A third of Brits are shopping more online now than during lockdown

The boom in online shopping in the UK during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown looks set to continue, new figures reveal.

A third (33%) of consumers said they are shopping more online now than they did during lockdown, while 38% are using e-commerce services the same amount as during lockdown, according to a survey of over 2,000 UK adults by software provider Scurri and YouGov.

During lockdown, 71% of UK consumers received between one and three online shopping orders delivered to their homes each week, while 12% had as many as four to six parcels delivered every week. Some 5% had as many as seven to 15 packages delivered weekly during lockdown.

As lockdown restrictions have eased, there has been only a very slight decline in the number of deliveries UK online shoppers have received on a weekly basis — 66% claim they are still receiving one to three online shopping orders a week, while 9% still receive between four and six packages to their homes.

Fashion items were the most commonly purchased products during lockdown, as 17% of online orders were for clothing. This was followed by home and garden items at 11%, alcohol (9%), DIY equipment (8%), health, beauty and fragrances (8%), electrical equipment (6%), sports equipment (3%), and footwear (2%).

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Shoppers in Wales are staying with online shopping, with 39% shopping more online now than during lockdown, compared with 27% in Northern Ireland, 32% in England and 36% in Scotland.

Those aged over 55 are still buying online, with 19% saying they are using buying more online now, compared to 11% of 18- to 24-year-olds.

Some 59% of UK shoppers stated that they intend to consciously buy from British brands to bolster the UK economy and support UK businesses after the economic impact of COVID-19.

Women are more likely to specifically seek out British Brands, with 63% saying they intend to buy British compared with 54% of men.

Over a third (36%) of consumers believe it will take six to 12 months for the pre-COVID in-store shopping experience to make a comeback, while a further 36% believe this could take longer than a year.

However, only 6% think things will never return to pre-COVID-19 normality. On the other end of the spectrum, 3% think things will return to normal within the next 3 months.

A third (33%) say they still feel unsafe shopping in-store due to coronavirus risks and 34% say they are shopping less in store than during lockdown.

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Contactless delivery was the most popular safety measures used by retailers, with 37% of consumers trying this shopping method. This was followed by Click & Collect (26%), virtual queuing (14%) and reservation shopping (12%).

Rory O’Connor, founder and CEO of Scurri, said: “While the road ahead for retail remains in some ways unclear, what these stats do make clear is that online shopping is the new norm.

“The lockdown meant that many who may not have previously shopped that much online became more accustomed to it. It is interesting to also see that there are still so many who are hesitant to shop in-store, but also that they believe things will take so long to return to pre-virus norms.

“The survey for us painted a clear picture of a cautious consumer who feels more comfortable shopping from the comforts of their own homes.”