Credit card purchases and parental restrictions provide two daunting barriers to teenagers shopping online, according to a recent survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers. In fact, only 26% of those surveyed said they shop online — and just 2% said it is their primary reason for going online.
This is a relatively small portion of the teen-aged respondents that said they go online at least once a day, according to the study. Most (83%) said they access the Internet to send or receive e-mail, with 44% saying this was their primary reason for doing so. Sixty-eight percent said they use the Internet to do research, and just over half (51%) said they do so to play games.
Overall, 31% of teens with Internet access have purchased items online, compared with 76% of online adult users. Another 25% said they had shopped online but not made a purchase. Among those that have, 78% said they used a parent’s credit card to pay for their purchases.
While parental access and the inability to pay for items were the two biggest obstacles to teen shopping, respondents also cited privacy issues and difficulty returning items as stumbling blocks. Very few respondents said they had not had problems with online shopping.
The report recommends that online retailers explore digital wallets and other pre-paid options to stimulate teen spending. One in five teens surveyed, however, said that nothing would make them more likely to purchase online in the future.
The survey was conducted from April 26 through May 2 among teenagers aged 13-18 in online households using NFO’s Interactive Panel.
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