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eBay and auction sites see slight fall in popularity

According to analysis from Point Topic, UK households are being cautious when shopping online as broadband growth peaks in the UK.

Point Topic’s consumer broadband surveys indicate that online shopping is still popular, with 69 percent of consumers saying that they shop online.  The figure is relatively unchanged in the past year, however.  The total number of online shoppers has grown, but Point Topic state that this is simply due to increased broadband penetration.

Despite the popularity of online shopping, there has been slowing activity in online purchases for many sectors.  Auction sites such as eBay in particular have suffered, with the number buying from such sites dropping 9 percent in the six months to January 2008.

Other sectors also seeing a fall include clothes, holidays and travel tickets.  Others remain relatively unchanged with one exception being number of people buying toys, which increased by 3 percent.

“Consumers, particularly women, need to see and touch some items before they buy them, cosmetics, food and clothes top the list and a growing proportion of users are using the Internet to check prices and availability before visiting a physical store,” says Pamela Varley, research analyst at Point Topic. 

“The Internet is increasingly regarded as a part of the buying process rather than the start and end of it,” added Varley.