Enterprise Nation

According to payment solution provider, PayPal, almost 27 million Brits plan to shop online this Christmas. That represents one big sales opportunity for e-tailing home businesses. PayPal outlines what shoppers are looking for and advises on how to stay safe when shopping yourself.

Attracting custom

As spending remains tight around the UK this Christmas, shoppers will increasingly turn to the internet in search of a good deal, says PayPal.

The research shows over three-quarters (76%) of respondents planning to do some or all of their Christmas shopping online this year with one in five (21%) trying to spend less this year than last.

PayPal’s research also shows the things that matter most to online Christmas shoppers. In order of importance:

• Saving money or finding a bargain (62%)
• Free delivery (31%)
• Speed and convenience (31%)
• Ability to buy things they can’t find on the high street (15%)
• Buying from a trusted brand or website (14%)
• Rapid delivery time (11%)
• Ability to ship items directly to the recipient as a gift (5%)

Are you offering all these features to potential Christmas shoppers?

PayPal is also on hand with advice when roles are reversed and you’re the one doing the shopping.

Staying safe

Garreth Griffith, head of risk and security at PayPal offers these tips for safe online Christmas shopping:

1. Take the time to understand the refund policies for any online retailer you are planning to buy from, especially if they are not based in the UK. Make sure you are comfortable with the refund and return postage policies or compensation that you would get if something were to go wrong.
2. When making financial transactions online, take time to ensure that the site you’re entering your details on is legitimate and not a clone site or unsecure. For example look for the padlock symbol in the browser and make sure the website address (or URL) starts with ‘https’.  
3. Protect your personal details by using a payment method such as PayPal which does not share your personal information with retailers.
4. Make sure you use one of the latest browsers, such as Internet Explorer 7 or 8, to surf the web and have the latest versions of security software on your computer and set them to automatic update.  More tips on the PayPal security centre here.
5. Finally, if an offer seems too good to be true it probably is – make sure you use reasonable judgment when buying online. Try to think of the offline equivalent to what you are doing and ask yourself if it is wise to make the purchase.

Source: PayPal media centre