Some 18 per cent of Internet users in the Republic had shopped online during the previous month, according to a new global e-commerce study published by MRBI and Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Interactive. The survey was conducted in May.
This suggests 7 per cent of the total Irish population had bought or ordered goods or services online during the previous month. The percentage of the Irish population that had personally used the Internet in the same period was 39 per cent. The TNS survey also covered mobile phone usage and the Republic - at 75 per cent - was ranked sixth globally for the percentage of adults with access to a mobile phone. The percentage of the adult population sending and receiving text messages is 40 and 45 per cent respectively but very few use more sophisticated applications on their phones.
Only 3 per cent have used their mobile phones to access the Internet and 2 per cent have used their phones to email people. Some 16 per cent of Korean mobile phone users have accessed the Internet with their phones, by far the highest proportion of any country.
The report concluded that the outlook for future online shopping is good, with 26 per cent of Irish Internet users saying they planned to buy or order goods or services online within six months. The US retains its position as the nation with the greatest proportion of online shoppers at 33 per cent, compared with a global average of 15 per cent. More than 42,000 people in 36 countries were interviewed for the TNS survey.
The proportion of Internet users who have bought or ordered goods or services outside the Internet due to information found on the Internet is 8 per cent.
A stubborn and significant minority of 42 per cent of Irish Internet users were found to be non-shoppers. This group have neither shopped, considered buying online nor bought offline as a result of information found on the Web. Nor have they plans to do so.
Scandinavian countries continue to lead the way in the adoption and use of the Internet, the study shows. In Norway, 63 per cent of the total adult population had used the Internet in the past four weeks. Along with Denmark at 62 per cent, it has pushed ahead of last year's leader, the US.
The report states that although growth has varied considerably across all countries, it is still universally true that the under-30s are driving the adoption of the medium.
The findings show that there is still some reluctance amongst Internet users to shop online. Some 16 per cent of Irish users said they were worried about giving their credit card details online or other associated security problems.
Germany was the most reluctant nation to provide credit card details - 71 per cent - and was only surpassed by the Czech Republic when it came to general security concerns.
Books and travel were the two most popular types of purchases by Irish Internet users in the past month. Tickets to entertainment events, groceries and CDs were the next most popular categories. Only 1 per cent of recent Irish users had used the Internet to buy stocks or shares or a car.
