Half of web users bought online takeaways and streamed TV

The number of females purchasing goods and services online was 83%, compared to 75% of males.

Half of internet users in Ireland have bought takeaways or other ready-made food online this year, the Central Statistics Office has said.

Its latest publication on the digital consumer behaviour of Irish households also found that 83% of people using the internet here read or downloaded online news in 2021. Four in five (80%) also used the internet for telephone or video calls, such as Zoom, FaceTime and Skype.

Seven in 10 (70%), meanwhile, used social networking sites, with this figure rising to 89% for 16-29-year-olds. Instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Messenger were used by 84% of internet users.

On purchases, the CSO found that clothes, shoes and accessories were the most popular things to buy online, with eight in every 10 people buying these items.

The number of females purchasing goods and services online was 83%, compared to 75% of males. Households with dependent children were more likely to shop online, the CSO said.

For households with two or more adults with dependent children, nine in 10 internet users bought goods or services online. For households of two adults and no children, this figure was just 78%. People who were more affluent and lived in more affluent areas were also more likely to shop online.

For those buying takeaways or other ready-made foods, younger age cohorts were far more likely to make such purchases online, with 60% of 16-29-year-olds and 67% of 30-44-year-olds doing so.

Half of us, meanwhile, bought or subscribed to apps or streaming services for films and TV series, while 38% bought or subscribed to music streaming services.

Eight in 10 internet users now buy goods or services onlinehttps://t.co/CnHeC0oznD #CSOIreland #Ireland #Internet #InternetUsage #WorkingFromHome #InternetSecurity #InternetPurchase #ICTSkills #Households #Connectivity pic.twitter.com/JEHF7hKtK3

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) December 10, 2021

Nearly four in 10 people bought DIY, gardening products or home furnishings online, while a quarter of us bought computers, mobile phones or accessories online in 2021. A further 19% of people bought medicine or dietary supplements online while 17% of us purchased apps related to health or wellness.

With education - as well as our social lives - greatly disrupted during Covid-19, many turned to online learning as a means of upskilling during the pandemic according to the CSO.

Just under one third of people (31%) reported doing an online course, compared with just 13% in 2019. Females were slightly more likely to do an online course than males, which is also a reversal of 2019 data.

The CSO said this data was collected in the first two quarters of the year, with Ireland subject to varying Covid-19 measures including the lockdown at the beginning of 2021.