Families save £17 a week by shopping online

While three million unbanked Brits are unable to take advantage of internet bargains

London, UK May, 2008: Over three million Brits are wasting over £880  each year because they are unable to purchase online, according to research undertaken by IDT Finance, issuer of the Prime Card. The research directly compared both online and high street prices for items in the Retail Price Index, with the average household saving £17 of the £456  they spend weekly, by purchasing exclusively online.

While savings were small on food products at only one and a half percent, more expensive purchases tended to be a lot cheaper online. Consumers could save a combined 22 percent a year on electrical goods, clothing, entertainment and white goods.

“While this news will be welcomed by those feeling the effects of the credit crunch, it is crazy that so many still find themselves excluded from the savings the Internet has to offer,” said Jamie King, Director IDT Finance. “The benefits offered by Internet shopping are huge and can really help those who are watching their spending. But unless these people have access to a payment card, they are unable to take advantage of such savings.”

Example savings that some consumers are missing out on include: up to 50 percent on a flight from London to Lyon and 42 percent on Levi Jeans. Savings were also found in entertainment; for example the research found that same Les Miserable tickets could be bought for £30 less online than offline.
 
Other savings identified in the research include:
• Zanussi ZCE7680 Electric oven - £499 offline to £384 online
• Dyson DC08 Vacuum cleaner - £199 offline to £143 online
• JVC-GR D340 MINI DV camcorder - £249 offline to £200 online
• Levi 501 jeans - £50 offline to £28.99 online

With Egg recently cancelling over 16,000 customer credit card accounts, and more than half of all UK credit card applications being rejected, consumers will be increasingly looking at alternatives to traditional financial products.

King concluded: “The Prime Card was developed primarily as a solution for the unbanked and can help anyone without a bank account save by shopping online. However, prepaid cards are going to become more and more important across the board in coming years due to the pressure credit providers are putting on consumers.”