The latest research reveals that British seniors have a world of choice at their fingertips. They are now among the most tech-savvy consumers in the world, with 78 per cent of internet users over 65 currently shopping online.

The report, which was conducted by global retail property experts, Colliers International, also demonstrates that the largest European e-commerce market is found in the UK with online sales currently running at around £130bn annually. However, the research shows that if the British have wholeheartedly embraced online retailing, other countries have been slower to move their shopping online and while online shopping is growing rapidly, the way that people purchase and pay for their goods around the world remains very diverse.

Italians are among the least tech-savvy shoppers in Western Europe as only 68 per cent have access to the internet and just 26 per cent are shopping online.

Paul Souber, Colliers’ Head of EMEA Retail, comments: “In a globalised age, it can be natural to think that shopping is becoming an increasingly homogenised process. However, as this study shows, the ways in which people shop and pay for their shopping remains very diverse - and often surprising.

“These patterns have important ramifications for retailers and also for the developers and owners of shopping space. While online retailing has undoubtedly curtailed some retailers’ appetite for expanding their store networks, it can also generate demand for property as what were once purely online brands open physical stores and where logistics facilities are needed to support the fulfilment of online orders.”

Cash remains the predominant method of paying for shopping, particularly in China, Russia, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy. French shoppers use more cheques than any other European nation while consumers in the Netherlands and Sweden are heading slowly towards cashless society. 

Paul Souber comments: “Changes to consumer spending capacity, consumer choices, demographic-urbanisation and the rapid accession of technological adaption are re-structuring shopping behaviour. Where people shop, what they’re buying, how they shop and even how they pay for things is all being influenced by technology and the internet in some way.  Understanding how people shop in individual markets is not only of relevance to local retailers, but also to those brands operating across borders.”