of all Western European countries. Denmark is the most ‘wired’, with access at around 75% of the population; the UK comes in at fourth place with 60% – the majority of these being home users.

While the cost of surfing remains an issue for some, consumers’ concerns about privacy, using credit cards online and delivery glitches are more likely to dampen their enthusiasm for online shopping, according to the survey. Close to two thirds of German and Spanish respondents don’t want online retailers to collect information on their shopping likes and dislikes under any circumstances, while southern Europeans are uneasy about purchasing goods from retailers they only know via the internet.

The Wall Street Journal Europe‘s managing editor, Rich Hudson, commented: “Back in the late 1990s, the cost of buying a PC and then connecting to the internet were considered the main obstacles to the growth of ecommerce in Europe. But the research we’ve carried out shows that cost has now been overshadowed by far more complex issues such as privacy and credit card security. The survey results are in line with a growing consensus among analysts that in Europe, at least, the internet is unlikely to put real shopping centres out of business.”

In the US, though, surfing the Web is much cheaper, credit cards have long been used to make purchases over the phone and many people are happy to swap personal details for a few dollars’ discount. This is reflected in future predictions for online shoppersÂÂ’ habits. Forrester Research estimates that by 2005, 11% of US retail sales will be online, while only 6.6% of Western European sales will be made via the Net.

Mark Hofmans, general manager of GfK Ad hoc Research Worldwide, said: “Our research findings give a telling insight into the spending habits of European online consumers – factors such as price, concern about security and a lack of familiarity all contribute to a general reluctance to replace a visit to the high street with a shopping spree on the Net. However, even though we’ve got a long way to go before we reach the level of saturation experienced in the States, online retail sales in Europe are still growing at a reasonable rate as an increasing number of people become more comfortable with the Web.”