1. Online shopping is the new religion
Back to contents of State of the Net issue 3
Aileen O'Toole, Managing Director, AMAS
Irish consumers will be the top spenders in Europe this Christmas. We’re set to spend twice what an average European spends on gifts for friends and family, according to a study by Deloitte. But we’ve yet to become as frenzied online as we are in our crowded shops and department stores.
There are signs, though, that online shopping is becoming a new religion in Ireland. Devotees praise the convenience, the choice and the price competitiveness. A quarter of online users say they are shopping online and one in two say they plan to spend more online this Christmas.
If international trends are any guide, traditional shopping choices in Ireland are also being influenced by online content. Irish shoppers are carrying out research online and may be more easily swayed by blogs and consumer reviews than marketing messages from particular brands.
Online Shopping. The Net effect in numbers
Irish businesses are also embracing eCommerce. Colm Lyon, chair of the Irish Internet Association, is in a better position than most to observe the trends.
His business – Realex Payments – processes payments and has more than 1,000 Irish merchants transacting business online.
Daily transaction levels using his payment service alone have grown from €7 million a day to €15 million a day in the course of 2006.
What’s behind increased adoption levels? Firstly, and most obviously, more people are online. The number of households with internet access has grown from 20% in 2000 to a current level of 49%, according to the CSO, and broadband penetration is accelerating at a rapid pace.
Secondly, more time being spent online translates into changed behaviour. Men, for instance, aren’t as wedded to the social nature of conventional shopping as women and see online shopping as liberating.
Thirdly, early impediments to online shopping – concerns about consumer rights and security – are no longer as contentious. In fact, EU law now gives greater rights to online shoppers than conventional shoppers. (Go to ConsumerConnect.ie for details on EU consumer law)
And there’s also the eBay factor. The world’s best known online commerce site has acted not only as a hi-tech garage sale but it’s educating thousands of Irish consumers about online buying and selling. eBay has close on a quarter of a million Irish registered users.
Online consumers are now more confident and more empowered. They have myriad shopping choices that are only a search engine query away.
Businesses, even those who don’t sell online, cannot ignore this. Customers – both business and professional – are using the Web to buy and to research their buying decisions. Positioning a product or service, defining its USP and communicating its value will become far more challenging in this digital age.
Aileen O’Toole, as Managing Director of AMAS, acts as a strategic adviser to private and public sector clients on their online channels.
Back to contents of State of the Net issue 3
