UK most internet based Economy

[Beest]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17405016

The UK does more buisness through the internet than the US !, pretty surprised to read this.

[Blueflare]

I'm not sure what caused this. I have a theory though that a lot of people here in Britain really dislike shopping (as in, going out to town/shopping centres, standing in queues, dealing with rude shop assistants, screaming kids, bad weather, extortionate parking/public transport charges - ETC) so we really took to buying stuff from home using the net.

[DanaC]

That makes sense

[infinite monkey]

So, we merkins LIKE all those things? Yeah...no.

[DanaC]

Probably not. But your shop assistants probably don't go out of their way to make your experience of their shop unpleasant.

And your malls have like....space... We don't have anywhere with enough space to build to do anything so roomy. Even our super duper malls are kind of claustrophobic.

[Blueflare]

American malls seem to have a lot more places to park and gas is so much cheaper so more people are able to drive to them (seriously, if ever you think your gas is expensive, just look at how much we pay). I think this is a pretty major factor.
Going anywhere in Britain costs a fortune and takes a really long time. We also have some of the longest working hours in Europe, so we don't have time.

[HungLikeJesus]

How many hours is the typical work week in Britain?

[Clodfobble]

It also seems to me that more Americans are specifically afraid of shopping online, because of credit card/identity theft and what not. I would guess that the UK culture has a longer history with mail-order delivery, so the idea of buying something from a distance and having it shipped to you is just more acceptable to begin with.

Me, I actually have to remind myself sometimes that it would be easier to drive the few miles to Target and have my item today, rather than wait 2-3 days for shipping. My initial instinct is to buy everything online.

[infinite monkey]

Puh. Blueflare, we don't care what everyone else pays for gas. This is America. We care what WE pay for gas. We expect to not get screwed by the oil presidents (I mean barons) but we do.

Besides, driving across Britain is equal to what, driving across Ohio? And we have far more commuters and commuters who commute a lot farther. Just saying. It's a big pet peeve o' mine: Oh YEAH? Guess what WE pay? Like it's a competition.

(Of course, take that with a grain of salt: I'm quite grumpy about my job and my car and my commute right now. Car was supposed to be done today (2nd accident not my fault while driving to work) and they haven't called and it's sort of hard to make arrangements when I don't know if I'll be picking up my car after work or not. And tomorrow I work 10-7. Crap. Never mind me.)

[sexobon]

I hope you get the monkeymobile back soon so you don't have to be doin' the grumpy monkey anymore.

[infinite monkey]

Grumpier now:

They called and my car is ready. They don't take personal checks (which I JUST found out) so I have to go to the bank to get a cashier's check and then I'll have 80 bucks left in the account so when my electric and CAR INSURANCE premium are auto-deducted tomorrow I'll be charged 30 bucks each for using overdraft protection.

I've got more money going in but it's not going to turn around quite that fast. So I guess I get my car tomorrow morning.

It's. Always. Something.

I picked a bad week to quit shooting heroin.

[sexobon]

Your auto insurance company may allow you to do a single payment adjustment to the automatic deduction schedule as long as it's arranged before the electronic transaction occurs. If they have this provision, delaying the transaction might be useful depending on how close the scheduled deduction is to the actual premium due date and if funds can be added during the interim. The feature may even be available via their website. If not, you can call and ask.

[infinite monkey]

Thanks sexobon. I went to my bank tonight and got the cashier's check. Luckily I had enough to cover because what I was depositing had to 'clear.' That always cracks me up about banks: everything is electronic but there are no real time transactions.

Anyway, I see what you're saying about the UK and the interwebz, Dana and blue and clod. Shop people are mean there? That's an anomaly here. Mostly we do get polite service, and I often end up joking around and making small talk with the nice folks.

blue, certainly I think that costs of transport would come into play. Especially if you were just going to deal with throngs of folks and mean shopkeepers! I guess there is more room here.

Clod, I think that's a good point too. My first experience with online shopping was too early in the advent and my ex and I ordered all our christmas gifts online. We didn't get most of them, on time. Still I've come around, and that's one of the reasons I have the insurance I have: ease of doing business online.