Brits steer clear of stores as coronavirus continues to bite

76% of Brits do not plan to immediately return to shops over Covid-19 safety fears, according to research from discount website VoucherCodes.co.uk.

The company surveyed 2,001 people and found that the biggest worries are being in large crowds (33%), and being packed into queues with many other shoppers (31%).

A third of Brits have turned to online shopping more than ever before during the coronavirus lockdown, not a huge surprise given that many physical stores have been closed over the past few months. Shopping from the comfort of the sofa ranked as the best thing about switching to e-commerce.

Other top benefits include being able to take more time when browsing (27%), having access to a wider range of brands and products than can be found in physical stores (23%) and speedy checkouts (21%).

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk, says: “After such an uncertain period of lockdown, it’s unsurprising to see that so many of us are apprehensive about returning to shops as soon as they open.”

“Whilst not all of us are rushing to our local high street, it’s great to see that so many people have taken advantage of the many benefits of online shopping during lockdown, especially the savings that can be made.”

Ready to go

In the interests of fairness, RTIH feels it should point out that VoucherCodes.co.uk is currently promoting a free ‘best deals online’ Chrome extension.

We should also flag up TruRating research, released earlier this week, that showed 80% of British consumers are ready to embrace physical shopping again. The wonderful world of consumer surveys, eh?