Klarna research: Shoppers will up online spend despite lockdown lifting

62% of UK shoppers believe they will do most of their shopping online a year from now, according to research by Klarna involving 1,022 people.

The buy now, pay later specialist has released the first in an ongoing series of quarterly global shopping trend reports.

Its Shopping Pulse also found that, if forced to choose between only shopping online or in-store, 57% of Brits would give up the physical experience in favour of e-commerce.

UK shoppers were, alongside the Dutch, the most affected by coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

80% reduced their shopping in physical stores due to restrictions. Brits head online most often compared to the other countries included in the Klarna research (the US, Australia, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Finland).

37% currently shop online at least once a week. The UK also has the lowest rate of people who expect to make the majority of their grocery purchases in physical stores a year from now.

Alex Marsh, Head of Klarna UK, comments: “UK shoppers are clearly embracing the in-store shopping experience as lockdown measures lift, bringing a welcome boost to the high street..”

“At the same time it is evident that new habits have formed and, while physical stores will always play a vital role for consumers, the large majority of UK shoppers believe they will turn online for most of their purchases in a year's time.”

To balance things out…

71% of UK shoppers will make a conscious effort to support bricks and mortar retailers now non-essential stores have reopened, with 66% saying they had missed the high street during coronavirus lockdowns.

That’s according to research by Sensormatic Solutions, involving over 1,000 Brits.