With less than 80 sleeps to Christmas (yes, we know) many people’s thoughts turn to shopping but how do you do yours? Well according to our online community nearly 9 out 10 (88%) shop online. Unsurprising perhaps, considering many of our members are engaged and active website users.
More interesting, is the fact that nearly 1 in 10 (9%) doesn’t know how to shop online and just a very few (3%) prefer to choose in person.
Shopping online can be advantageous in many ways. Just ask our celebrity friend, Esther Rantzen, aged 72 years, who recently spoke at our Spring Online 2012 Best Event Awards Ceremony, about the joy of buying her very snazzy jacket (as pictured) from John Lewis online after being unable to find her size in store.
Indeed, shopping over the web can help you avoid the crowds, enable you to get what you need 24/7, save you time, and more importantly, money. National research has shown that the average household can save around £560 a year if they purchase goods and services over the internet*.
It’s a well-known fact that companies the world over do their best to entice you online by offering significant discounts if you buy via their websites, compared to on the telephone or in their shops.
We also know that ‘don’t know how to’ quite often means ‘am afraid to’ and the fear of sharing personal details over the internet can prove a barrier to many people, particularly older people. It’s so important to be safe online whatever your activities and that’s why we’ve come up with a selection of learning guides about online safety to help navigate that murky path.
For those of you who would like to shop more online and save a few pennies along the way we’ve also got a wide selection of other learning guides to help. Whether it’s ordering groceries, buying gifts or looking for second-hand bargains, our guides will make the whole process that little bit easier. Suddenly, Christmas shopping doesn’t look like too much of an ordeal after all…
* Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers/Race Online 2012
Have you say in this month’s community poll where we’re talking about internet browsers.