Online discount sites July 2012
Summary
Research on online discount sites shows high usage in Ireland, rising dissatisfaction with purchases and mixed outcomes when consumers complain.Publication details
- Publication date:4 July 2012
- Industry:Wholesale & retail trade - G
- NACE code:Retail trade - G.47
Documents
Research report online discount sites July 2012PDF | 7884 KBResearch report online discount sites July 2012 PDF | 7884 KB - Opens in new window
Three in five adults using the Internet in Ireland have signed to discount sites, according to a survey conducted by Amárach Research on behalf of the National Consumer Agency.
Among its main findings, the market research about online discount sites also found that:
Of those consumers who have signed up:
- 61% have bought a product or service from discount sites.
- One in three (33%) of those who have bought from these sites said they had reason to be dissatisfied with a purchase, up 5 percentage points since November 2011.
The main reasons stated for the dissatisfaction were:
- Poor service delivery or poor product quality (34%)
- The retailer could not provide the service when required, or delivery was delayed (18%)
One in two (52%) of those who were dissatisfied made a complaint. Of these:
- 70% complained to the online discount site company.
- 43% complained to the actual provider of the product or service (The figures add up to more than 100% because some consumers complained to both the online discount site and the actual provider).
- Three in five (61%) of those who complained had their complaint resolved.
