Maltese online shoppers quadruples over five years

Internet access in the EU28 is widespread and today people use the internet for a wide range of activities, among others to order goods and services online. In the EU28 in 2012, 75% of individuals aged 16 to 74 had used the internet in the previous 12 months, and nearly 60% of these internet users reported that they had shopped online. Among the Member States, the highest shares of online shoppers were registered in the United Kingdom (82% of internet users), Denmark and Sweden (both 79%), Germany (77%), Luxembourg (73%) and Finland (72%), and the lowest in Romania (11%), Bulgaria (17%), Estonia and Italy (both 29%).

The same data shows that the Maltese regularly use the internet for the purchase of clothes (36%), travel (21%), and books (20%) - altogether the number of Maltese who use the internet for shopping has quadrupled since 2008.

In the context of the European Year of citizens 2013, the week from 14 to 20 October 2013 is dedicated to "Shopping online". On this occasion, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, publishes data on online purchases by individuals coming from its annual survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage in households and by individuals.

In the EU28, ordering clothes & sports goods and booking travel & holiday accommodation are the most common online purchases amongst internet users. For both clothes & sports goods and travel & holiday accommodation, one third of internet users purchased online during the previous 12 months (both 32% in 2012 compared with 21% in 2008). Almost one quarter of internet users in the EU28 reported that they bought books, magazines or e-learning material from the internet (23% in 2012 compared with 19% in 2008), while fewer than one internet user in ten ordered food & groceries online (9% in 2012 compared with 6% in 2008).

Among Member States in 2012, the United Kingdom (51%) and Germany (49%) had the highest shares of internet users having purchased clothes & sports goods online in the previous 12 months. Sweden (60%) had the highest proportion reporting that they booked travel & holiday accommodation online, followed by Denmark (56%). Buying books, magazines or e-learning material online was most common in Luxembourg (47%) and Germany (41%). The United Kingdom (21%) was the leading Member State for online food & grocery shopping, while in the majority of Member States this share was 10% or less.