New data has revealed Irish shoppers are slow adopters of new e-commerce technologies, compared with their global counterparts.

The findings, from Nielsen, suggest this is the case for shoppers in the UK as well.

Alongside growth of online sales is the growing demand, globally, for greater e-commerce convenience.

The Nielsen Quest for Convenience report highlights rapidly growing demand for convenience in markets around the world - including Ireland and the UK.

It found that more than one-quarter of global consumers seek out products which make their life easier (27%) and are convenient to use (26%).

Despite leading global markets with the use of self-serve checkouts, shoppers in Ireland and the UK failed to show significant interest in using other e-commerce technologies.

Nielsen says 31% of Irish shoppers say they are already using self-service checkouts to reduce checkout times, compared with a global average of just 23%.

New technologies

But when it came to willingness to log-in to store wi-fi, only 29% of Irish shoppers said they would do so to receive more information or offers in-store.

This is compared with a global average of 36%, and 40% adoption in Asia-Pacific.

This region, according to Nielsen’s data, stands out as a world leader for e-commerce technology adoption.

Similar results were found for the use of QR codes - with 25% of Irish shoppers saying they would be willing to scan QR codes to access more detailed product information.

This is again compared with a global average of 34% and 39% of shoppers in Asia-Pacific.

The willingness to use online or mobile shopping lists drops to 28% in Ireland, compared with a 36% global average.

The illustration shows a woman holding a smartphone to a computer monitor which displays a QR code in Frankfurt Germany | Image: Patrick Pleul/DPA/PA Images

While the use of social media to help with purchase decisions was by far the least popular for Irish shoppers, at 15%.

This compares to some 30% of shoppers in the Asia-Pacific region who said the same.

Mike Watkins, head of retail insight from Nielsen, said: "Over the last four years, Nielsen has been tracking a rapidly growing demand for convenience in markets around the world and identified the factors driving this, which include shrinking household sizes, generational needs, and emerging technology.

"These drivers of convenience, and increasing demand for products and solutions which help to simplify lifestyles, are having an impact across a myriad of industries, particularly e-commerce.

"There is no doubt that UK and Ireland shoppers are demanding greater convenience from their retail experiences.

"But Nielsen's results show there is a clear need for more to be done in terms of educating and encouraging the use of new and emerging e-commerce technologies that will deliver the convenience that consumers demand".