One in four Irish people bought online for the first time during the pandemic
Services Forward Of Covid As Of Or To 19 They A More Going Third Online Plan A Result Said Respondents Buy Products
More than half of Irish consumers (59%) have purchased items from international sellers since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey from PayPal reveals.
Some 76% of the 2,000 Irish consumers surveyed bought products online between the second and third week of May this year, with one in four using or buying online services for the first time during the pandemic.
A third said they plan to buy more products or services online going forward as a result of Covid-19.
Maeve Dorman, VP Merchant Operations, PayPal EMEA, said the research shows a shift to online shopping will be a permanent change for a lot of people in Ireland, and Irish businesses need to "step up" to take advantage of the change.
“Digital has become the new normal for buying both goods and, increasingly, services – as well as many consumers buying online for the first time, there are those who have completely changed their behaviours when it comes to purchasing as a result of the pandemic,” she said.
“Irish businesses need to step up and ensure that they are able to deliver an online offering equipped with a simple checkout process and secure payment options, otherwise they will fail to capitalise on the opportunity during what is already an extremely challenging time.”
“Having a digital platform is more important than ever in order to meet the growing domestic need for online access to products and services, and future-proof businesses by attracting building trust among existing and new customers," she said.
The most popular services purchased by Irish consumers during the May period included call/video call services, video on-demand subscriptions and music subscriptions.
Clothing, shoes and accessories were also popular online purchases.
Some 86% of Irish consumers believe there are a number of benefits to shopping online while Covid-19 is among us, with home delivery (64%) and no queues (59%) cited as the top advantages.
A fifth (21%) of respondents said payment security was a significant benefit.