Posted on Monday, December 5th, 2011
When you are sitting at your desk at work, are you guilty of sneaking a peak at a sites offering discount coupons every now and again, or are you even more compulsive, entering your credit card number to check what’s in your shopping cart when the boss is not looking?
According to a survey conducted by online payments platform PayPal Australia, you are not the only one, with nearly 80 per cent of all Aussie consumers admitting that they make online purchases whilst they are at work. With the holiday season quickly closing in, as many as two thirds of Australian shoppers say they will do some of their Christmas shopping online during office hours.
The results of the survey also suggests that Aussie online consumers tend to be extremely self indulgent, with the majority preferring to shop for themselves when at work, rather than buying gifts for others.
PayPal reckons this trend of increasing shopping during office hours is an attempt by workers to fight the “office blues”, particularly considering the payment platform’s busiest period is on Monday’s between 9AM to 5PM, with nearly 50 per cent of all transactions conducted during that time frame.
Adrian Christie, head of PR and communications at PayPal Australia says, “Christmas 2011 is shaping up to be the biggest online shopping season we have seen in Australia, and, as our research shows, consumers are increasingly taking advantage of the convenience that online shopping offers, particularly in the office.”
The online retailing business is estimated to be worth up to $30.2 billion, and seems immune from any hesitation by consumers to spend online.
According to the results of the survey, roughly half of online shoppers in Australia that do so from their desk, do so at least once every couple of weeks.
