UK online shoppers enjoy cheapest mobile phone deals: Ofcom

A new study by UK regulator Ofcom has revealed that consumers in the UK enjoyed the cheapest mobile phone and communication service deals as against their European counterparts.

In contrast, consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and US were taking advantage of cheaper landline, mobile phone and broadband deals.

The conclusion comes after the communications regulator created five household profiles starting with a low use household having the most basic need to that of an affluent household that used a lot of communications service.

After the best deals within each of the countries had been mapped to the needs of household, the UK emerged as either the cheapest or second cheapest in four out of five of the profiles, the regulator noted.

The remaining top five positions were taken by European countries Italy, France, Germany and Spain, while US made it to the sixth rank.

On the other hand, premium television subscriptions in the UK were twice as expensive at £66 in the UK as against those in Germany at £27, according to Ofcom.

In another finding, the regulator said, UK citizens spent an average of almost £150 more on online shopping last year as against the previous 12 months, according to new figures.

According to Ofcom, internet shopping has emerged more popular in the UK than in the other countries it surveyed.

The average annual online outlay of the UK rose from £1,017 to £1,175 in 2012.

According to data, almost three-quarters of the population (73 per cent) bought goods for delivery via the internet at least once a month, while nearly one in four 24 per cent did so every week.

The UK also spent more online per person than any of the other major countries surveyed and adjusting for population size, the UK spent £307 per head more than Australia, the second highest country, and £615 higher than the average.

This was partly due to UK citizens shopping online more frequently with over half of the respondents saying they were shopping online more today than were two years ago.

Online portals were gaining more popularity at the cost of high street, due to price and ease of shopping experience.

In the UK, 59 per cent cited savings in money, in response to a question regarding their preference for online spending while 58 per cent said it was easier.

The boom seemed to have been fuelled by trust in online retailers.