.IE Tipping Point Report 2020

Section 1 E-commerce in Ireland before Covid-19 Before the Covid-19 crisis, 48% of Irish consumers’ online purchases were with Irish SMEs. That spend is expected to grow. Now is the time for Irish SMEs to make sure their websites are easy to use, mobile friendly, and can facilitate payments. E-commerce is worth a great deal to the Irish economy. The Central Bank estimates that Irish consumers and businesses spent € 16 billion online in 2019 1 , a figure that has risen consistently over the last decade. Irish consumers are eager to spend on the internet: 95% of our survey respondents say that they shop online, 82% either frequently or at least some of the time. The cohort that does all its shopping offline is now part of a shrinking minority. Despite Irish consumers’ willingness to spend, the majority of their money has historically gone abroad to international retailers, which are viewed favourably because of their lower price points, larger ranges of products, and more intuitive, better designed websites and online storefronts. Indeed, in many business sectors, international retailers are the only ones with online stores. Irish consumer online spending habits Do you shop online? (Base: 1,000 consumers) If yes, how frequently? (Base: 950 consumers who shop online) 52% with international retailers (Base: 1,000 consumers) 48% of their online purchases were with Irish SMEs versus Before the Covid-19 crisis, consumers estimated that… 95% 5% 37% 45% 18% No Rarely Frequently Yes Sometimes 1   Central Bank Annual Report 2019 4