The UK leads the way for Europe’s online shopping boom as an increasing amount of people are opting to purchase goods online, new research has found.
For its 2014 Parcel Deliveries Usage and Attitude Survey, delivery firm Hermes spoke to more than 4,000 shoppers throughout Britain, France and Germany, bizreport.com notes. It found that 27 per cent of Brits had shopped online over the past three months – far more than in France (14 per cent) and Germany (ten per cent).
Online shopping shows no signs of slowing down, either. Some 42 per cent of UK respondents are planning to shop online more frequently over the next year, compared to just 30 per cent in France and 28 per cent in Germany.
The study also found that many UK retailers are successfully attracting sales from overseas customers. The UK is currently beating China and the USA to top the overseas retail chart, hermesworld.com reports.
High delivery fees were cited by half of all respondents as the reason for not purchasing goods from overseas companies, whereas a “free and reliable” returns service was considered “the most appealing feature”.
Carole Woodhead, CEO of Hermes, said: “The research shows that the online shopping industry continues to grow at a prolific pace and consumer confidence has rocketed and I am pleased to see that investment in good delivery options has played a key role in this. It presents online retailers with a huge opportunity to continue to expand their customer base and increase revenue.”
Author: Jack Stanton
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