Click and regret: Brits wasting over half a billion pounds every year online on unwanted goods
A new report – 'Click and Regret' - from marketing agency Gekko has revealed the shocking waste now involved with online shopping. According to the survey, consumers are wasting £641m online every year buying goods they don’t want and failing to return them.
The survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted by One Poll on behalf of Gekko reveals that 27% of respondents (equating to 12.4m UK adults) order goods online they regret buying, but fail to return. The average amount wasted every year is £51.90 per person, equating to £641m overall. Nearly a third of UK adults (31%) also confess to being lured into buying items they don’t want or need, and 70% regularly regret buying things online so send them back.
Despite people being seemingly unable to resist the temptation of spending money online, nearly half felt that the ease of shopping online fuels extensive shopping habits and 43% said they also spend more money online than they originally intended.
Although internet shopping is meant to be time efficient, a whopping 65% said they spent more time shopping online than they expected because. Additionally, 69% felt that there’s too much choice, while 54% want to hunt for the best prices, and 34% of respondents feel compelled to shop around .
However, respondents also claim to be concerned about the environmental impact of online shopping with 75% worried about the excessive use of packaging and single use plastics. Meanwhile 70% said they were concerned about the societal impact on the high street and local economy of increasing online shopping.
Daniel Todaro, MD, Gekko, comments: “It’s clear from this research that online shopping can be a false economy. Although in theory we can return the goods we buy, many of us are too busy to bother, so what starts as convenient soon becomes costly and inconvenient.
"This results in unwanted goods cluttering cupboards, gathering dust in wardrobes or heading for landfill at an alarming rate. With our high street suffering and many people still enjoying its benefits such as try before you buy, excellent customer service and immediate purchasing experience, people should be more mindful before they click and get out and support their local businesses, help the environment and their pockets.”
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Gekko
Gekko is a full service field marketing agency, specialised in connecting brands with consumers in retail throughout the UK and Ireland.
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