Research: Brits expect their level of online shopping to increase over the next six months

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Research: Brits expect their level of online shopping to increase over the next six months.

New research (1) from JGOO, the next generation leader in digital commerce, reveals that over the next six months 35% of UK adults expect the level of their online shopping to increase compared to 18% who anticipate it will fall.

Overall, 33% of people expect to do more shopping online because they have become more used to doing this during the Coronavirus lockdown, and 30% say it’s because they will want to visit high streets and shopping centres less to reduce their chances of catching the virus. Around 24% say their online shopping was increasing anyway, and others say it’s rising because they can find better deals online. 

JGOO says it is now more important than ever for UK retailers to have a strong online proposition not only for their home market, but for overseas markets that have high demand for online goods, such as China. Through its official partnerships with China’s leading social media and payments platforms, JGOO connects Western brands to Chinese shoppers and tourists visiting the UK and buying remotely from China.  

In terms of online shopping for different product types over the next six months, JGOO’s research found 39% of people expect to be buying more of their food in this way compared to 7% who think they will be buying less, and 29% think their online shopping for clothes will rise compared to 27% who think it will fall. 

Over the next six months what will happen to your level of online shopping for the following items	Increase	Decrease	Stay the same	Don’t know
Food	39%	7%	50%	5%
Clothing	29%	27%	42%	3%
Accessories	22%	18%	43%	5%
Electrical goods	20%	20%	54%	5%
Goods in general	35%	18%	43%	5%

Richard Morecroft, Co-Founder of JGOO said: “The Coronavirus crisis has resulted in people buying more goods online, and a wider variety of items in this way.  More than ever, it’s imperative for retailers to have a strong online proposition as customers increasingly want to buy goods when they want to, and through a variety of channels.

“UK retailers also need to look overseas – the reputation for British companies and goods is very high and they need to find ways to capitalise on this, and having a strong online proposition is key to this.  

“Our research (2) reveals 76% of Chinese citizens who have previously bought British goods online plan to increase their online expenditure in 2020 when compared to last year. Reasons for this include British goods are becoming more fashionable in China, and 23% of Chinese people who took part in our survey said it was because the profile of the UK had risen as a result of recent developments such as Brexit and the issues concerning Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.”  

“Demand from Chinese citizens for ‘Brand UK’ is increasing and British companies need to find a way to capitalise on this if they can.”  

Launched in London in 2017, JGOO is a next generation leader in digital commerce with forward-thinking technology at its core. Through its official partnerships with China’s leading social media and payments platforms, JGOO connects Western brands to Chinese shoppers and tourists, both as tourists in the UK and buying remotely from China. London based JGOO has a team of Chinese nationals to assist clients in developing a bespoke marketing strategy to drive billions of Chinese consumers to their business. On top of this, JGOO provides businesses with a payments gateway for Chinese consumers to pay via their local methods when paying for British goods online or instore, as part of their mission to enable direct engagement with the Chinese market.

JGOO is part of UK FinTech group R8 Limited (R8), which aims to bring the full scope of banking and financial services to support the growing decentralised economy. Prominent entrepreneur Jonathan Rowland is the founder and chairman of R8, which has several renowned backers including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, who sits on the board as a non-executive director.  

_{(1) JGOO commissioned research company Consumer Intelligence to interview 1,000 UK adults between 24th and 27th April 2020.  Interviews were conducted online.} 

_{(2) JGOO commissioned research with 303 Chinese citizens who have bought British goods online over the past two years}