Survey reveals 50% of UK refuses to shop online

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 10 Feb 2010 at 10:09

A survey has revealed that the number of people shunning internet shopping over security fears is growing, despite efforts by banks and retailers to shore up public confidence.

A study of 200 retailers and 1,000 consumers conducted by online payment company CyberSource UK, revealed that 50% of people refuse to shop online, with 41% of those surveyed citing concerns about fraud and identity theft.

Overall 71% of people surveyed claimed they were concerned about their security online, rising from 66% in 2008. It appears a large part of this is down to retailers themselves, with 59% of people claiming they were uncomfortable with the idea of retailers storing their credit-card details.

Customers need to know they can go to the merchant and say, 'I didn't make that purchase', or the bank and say 'I didn't make that transaction' and know they're protected

According to CyberSource's managing director Simon Stokes, a large part of customers' uneasiness comes from the fact that they still don't know who to approach if they're a victim of online crime.

"As a consumer who do I go to if I've been the victim of identity theft, or online fraud?" he told PC Pro. "Customers need to know they can go to the merchant and say, 'I didn't make that purchase', or the bank and say 'I didn't make that transaction' and know they're protected. Both were much better at dealing with that in 2009 than 2008."

Intriguingly, customers revealed themselves to be even more suspicious of mobile payments, with 76% of people claiming they would never use a mobile to make a purchase. However, Stokes claims to be unconvinced by the statistic.

"It will be interesting to see how consumer perceptions evolve as we move out of the early-adopter phase and mobile payments become more mainstream," says Stokes. "The introduction of new smartphone technologies should help drive consumer acceptance."