An increase in online shopping can be traced to the speed in which consumers reach for their credit cards, new research findings show. According to industry regulator Ofcom, shoppers in the UK will use either personal loans or their current accounts to buy more products online than in any other country in Europe.
In its latest market report published early detailing the international communications sector, the regulatory body stated that UK customers on average spent £1,031 on online purchases between the months of June through November in 2009. Many of these purchases were facilitated by debit cards tied to current accounts, sources say.
No one single factor was pointed to as primarily causing the number of online sales, but Ofcom did state that a combination of willingness on the part of consumers in the UK to trust online payment methods, the continued popularity of shopping from catalogues, and the high penetration of credit card ownership played major roles.
The organisation additionally stated in the Independent that UK consumers have historically been technological early adopters, despite suggestions that the telecoms infrastructure has lagged behind lately in comparison to the strides ahead made in other similar sectors.
In related news, Derek Lovelock, chairman of Aurora Fashions, informed the Independent that retailers should begin to prepare for a significant change in the buying habits of consumers sometime soon.
Marketing firm Aurora Fashions is the owner, developer, and performance manager of some of the most respected brands of women’s fashions in the UK. High end brand names included in Aurora’s stable include Oasis, Karen Millen, Warehouse, and Coast.
Focused on optimising scale economies by sharing common infrastructures for senior management resources, finance, and operations, the group also focuses on providing environments that enable each brand to independently flourish.