That there 'interweb' still scary for UK shoppers

The internet is still perceived as a risky place to do business, with consumers citing security, data protection and spam as the major reasons to shop offline.

More than half (56 per cent) of a sample of UK consumers have expressed concerns about their information being sold on to third parties and a worrying 57 per cent said they are worried about their information being stolen from websites' databases. A similar number (55 per cent) expressed concerns about transmitting their credit card details and just under half (46 per cent) said they are worried that buying online is inviting unwanted spam email.

The findings, which came from a survey of 4,000 consumers by the Business Software Alliance into people's attitudes towards buying software online, are likely to worry e-tailers who have fought for years to redress the largely unfounded idea that the web is fraught with danger for shoppers.

Especially with the Christmas shopping bonanza upon us e-tailers will be hoping to ring up record sales this year and could certainly do without the negative press.

Mark Floisand, UK chair of the BSA, said: "The internet is clearly a convenient and time effective resource for purchasing Christmas presents and it is good to see that UK consumers are embracing online purchasing with enthusiasm. However, consumers appear to be put off to some extent by recent security scares that have plagued the media."

"With personal security such a big concern when shopping online, consumers need to educate themselves on how to protect themselves from dishonest vendors and other online threats," he added.

E-tail body IMRG last month launched a portal for buying Christmas presents intended to make the process says easier and without snags, and it has already reported brisk business.

The BSA's Floisand told silicon.com that users have to be sensible in their online shopping habits, buy from known and reputable vendors, avoid anything which strikes them as suspicious and realise that a good deal may not always be as great as it seems.

"Buyers need to remember that if a deal sounds too good to be true then it probably is," he said.