"Buying online can be efficient and save us time. But it would seem online purchasing is far more likely to be for entertainment items. Only seven percent of shoppers went online to buy groceries.
The survey results revealed that during the last twelve months respondents who had shopped online had purchased:
o 44.5 percent - DVDs, CDs or computer games
o 39.7 percent - books
o 30.5 percent - clothing
o 29.9 percent - entertainment equipment
o 22.2 percent - toys
o 20.4 percent - health and beauty products
o 16.5 percent - home wares
o 15.3 percent - hardware
o 14.8 percent - sporting goods
o 7.4 percent - food and groceries
Mrs Osmond said the survey also revealed different online spending patterns for men and women.
"It is not surprising that men are more likely to buy entertainment equipment, sporting goods and hardware than women, who are more likely to shop online for clothing and health and beauty products than men.
"Education, profession, and income level are also factors in online shopping habits," Mrs Osmond said.
"White collar workers are twice as likely to purchase products online than blue collar workers. While those with higher household incomes were also more likely to shop online.
"Those with a university degree were twice as likely to shop online to those who had either completed their education at a college or with an apprenticeship, or had a primary or secondary level education.
"Online shopping also varied between age groups. While four out of five people over age fifty had never purchased online, surprisingly, over half of 18-24 year olds had never purchased online. This goes against perceptions that younger people, having grown up with the internet, are more likely to embrace new options provided online.
"But it might also reflect less access to credit cards for this age group," Mrs Osmond said.
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