Capterra, 56% of European consumers have increased their online purchases
Participants come from various sectors of activity and the panel included 55% of women and 45% of men, all of whom are over 18 years of age. Most were full-time employees (55%), followed by part-time employees (18%), students (10%), freelancers (7%), retirees (6%) and individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic (4%). Incomes vary from less than € 15,000 per year to more than € 200,000 per year.
The most interesting data that emerged were: 56% of European consumers interviewed bought online 3 or more times per month during the lock down. Clothing, food and electronic devices among the most purchased goods online for the first time during the crisis. 65% of Europeans interviewed do not use new technologies for digital shopping while 59% will continue to buy online after Covid-19.
The results obtained from the study of Capterra analysts reported that at European level online purchases have increased: if before the majority of respondents bought online 1 maximum 2 times a month, during the quarantine the percentage of times they it is shifted towards 3-6 purchases per month. Many have even hit the mark of 6-10 online purchases per month. The Capterra team then asked the respondents if they believed that the health emergency had permanently changed their shopping habits and it emerged that 59% of European consumers said they will continue to shop online even after the exceptional situation caused by the measures overtime implemented by the states will be terminated.
For 45% of Europeans surveyed it was not the first time they bought something online, they had already purchased digitally before the pandemic hit. However, for the remaining majority, the quarantine was the opportunity to actually discover a new way of purchasing for the first time. As can be seen from the data, Italy, Spain and France proved to be the countries that most bought online for the first time and in different product types. Conversely, in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK the majority of respondents said they had not bought anything new online for the first time.
Focusing solely on Italian data, Capterra analysts found the following: 61% of Italian consumers shopped online at least 3 times a month during the quarantine, positioning themselves above the European average (56%). 64% bought online for the first time during the quarantine, again ranking above the European average (55%). 65% of Italian respondents trust the online reviews left by other consumers to understand if an online shop is reliable, always positioning itself above the European average (47%).
The general picture that comes out of it of Italy shows how Italians have discovered a new way to buy and that on average they trust the opinions of others expressed online more. Italians have mostly bought clothing, food and household products online. Given the results, it was asked which goods would continue to buy the most online even after the health emergency ended, and the three goods with the highest response rates were: clothing (30%), household products (24%) and electronic devices (23%). The complete study by Capterra Italia on digital payments is available at the following link.
