Report: Bad Signs for UK E-tailers

Despite the fact that more people in the UK are shopping over the Internet than ever before, a report released Tuesday by Which? Online and the UK Consumers' Association reveals several potential warning signs for British e-tailers.

According to the report, 63 percent of British Internet users venture online for less than five hours per week, and 2 percent of surfers said shopping was their favorite use of the Net.

"While the total number of shoppers has increased, the percentage of the Internet population who shop online has remained broadly the same," said Paul Kitchen, the author of the report and head of Which? Online.

In addition, the study found that over one third of the entire British population has no intention of ever going online, and one in 10 Internet users in the UK thinks that shopping online results in better customer service.

The study was published by Which? Online, a subsidiary of the Consumers' Association, an independent organization founded in 1957 that conducts comparative testing of consumer products and trends.

Leaving E-Mail Behind

Further signs of the UK's apparent disinterest with the Internet came up in the area of e-mail usage. According to the report, 5 percent of surfers chose e-mail as their preferred means of communication, down from 14 percent in the 1999.

"The survey indicates that the public are beginning to reject newer methods of communication," Kitchen said. "Other methods of communication, such as text messaging via mobile phones, may offer a more convenient way of staying in touch for some."

In addition, 67 percent of the report's respondents said they prefer communicating in a face-to-face meeting, up dramatically from 39 percent in 1999.

Branching Out

The news from the report was not all grim. Almost 8 million people in the UK have now shopped online, more than ever before. Thirteen percent of them have now made a purchase from a product category other than books, CDs and software.

Although books are still the most popular online purchase, the travel category finished ahead of CDs and videos to move into second place.

Waiting for Old-Timers

In the long term, it is the length of UK user experience that will ultimately make the difference, the report said. According to Which? Online, the more a person shops, the less he or she worries about security issues.

More than half of non-shoppers had online security fears, compared to 28 percent of those who do shop online.

"As the UK user base becomes more experienced -- 45 percent have now been online for more than two years -- we'll see an increase in time online per week, the number of sites visited and number of online shopping transactions," Kitchen said.