62% of Irish E-Commerce Spend Goes Overseas
March 3, 2010 Leave a Comment
According to Eurostat statistics published in the most recent issue of State of the Net, turnover of e-commerce outlets accounts for over a quarter of enterprise turnover in Ireland. It is the highest percentage in all 27 countries of the European Union, followed by Finland and Sweden (both 18%), Czech Republic, Britain and Germany (15%). The overall European Union average is 12%.
Twenty nine percent of Irish online shoppers bought or ordered goods and services from the Internet within the last three months. However, the majority of the transactions were made with companies from outside Ireland – with 62% of the e-commerce turnover was received abroad (39% in another EU state, 23% outside the Union).
This substantial share of enterprise turnover is not achieved by e-tailers capitalising on customers shopping around, but rather thanks to low-cost airlines. Based on research commissioned by the National Consumer Agency, 74% of consumers who use price comparison sites do so to compare airline fares. Additionally, reports released by Eurostat last year indicated that 21% of Irish online shoppers purchased travel tickets or paid their holiday accommodation costs over the Internet, while only 5% decided to shop for electronic goods, with 41% of price comparison site users looking specifically for home appliances or furniture.
The Toprice.ie database currently holds portfolios of 11 webshops trading in the Republic of Ireland, allowing users to compare prices of items in categories such as Consumer Electronics, Computers and Photography categories.
‘A price comparison site is a good idea as long as it’s commercially viable’ says Aileen O’Toole, Managing Director of AMAS, who published both reports. ‘Generally, the Web is being used more widely as a price comparison tool, people compare offers and prices, but don’t necessarily complete the transaction there. A dedicated price comparison website would definitely be a valuable tool.’
