Savvy shoppers surf web to ride out credit crunch

Latest reports may indicate that the High Street has been hit by the credit crunch, but the nation's love of bargain hunting shows no signs of abating, according to findings by independent price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com. While overall retail figures experienced a shock decrease in June of 3.9%, the nation's 15 million broadband users are turning to online retailers to fuel their shopping habits, with record web sales of £26.5 billion so far this year. uSwitch predicts that this trend will accelerate with online sales expected to soar to £163 billion a year by 2020 - a 44% share of the overall retail market.

‘Bargain Hunt Britain' is taking advantage of the 36% fall in broadband prices and 1500% rise in speeds over the last 4 years, and consumers now spend an average of 1.6 hours each week shopping on the net. Online sales are expected to make up one fifth (19%) of all UK retail spend this year and predicted to represent 44% of spend by 2020. Based on these figures, uSwitch.com forecasts 2026 to be the year that online shopping overtakes the High Street.

Britain is leading the way in Europe when it comes to online shopping. Total UK online sales in 2007 were nearly 40% higher than closest rival Germany, as well as France, Italy and Spain. The sophisticated online offering of the UK's food retailers, combined with high consumer confidence in shopping on the internet, have also contributed to Britain having the highest online sales growth rate in Europe, soaring 75% between 2005 and 2007.

Soaring fuel prices are also forcing more consumers to shop on their computers rather than on the high street. Consumers now pay an average of £65 to fill their tanks - a 33% rise or an extra £431 a year since 2007. With households making an average of 42 large grocery shops every year, the fuel costs soon add up. In fact, on top of their shopping bill, families are currently forking out an additional £53 a year just driving to and from the supermarket.

Despite the increasing popularity of internet grocery shopping, the fastest growing online retail sector is clothes, accessories and shoes. The number of customers buying these items over the internet has increased from 20% in 2006 to 36% in 2008. Books, however, are the most popular online purchase on the global World Wide Web - hardly surprising with prices for a bestselling paperback now 52% cheaper online than on the high street.

The Welsh lead the way when it comes to online bargain hunting, spending an average of 1.8 hours shopping online every week. This is followed by Northern Ireland (1.7 hours), Scotland and London (both 1.6 hours). Web users in the East of England are the least frequent online shoppers, spending just 1.5 hours a week browsing for bargains.

Steve Weller, communications expert at uSwitch.com, says: "With less spending money than ever, higher petrol prices and busier lifestyles, it makes perfect sense for consumers to turn to the internet to fulfil their shopping needs.

"Broadband prices are falling while speeds are getting faster, making it cheaper and simpler for consumers to log on instead of going out to the shops. Online security has vastly improved so our peace of mind is greater than ever before. The internet makes it easy to shop around at maybe 40 or 50 different stores in one go to make sure that we are getting the best deals.

"The new figures show that consumers have wholeheartedly embraced online shopping and this trend is set to continue. With 15 million households having access to broadband connections, shoppers have instant access to the global online high street. Now is the time to make the most of this, and shop around to make the biggest savings."