Internet shoppers are expected to spend an average of €220 per person on online purchases this Christmas, the Commission for Communications Regulation has said.
A total of €55 million will be spent online by Irish internet users, according to a ComReg survey, with one in five users intending to do at least some of their Christmas present buying online.
The survey of more than 1,000 people aged between 15 and 74 found that men were more likely than women to do their Christmas shopping online and those with broadband rather than a dial-up internet connection are the most likely to buy over the internet. About 250,000 internet users are expected to buy online for Christmas with 43 per cent of all web users having shopped online in the last three months. During that time 45-64-year-olds, those in higher income groups and those in Dublin, Ulster and Connacht, are most likely to have made an internet purchase. Airline bookings and concert tickets have been the most popular online purchases this year.
The figures are part of ComReg's latest Trends Survey of the Telecommunications sector, carried out by Amárach Consulting.
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