The main categories of online shopping for British people include 3C (Computer, Communication, Consumer Electronics) equipment and digital media content, including video games, music downloads, e-books, computers and mobile phones. Mobile phones have become the preferred tool for consumers to shop, they use mobile apps (Applications, mobile software) to shop, download content or purchase additional functions within the app. The second largest industry is fashion products, including clothing and footwear, which account for about 1/3 of the market share. About 48% of consumers buy groceries online, while 11% of British people buy food entirely online. Other important online retail categories include: transportation and travel service products; health and beauty products; cars, vans and bicycles; stationery and office supplies.
In the British Consumer Satisfaction Index survey in January 2018, Amazon once again became the number one non-food retailer in the UK, and this is the fifth consecutive year that it has ranked first.
British consumers also spend a lot on foreign shopping websites. In 2016, the size of the UK’s cross-border e-commerce market ranked only after China, the United States, India, and France, at about 6.7 billion pounds. 38% of British users will buy products from various countries overseas. They prefer to buy things from the United States, China, and Germany, and they are very confident in online retail. Therefore, they are ready to buy products from abroad at any time, of course, this is based on acceptable prices and quality. The latest survey by the British Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG) shows that nearly 65% of respondents have made cross-border online purchases, and the biggest factors affecting their decisions are still delivery services and returns. Therefore, when facing British online consumers, e-commerce companies need to develop the best logistics solutions, and at the same time, they must clearly and repeatedly emphasize logistics information in the purchase process. Two-thirds of British consumers believe that if they can clearly see the information on delivery and returns before payment, the shopping process will be more convenient.
The survey found that the current British people no longer have the habit of queuing in the past, and their patience for queuing for shopping is about two minutes. If they have to wait in line for a longer time, they would rather choose not to buy. This is especially true when online shopping appears, which is still a shopping habit that they are more accepting of.
Affimova’s research also shows that modern men are paying more and more attention to their personal image, and the male cosmetics market is rising steadily. The survey shows that when buying cosmetics, British men like to choose products with concise and clear instructions and logos. In addition, based on men’s nature of seeking convenience, British men especially like to buy cosmetics sets, because the sets contain products for various purposes, and the purchase can be completed in one step, saving time and effort.