Jersey's online shopping reaches £258 million a year

Wednesday 04 June 2014

Jersey households are spending an average of £7,000 a year shopping online according to fresh figures on the continuing impact of internet shopping on the struggling high street.

A survey of online trends has been carried out by Island Analysis which shows that altogether we are logging on and spending around £258 million a year.

Around 560 Islanders were asked about their spending habits for the survey. Two-thirds said they had shopped online a lot more last year compared to the year before and were choosing to shop away from the high street for convenience, price and the product range and choice available in shops outside of the Island.

Around half of the Island’s clothing and footwear is now being bought online, as are household goods like furniture and furnishings and more than half of Islanders are internet shopping for electronic goods, books and downloads.

A little more than one-in-three people said they often go window shopping for items locally before buying them online, although one-in-three also said they frequently look online before buying the same thing in the Island.

One of the main problems people face is getting their items to Jersey – more than half of those surveyed said very often online retailers won’t deliver to the Island. Many Islanders are put off ordering when companies won’t deduct the VAT from their goods.

The results show that fewer than 10% of adult Jersey residents don’t have any internet access and around 15% of households still don’t buy any products or services online.

Island Analysis carries out regular lifestyle surveys in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The company said that online purchase trends "is an area that is rapidly changing and developing and the opportunities and challenges to local businesses created by this growth are profound not only in the three Crown Dependencies but also in every other island jurisdiction worldwide".