Eight out of ten people are shopping online or at least visiting online store websites before making purchases of electronic goods, according to a new report from Nielsen Online.
While some shoppers are purchasing online to avoid the rising costs of driving, many are visiting the websites first to simply save time and compare price.
Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer, said, “Consumer electronics is an ideal product category to research online, since product features and prices can be easily compared.”
When asked if they had to choose just one method of researching their purchases, 58 per cent of respondents said they would choose the internet above asking their friends and family.
Ken Cassar, vice president at Nielsen Online, said, "Retailers that are able to facilitate consumers' multichannel shopping behaviours will enjoy growth in market share across the enterprise.”
Meanwhile, more than three in 10 online buyers surveyed in April 2008 by Piper Jaffray said they planned to decrease the amount of consumer electronics they purchased.
Online shopping is poised to take 20p out of every UK consumer pound by the end of the year, a landmark milestone that analysts believe will make the channel a critical business for many high-street retailers.
According to the IMRG Capgemini E-Retail Sales Index, UK shoppers spent more than £26.5 billion online in the first six months of 2008, up 38 per cent from the same period last year.
Based on the current growth trends online-shopper spend will peak at up to 50 per cent of all consumer spending within five years.
Although online shopping growth actually fell in June (the first time it has done so since 2005), the report predicts the economic downturn will encourage more consumer spend to go online, as shoppers hunt for bargains.