European Online Shoppers Purchasing More

The research highlights the product categories with the fastest growing conversion rates, showing those sectors where consumer confidence in online shopping is rising fastest.

The study found that mobile phones have seen the biggest growth in conversion rates year on year (+23%), followed by music downloads (+16%), car accessories (+15%) and home furnishings (+14%).

The research also shows that concert/festival tickets are currently seeing the greatest sales success with three quarters (75%) of those researching online going on to purchase online, while travel tickets (72%), books (71%) and clothes (70%) are also enjoying high conversion rates.

Overall, the study found that 78% of European internet users shop online, spending an average of €750 and buying ten items online over a six month period (an increase of 11% year-on-year).

UK and Scandinavian online shoppers are buying the most goods online whilst Germany’s online shoppers secured a high number of purchases at much less cost.

Increasingly, online shoppers are also using price comparison sites to help them find the best deals with minimum fuss. Dutch online shoppers are the biggest bargain hunters with more than half (54%) checking comparable costs online at least once a month, with the Germans (50%) and the French (50%) close behind.

Auction sites are also popular amongst online shoppers in Germany as well as in the UK with 62% and 49% respectively paying them a visit at least once a month, well ahead of the average European online shopper (41%).

Those that buy online are using the internet to a much greater extent than the average consumer, notching up 11.9 hours online per week compared with the European average of 11.3 hours.

98% of all European online shoppers use the internet during the week but 82% also log on at the weekends (compared to 79% of all internet users), rising to a huge 92% in France.

Online shoppers spend less time watching TV as a result of the internet and visit a wider range of websites, most significantly more banking and finance sites (56% compared to 50% of all internet users), price comparison (43% v 38%) and auction websites (41% v 36%). Also, nearly three quarters of online shoppers find that the internet provides what they want quickly and saves them time.

Michael Kleindl, chairman of the EIAAAs consumers further embrace their digital lifestyles, they are becoming more ambitious in what they choose to buy over the internet as well as how much they spend.

“This research demonstrates the increasing trust in the internet amongst consumers to obtain information and buy a growing range of products. More money spent and items bought online shows that consumers are integrating online shopping into their daily lives.

With over 7,000 people across Europe interviewed, The EIAA Mediascope Europe Study is one of the most comprehensive pieces of research available into how people allocate their time across media in Europe and how consumers use the internet for content, communication and commerce.

Recent analysis from Hitwise revealed that high Street retailers such as Marks & Spencer, HMV.co.uk and Woolworths were among the top UK performers online in December (see Christmas UK Online Retail Traffic).

Meanwhile, Nielsen//NetRatings announced that on the day after Christmas, US traffic to retail websites included in its eShopping Holiday Index grew 35% year on year, from 20.9 million in 2005 to 28.1 million in 2006 (see Christmas US Online Retail Traffic).