Despite a growing trend for e-tail, nearly half of UK consumers have never bought furniture, groceries or health & beauty products online. The research, compiled by UK shopping website VoucherCode.co.uk, polled 2,015 British adults in partnership with YouGov.

The survey found that 50 per cent of respondents had never purchased furniture online, 49 per cent had never bought groceries, 44 per cent did not buy health and beauty products online, 29 per cent had never bought electronics and 28 per cent had never booked a holiday online.

As well as the current online shopping habits, the research also reveals which items consumers say they never plan to buy online. Groceries top the list with 28 per cent of respondents stating they would never do their supermarket shop online, while 26 per cent never plan to purchase furniture over the web.

In contrast, just five per cent of consumers claimed they would never buy entertainment products such as DVDs and CDs over the internet, indicating this sector has a healthy online future. Holidays also polled a lowly 12 per cent, indicating travel will continue to be an important area for online retailers.

Duncan Jennings, co-founder of VoucherCodes.co.uk comments: “It’s surprising to see such high levels of reluctance among consumers when it comes to buying online and the main concern seems to be a lack of information from retailers around the products and services they are selling.

“Clearly peer reviews are hugely important to shoppers, but there are lots of other ways retailers can help their customers understand what they are buying. Unfortunately, the fact so many consumers still feel uncomfortable transacting online highlights the need for retailers to up their game and improve their customers’ online shopping experience. Technologies that have existed for some time, such as 360 degree product viewers, are still not being used efficiently by many websites, meaning consumers simply don’t get the information they need when trying to make a decision.”

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