Irish e-shoppers buy more abroad than locally

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Aug 30, 2018

A new report has revealed that more Irish consumers purchased goods from an international online store than they did from an Irish retailer, with the UK, the US and China leading the top import markets.

In fact, Irish online shoppers are the biggest international shoppers worldwide, showed the Global Cross Border Commerce Report, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Paypal.

2.2 million people shopped from foreign websites last year, compared to 2.1 million domestic online shoppers. Lower prices, better and more product selection and lower shipping costs lured Irish shoppers to international retailers.

Irish website’s high delivery fees and return shipping costs are costing them millions of euros in sales, as online shoppers spent 2.7 billion of euros overseas last year. Almost 500,000 people bought solely from foreign retailers.

Louise Phelan, vice president for Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa at PayPal, said: "While our new research suggests Irish consumers prefer shopping from overseas websites, it also shows Irish businesses that there’s still so much to play for. In just two years’ time, e-commerce is going to be worth over €10 billion in Ireland. Irish businesses have a tremendous opportunity in front of them to attract more customers and increase their online sales."

Total online spend is growing at around 20% year-on-year in Ireland, suggesting that Irish retailers can still take a larger share of the market if they improve their services. Perhaps a way to win the battle is by adopting more mobile friendly sites, as 65% of consumers used a mobile device to shop online in 2017. Mobile spending in Ireland is expected to grow by 61% to €2.8 billion this year.