Irish shoppers are dedicated buyers of online fashion
IRISH shoppers are among Europe’s most avid buyers of fashion online, according to a new survey.
Just over one-fifth (20.1pc) of all Irish fashion shopping is conducted on the internet, the survey by parcel delivery company DPD found, ranking Ireland fifth of 21 European countries surveyed.
However, Ireland’s share of online shopping across all categories is at 8.6pc, which is below the European average of 9.6pc, according to the report.
The survey found that, in general, Irish people tend to shop online at least once a month, particularly for dry groceries, fashion, books and beauty/ healthcare products.
Transparent product pricing and delivery costs and clear return policies were the criteria Irish shoppers considered most important when buying online, the report found.
Three-quarters had bought from a foreign website at least once, with the main drivers for that being the attraction of better deals and the availability of specific products.
The main barriers were concerns over delivery, returns and security.
Amazon was ahead of other retailers when respondents were asked which shop they had made their last purchase on, with twice as many visits as eBay.
“The Irish report provides a clear overview of e-shoppers’ online behaviours and e-commerce trends,” said DPD Ireland’s head of marketing and customer services, Maeve Dwyer.
“These are extremely valuable insights and help us to shape our business. Over the last number of years DPD Ireland has heavily invested in research around the entire customer journey, including the delivery experience. We believe that by looking at the various different steps within that journey, such as ease of ordering, delivery timeframes, returns policies etc, we can ensure a more enjoyable overall shopping experience for the consumer.”
DPD surveyed 23,450 people across Europe. The Irish sample was 1,004 people.