Irish Internet users shop most on company time, the Swedes are the most likely to make an impulse buy, and the French prefer scouring for deals at breakfast and in the middle of the night, according to research by Amazon.com.
Internet retailer Amazon.com today released a rare and revealing peak at its customers' shopping habits, taken from a September email poll of 2,072 customers. The company said the research was done in the name of improving customer service.
The findings paint a unique picture of the shopping habits of the world's largest online retailer, plus their motivation and preferences. For instance, the round-the-clock convenience of e-commerce ranked above price as the prime motivating factor for online shoppers, the company said.
More purchases are made from home than work. According to the poll results, 31% of shoppers use their credit card during work hours, against 67% at home or in a home office.
The notable exception is Ireland, where 46% of shoppers polled shop online while at their office desk. The British are the second worst offenders, with 40% admitting to on-the-job shopping, while the Danes are the most honourable, with one in five making a purchase while on the job.
At 53%, the majority of Europeans shop in the evenings at home. Austrians and Germans are the most avid night owl shoppers, with 63% and 62%, reporting this habit. The Germans though are the least likely group to shop online after 10pm, the study said.
Irish online shoppers also have the greatest concentration of shopaholics - one in 10 hit the cyber-shops more than 20 times a month, twice the European average. In contrast, just 1% of Italians polled shop online more than 20 times per month.
