US consumers concerned about security when shopping online

The majority of US consumers consider the internet to be a useful way to make purchases, but they are not entirely comfortable with certain aspects of shopping online.

That is according to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which revealed that 78 per cent of Americans agree that shopping online is convenient.

A further 68 per cent of those surveyed said that they felt shopping online helped save them time.

However, most people indicated that they were ill at ease with online payment methods, with 75 per cent agreeing that they do not like sending personal or credit card information over the internet.

John B Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet Project and author of the report, commented: "These inconsistent notions about the online shopping environment show that, even as e-commerce matures, people´s confidence in the security of online shopping remains as an issue.

"If people´s worries about security of personal information were eased, the pool of online shoppers would be greater."

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