Over sixty percent of British and German consumers will shop online this Christmas

PPRO consumer survey: UK and German high streets set to be quiet this Christmas

According to surveys by PPRO Group, British and German consumers alike are tired of over-crowded high street stores. Shoppers can now buy what they want, exactly when they want it , online. 2016 could finally be the year in which the last-minute Christmas dash to the shops is consigned to history. PPRO asked over a thousand Christmas-shoppers in each country about their present-buying plans — here are the stand-out results of both surveys.

Everyone loves the festive season. But no one likes the stress of Christmas shopping on crowded high streets. Over 60 percent of Brits and Germans said they planned to do their 2016 Christmas shopping online. Gift-givers in both countries said they were turning their back on brick-and-mortar stores because the shops are too crowded at Christmas and buying online makes it easier to compare prices and get a good deal.

Around 60 percent of shoppers in both nations plan to take advantage of the convenience of online retail by shopping from the comfort of their couch. But freewheeling Brits are more likely than sensible Germans to do their shopping in the car — 3.2 percent compared to 0.9 percent. Fingers crossed they pull over first.

Some shoppers may find that their present-buying plans land them in hot water with the boss. Almost 17 percent of Britons and over a quarter of Germans said they planned to do their Christmas shop from their work PC, during work hours. A little alarmingly, 0.5 percent of Germans and 0.8 percent of Brits said they planned to do their Christmas shopping while on the loo. Let’s just hope they get off the toilet before it’s time to actually give the gifts!

At Christmas time, we return to our trusty PCs

One of the big surprises thrown up by the survey was the fact that people return to traditional PCs for their online festive shop. More than 70 percent of Brits and over 80 percent of Germans said they planned to do their present shopping on a laptop or desktop PC. Neither nationality was that enthusiastic about using a mobile device but of the two, Britons were more likely to shop using their mobile — 14 percent compared to 9 percent.

Along with the interesting and the eye-opening, there are some serious findings to which online merchants and payment providers should pay attention. Shoppers in both countries reported having abandoned an online purchase (47% of Britons and 53% of Germans). The British were far more likely to abandon because the payment process was too complicated (31 percent, compared to just 13 percent of the German respondents). Almost 30 percent of Britons said the payment process simply didn’t work, compared to just 15 percent of Germans. The most common reason for Germans to abandon a purchase was that their preferred payment method was not supported by the merchant.

PPRO’s CEO, Simon Black, comments on the findings: “Our research paints the picture of a savvy shopper who has high expectations of online shopping.  They have the power of choice and the world of online merchants at their fingertips, and they know it.  Plus, they won’t stick around if they can’t pay for their gifts quickly and easily, especially at Christmas when stress levels are high.

“If online merchants want to succeed in cross-border sales, they need to do their homework and realise it’s not enough just to offer credit card payments. Countries in Europe and other regions all have their own preferred ways of paying, whether it is iDEAL in the Netherlands, online bank transfers in Germany or SEPA direct debit in the EURO zone. Only those merchants armed with their target audiences’ preferred local online payment methods will succeed during this busy festive period and beyond.”