Price is a key factor encouraging British shoppers to shop online, new research suggests. But the report also finds that consumers say it’s also important that retailers deliver on expectations and give good service.

A survey of 2,000 shoppers carried out for intelligent e-commerce systems company eCommera found that 42.6% of British shoppers now buy online at least once a week. On average, it found, Brits spend £71 a month buying goods over the internet.

Finding a better bargain than on the high street was a key motivation for 60.4% of respondents, while 50.8% said they valued the convenience of delivery, and 39.3% said the choice available online encouraged them to shop by computer.

Andrew McGregor, chief executive of eCommera, said financial downturn was encouraging the move to online shopping. “The recession has been bad news for the high street but online retailers have seen real growth because of the benefits they afford to consumers,” he said.

“Price is an obvious benefit of shopping online as it’s far easier to shop around online for a bargain by visiting multiple retailers’ websites or using price comparison sites. But greater choice, a flexible range of delivery options and the convenience of shopping at any time of day and taking delivery without ever having to queue in-store or seek for a parking space, is also critical and clearly driving growth in online sales.”

The survey also looked at what put shoppers off buying from individual websites. Some 42.15% said poor images, product details and descriptions were likely to dissuade them fro buying, while 31.65% cited sites that they found difficult to navigate, and 26.1% pointed to finding items out of stock.

Post-purchase, consumers would not use a website a second time if the product was not what they expected or what was described on the site (41.75%), if it arrived late (19.15%) or if after-sales support was poor (18.05%).

The survey also found that personal recommendation counts for more with online shoppers than anything they see on social media. Some 70.9% said they would buy following a recommendation from family or friends, while 9.05% said direct email marketing would encourage them to buy online. But only 5.1% said something they had seen on social media had influenced a decision to buy.

McGregor said: “The findings show that while price is critical, it’s the fundamentals of product, proposition and delivering on promises that are most important to the customer’s expeience and satisfaction.

“Repeat visits are driven by a good experience, on spec products, delivery as expected and great after-sales support. This, in turn, will see the customer recommending the service to others.”

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