Customer experience firm Conchango found that 7% of Britons know someone who has shopped online while under the influence. 

Conchango believes that while many UK consumers are able to curb their desires as sober high street shoppers, these inhibitions quickly disappear when they reach for the mouse in a state of intoxication.

The survey also found that 6% of all Britons know someone who has shopped online in a state of undress.

Paul Dawson, head of customer experience at Conchango, said: “In the past, experts have said that consumers are often put off shopping online through security fears. But it would appear that all caution is going out of the window following a drunken session.”

“Customers will behave very differently when in the comfort of their own homes and ‘hidden’ behind the anonymity afforded by the Internet. This is underlined by the fact that many do it in a state of undress.”

Conchango said that the signs are that BLOTO is set to get worse. By 2009, the value of the online shopping market will have risen to £80bn, as one in four retail purchases in the UK are made online, according to the Interactive Media Retail Group.

Dawson continued: “This makes web customers very hard to predict without detailed and specific insight, especially as what they say they will do is often not what actually happens. Retailers should consider how this impacts web-shopping decision-making and tailor new online facilities, features and services accordingly.”

Conchango commissioned the research from GfK NOP, formerly known as NOP World, as part of its investigations into online spending behaviour.

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