Study highlights growing role of web in Xmas shopping

04/09/2008

A growing number of British consumers are set to shop for Christmas presents on an e-commerce website this year, a new survey has suggested.

The E-Customer Service Index from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) has released the findings of a study conducted in partnership with eDigitalResearch and ipoints.co.uk, showing that 68 per cent of shoppers believe they are likely to turn to the web for festive gifts this year.

About 77 per cent of respondents said that they intend to buy at least half of their presents through the internet, compared with 56 per cent last year. Almost eight in ten shoppers cited price reasons for this choice.

Furthermore, 86 per cent will use the web to conduct gift research before making in-store purchases this year.

However, Chris Russell, director at eDigitalResearch, warned against complacency among online retailers.

"With the demand for internet shopping set to reach a record high this Christmas, e-retailers need to ensure that they have the appropriate resources available to respond promptly to customer requests."

According to the latest IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List, the top three UK e-retailers last month were Amazon UK, Argos and Play.com.