20% Of Brits Shop Online More Than In-Store

It won’t come as much of a surprise to reveal that the popularity of e-commerce keeps growing rapidly and is now a preferred method of shopping for many Britons. But, more surprisingly, the Internet is now considered the top place for buying products and services by a whopping 20% of Britons, a survey from the Rakuten suggests. The latest E-Commerce Index from the online marketplace shows that one in five Britons now spend more on buying products online than on items in store. 18% of UK shoppers spend the same amount of money online as they do in a physical store.

On a global scale, the most preferred category for online shopping is clothing and accessories. Next come books and magazines, followed by consumer electronics. The least popular items for online purchases are larger appliances, which suggests that people still want to view more expensive products in person.

Britons favour online shopping mainly because the Internet gives them the chance to find items more easily. 26% of Brits say they are happy to recommend products that are worth having to friends and family via social networks. Britons also prefer to order items such as CDs and DVDs, books and magazines on the Internet rather than buy them in a physical store.