UK is a nation of data-hungry net shoppers

Internet shopping is more popular in the UK than in any other major country, a survey from regulator Ofcom suggests.

Consumers in the UK spend an average of £1,083 a year on internet shopping, compared with Australia which spends the second highest at £842. The UK’s fondness for internet shopping is in part, driven by mobile devices. UK consumers are also downloading more data from their mobiles than any other nation, according to the survey.

The study also indicated that:

• In December 2011, the average UK mobile connection used 424 megabytes of data, higher than Japanese users who averaged 392MBs 
• 16% of all web traffic in the UK was from mobiles, tablets or other connected devices – more than any other European country. 
• Four in ten UK adults now access Facebook, Twitter and other social networks via their mobiles 
• For 18 to 24 year olds, the figure is even higher, at 62% 

The findings form part of Ofcom’s seventh international Communications Market Report, which looks at the take-up, availability, price and use of broadband, landlines, mobiles, TV and radio across 17 major countries. Click here to find out about Tandem’s YourSite E-Commerce Package