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Shop Direct Online Shopping

Today marks 20 year anniversary of first online purchase, now 95% of us do it regularly

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

August 11, 2014 | 2 min read

Today marks the 20-year anniversary of the first online transaction – a Sting CD going for a sum total of $12.

In 2000, fewer than 12 per cent of Brits had bought online. Today, 95 per cent of us have embraced it and last year along spent £91bn online as one in four people do so at least once a week.

New research from Shop Direct – owner of the Very.co.uk, Littlewoods and Isme brands – found that while laptops and PCs are still the principal shopping device, one in five now shop on a tablet and on average, one in 10 via a mobile.

Books (64 per cent), clothing and accessories (60 per cent), music and entertainment (56 per cent) electronics (54 per cent) and holidays and travel (50 per cent) top the list of the things people buy online, according to the survey of over 1,000 consumers.

The research also found that more than a quarter like to shop online in bed, one in seven do so before work and one in 20 shop during their morning commute.

Last week, ebay was named the most popular retailer on mobile, beating the likes of Amazon, Argos, Tesco and John Lewis to the top spot, according to Ofcom’s Communications Market report.

It also found that mobile internet shoppers were spending more money via their handsets each month.

The proportion of consumers who stated they spent upwards of £100 a month online via a mobile device increased by four per cent year-on-year to 41 per cent. One in 10 mobile shoppers claimed to spend more than £300 online.

Shop Direct Online Shopping

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