43/2009 - 27 March 2009

European Consumer Summit Nearly one third of individuals in the EU27 shopped on the in 2008 Travel and clothes most popular purchases

In 2008, 32% of individuals1 aged 16-74 in the EU27 had bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the internet at least once in the last 12 months. Shopping over the internet increased steadily from 20% of individuals in 2004 and 26% in 2006 to 30% in 2007. Between 2004 and 2008, all EU Member States, for which data are available, registered an increase in e-shopping. In connection with the European Consumer Summit2 on 1-2 April 2009 in Brussels, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities presents a selection of statistics concerning e-shopping taken from the 2008 survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage in households and by individuals3 in the EU27. The EU Commission hosts this first European Consumer Summit, which will focus on the challenges and opportunities of the digital world.

Highest share of e-shoppers among those aged 25-34 In the EU27, the highest share of e-shoppers in 2008 was found in the age group 25-34 (47% of individuals in this age group). E-shopping was nearly as common among those aged 16-24 (41%) and 35-44 (40%), while it was less common in the older age groups: 45-54 (31%), 55-64 (20%) and 65-74 (9%). The most popular types of goods and services purchased over the internet in the EU27 were travel & holiday accommodation (14% of individuals had bought or ordered such services in the last 12 months), clothes & sports goods (13%), books & magazines (12%), household goods and tickets for events (both 11%), film & music (9%) and electronic equipment (8%).

More than half of individuals shopped on the , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Finland In 2008, more than half of individuals aged 16-74 in Denmark (59%), the United Kingdom (57%), the Netherlands (56%), Germany and Sweden (both 53%) and Finland (51%) had bought or ordered goods or services over the internet in the last 12 months. On the other hand, less than 10% of individuals had shopped over the internet in (3%), Romania (4%), Lithuania (6%), Greece and Cyprus (both 9%). In most of the Member States, the highest proportion of e-shoppers was recorded in the age group 25-34. The only exceptions were Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bulgaria, where the proportion was highest among those aged 16-24. Finland was the Member State with the highest proportion of those who had bought travel & holiday accommodation (31%) and clothes & sports goods (27%), while Luxembourg was highest for books & magazines (29%), Germany for household goods (26%) and electronic equipment (18%), Denmark for tickets for events (28%) and the United Kingdom for film & music (24%). Individuals having bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the Internet (% of individuals aged 16-74)

By age in 2008: 2004 2006 2008 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 EU27 20 26 32 41 47 40 31 20 9 Belgium : 19 21 22 35 28 19 12 5 Bulgaria 1 2 3 6 6 2 1 : 0 Czech Republic 5 13 23 35 36 26 19 10 2 Denmark 42 55 59 76 81 71 59 41 19 Germany 37 49 53 64 80 69 53 34 15 Estonia 6 7 10 13 20 13 8 : : Ireland 14 28 36 34 52 44 30 19 8 Greece 1 5 9 16 16 12 5 2 0 Spain 8 15 20 26 33 22 16 7 2 France : 22 40 48 63 47 41 26 9 Italy : 9 11 15 19 14 10 5 1 Cyprus 4 7 9 11 17 11 5 4 1 Latvia 3 8 16 23 28 20 12 6 1 Lithuania 1 4 6 10 11 6 3 1 0 Luxembourg 40 44 49 52 65 62 49 29 17 Hungary 4 7 14 16 22 17 13 7 3 Malta : 14 22 44 36 21 13 7 4 Netherlands : 48 56 65 77 73 54 38 14 Austria 19 32 37 49 57 43 33 21 8 Poland 5 12 18 34 34 20 10 : : Portugal 5 7 10 18 20 14 6 3 : Romania 0 1 4 7 7 3 2 1 : Slovenia 8 13 18 34 32 22 10 4 1 Slovakia 10 11 23 33 32 27 20 8 1 Finland 33 44 51 71 79 65 49 26 11 Sweden 43 55 53 67 70 64 55 37 17 United Kingdom 37 45 57 64 72 68 58 44 24 : Data not available or not reliable

Types of goods and services bought or ordered for private use over the internet, 2008 (% of individuals aged 16-74)

Travel & Electronic Clothes & Books, Any goods holiday Household Tickets for Film & equipment sports magazines or services accommo- goods events music (incl. goods & e-learning dation cameras)

EU27 32 14 13 12 11 11 9 8 Belgium 21 8 5 5 3 6 4 3 Bulgaria 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 Czech Rep. 23 3 9 6 5 7 2 7 Denmark 59 30 24 17 10 28 20 17 Germany 53 22 26 28 26 19 17 18 Estonia 10 3 3 2 2 6 1 1 Ireland 36 21 7 9 3 12 10 5 Greece 9 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 Spain 20 12 4 4 3 7 2 3 France 40 18 19 14 16 13 11 5 Italy 11 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 Cyprus 9 3 2 2 1 0 2 2 Latvia 16 3 5 1 5 5 1 6 Lithuania 6 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 Luxembourg 49 27 15 29 11 22 18 10 Hungary 14 3 3 6 2 3 2 2 Malta 22 4 6 6 3 2 6 6 Netherlands 56 26 22 21 12 21 13 14 Austria 37 11 14 16 9 9 8 9 Poland 18 2 8 5 6 2 3 4 Portugal 10 4 3 3 1 2 2 2 Romania 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 Slovenia 18 5 5 4 5 3 2 4 Slovakia 23 4 9 5 5 4 3 4 Finland 51 31 27 20 14 25 16 12 Sweden 53 27 18 19 7 22 16 11 United Kingdom 57 27 24 21 23 21 24 15

1. The survey covered individuals aged 16-74. The data collection period was mainly the second quarter of 2008. The individuals were asked if they had bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the 12 months prior to the survey at home or at any other location. If so, they were also asked what types of goods or services they had bought or ordered in this time period (multiple replies possible). 2. For more information on the European Consumer Summit: http://www.european-consumer-summit.eu/ 3. See also News Release 169/2008 of 2 December 2008 on and use in the EU27 in 2008.

Issued by: Eurostat Press Office For further information on data:

Johan WULLT Heidi SEYBERT Tel: +352-4301-33 444 Tel: +352-4301- 37 416 [email protected] [email protected]

Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat