Over a quarter of Britons now shopping online every week

The UK continues to prove its reputation as a ‘nation of omnishoppers’ with the proportion of Britons shopping online once a week rising from 22% in 2017 to 26% this year, according to research from Royal Mail Group.

But consumers in the UK are not only spending more time online, they are also spending more in comparison to last year. The average Brit spends £220 in total on online shopping over a three month period, versus an average of £205 in the same period last year (January to March 2017) and £199 the previous quarter (October to December 2017).

“Online shopping shows no sign of slowing down and those who are shopping are spending more than ever. Consumers are looking for convenience and delivery subscriptions are providing this,” commented a spokesperson for Royal Mail Parcels.

Indeed, delivery subscription schemes like Amazon Prime continue to show growth, with 28% of Brits now using one of these schemes, compared to 20% in the quarter of April to June 2017.  18-24 year olds are the age group most likely to have a delivery subscription (40%), followed by 25-34 year olds (37%) and 35-44 year olds (35%).

Meanwhile, the trend of returning items continues to grow at pace, with 23% of Britons returning an item in the last month. Women (27%) seem to be more likely to return items than men (18%).

“Retailers need to ensure they’re responding to consumer demand or they risk being left behind,” continued the spokesperson.

“With the emergence of try-before-you-buy schemes for consumers, returns will continue to rise and retailers must have a simple returns process in place to respond to this.”