Brexit & online shopping research 2020

Summary Findings:

• 1 in 10 (10%) consumers plan to pay more attention to where an online retailers is based as a result of Brexit.
• 1 in 10 (10%) Irish consumers plan to pay more attention to a business’s terms and conditions when shopping online.
• Over half (53%) of Irish consumers who shop online have purchased goods online from UK based businesses over the past 24 months.
• 15% of online shoppers purchased goods from the UK on more than 10 different occasions.
• Large differences exist by age with 39% of under 25s reporting more than five purchases online from the UK during the past 2 years. In contrast, 66% of those aged 55 or older report not having bought anything from the UK.
• Clothing was the most popular item purchased online from the UK (61%) followed by footwear (33%), electronics (29%), sports gear/equipment (25%) and books (24%).
• Differences exist by gender with (71%) of females who make purchases online from UK buying clothing. Men more likely to buy electronics (39%) and sports gear (32%).
• Almost 2 in 5 (37%) consumers have returned goods purchased from a UK based business within the past 24 months, with over half (54%) citing that the goods either did not fit, or did not suit their needs.
• 1 in 4 (26%) consumers said they were sent the wrong product, with a further (25%) of consumers citing that they had simply changed their mind about their online purchase.
• Women more likely than men to have returned goods (43% and 31% respectively).Women are also more likely than men to have returned goods due to change of mind (30% and 17% respectively).
• Only 1 in 10 (15%) of consumers were aware of higher taxes and tariffs are when purchasing goods from outside of the EU.
• A similar cohort (18%) of consumers were aware that the returns policy is different when shopping from EU versus non-EU countries.
• 1 in 10 (14%) consumers believed it to be easier to make contact, or to make a complaint to businesses based in the EU than to those outside of the EU.