Internet shopping vs. traditional shopping, i.e., what and where we buy (infographic)

However, the dynamic increase in the number of buyers and turnover does not apply to all e-commerce sectors – we are still more eager to go to the market for food, gardening, household chemicals, or even cosmetics. PayU – online payment provider compares online and traditional purchases. The use of virtual shopping is most often declared by people who plan to buy gifts or gadgets and computer games – this type of assortment is searched on the Internet by as much as 75 percent. Respondents who took part in the Pay U survey. – Other products that we prefer to buy, or at least we declare, via the Internet, are books, films and music, computer equipment, electronics/household appliances, sports equipment, and mobile phones.

Entertainment from the Internet, and food and furniture from the market

Over the past year, we most often bought computer games online (55 percent of buyers indicated the Internet as the only channel for purchasing this type of product), computer equipment (44 percent), movies and music (42 percent), and books (40 percent.). Products that we least often bought via the Internet were: food and grocery, household chemicals and cosmetics, plants and gardening articles as well as furniture. Over the past year, only one in five respondents made online purchases in these categories. In contrast, grocery shopping is leading the way in traditional trade (90% of respondents indicate this channel of product acquisition as the only), but also such categories of objects as a garden (73%), furniture (60%) as well as household chemicals and cosmetics (53 percent.). It is worth noting that, although the majority of respondents prefer buying food in a traditional market, this market segment has a chance to appear in e-commerce. Last year, every tenth respondent ordered products from the food delicatessen category (e.g., honey, wine, sushi products) online, and 6% acquired in this way, among others bread, vegetables, or sausages.

Clothes, home appliances, telephones – halfway

Some industries are doing well in both traditional and online trading, making profits from both sales channels. We are talking here about stores offering various types of gadgets, as well as clothing and footwear – these products were equally eagerly purchased online and offline last year.

A similar situation applies to the electronics/household appliances segment, which remains the most profitable in e-commerce. Over the past year, buyers have equally willingly visited traditional and online stores offering this type of assortment, and 31 percent of respondents even answered that they had used both sales channels at that time. Pay U also examined the most important – from the point of view of the online consumer – elements related to the finalization of the transaction. For half of the respondents, payment security comes first. For every fifth person surveyed, what counts above all is the convenience and speed of the transaction. Slightly less significant for the online buyer is the lack of additional fees and the ability to view transaction history.