Email remains the most popular internet activity - 91% of internet users surveyed in 2022 used email, down marginally on 2021 figures (93%).
Internet banking is now the second most popular internet activity (90%), up by more than ten percentage points since 2021.
The most popular online purchase remains clothes, shoes, or accessories (including bags, jewellery, etc.) at 71% of internet users, although it has decreased by nine percentage points on 2021 figures.
More people are ordering ready-made food online. It rose to 58% of internet users in 2022, compared with 50% in the same period in 2021.
Dubliners were most likely to shop online (87%), followed by persons living in the South-East (84%), while internet users living in the Midland region were the least likely (70%).
Almost four in ten (39%) internet users in 2022 made an online appointment or reservation with public authorities or services such as the passport service or a hospital appointment.
In 2022, almost one in seven (15%) internet users had rented accommodation (room, apartment, house, holiday cottage, etc.) via a website or app from a private person (for example Airbnb). This compares with just 4% of internet users in 2021 and 10% in 2020.
This publication, Digital Consumer Behaviour, is the first of a series of publications presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey.
The second publication ‘Smart Technology’ will be published on 16 December 2022 and will focus on our use of internet-connected devices and systems, both inside and outside the home.
The third publication, Sustainability of Personal ICT devices, will be published on 19 December 2022 and will look at how we dispose of ICT devices such as smartphones or laptops and what factors influence our decisions when buying new devices, including environmental considerations.
The fourth and final publication, Internet Access and Usage in Ireland 2022, will be published on 21 December 2022 and will cover household internet access, individuals’ frequency of internet usage.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (12 December 2022) released Digital Consumer Behaviour 2022, which is the first of a series of publications presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey. (See Editor’s Note below for more details.)
The 2022 ICT Household Survey was carried out in the first half of 2022, when varying levels of COVID-19-related restrictions were in place. The data in this publication relates to the experience of persons who access the internet. This publication focuses on the internet usage of persons aged 16 years and over who have used the internet within the previous three months and examines their digital consumer behaviour. It also covers individuals’ use of e-commerce including sharing economy, internet activities, online learning, and their use of e-Government.
Commenting on the results, Maureen Delamere, Statistician in the Social Analysis Division, said: "There were varying levels of COVID-19 restrictions in place in the first half of 2022. The pandemic resulted in greater use of ICT and the internet, and, at times, different patterns of digital consumer behaviour.
At an overall level, more than nine in ten (92%) persons aged 16 years and older used the internet within the previous three months (from when they took part in the survey). Just 1% had used the internet but not recently (not within the previous three months) and only one in fourteen (7%) had never used the internet.
Buying Goods and Services Online
More than eight in ten (81%) internet users purchased goods and/or services online in 2022, an increase of two percentage points on the same period in 2021. Dubliners were most likely to shop online (87%), followed by persons living in the South-East (84%). Internet users living in the Midland region were the least likely (70%) to shop online.
The online purchase of clothes (including sports clothing), shoes or accessories (including bags, jewellery, etc.) was the most popular use of ICT for online purchases at more than seven in ten or 71% of internet users. Females were far more likely to buy clothes, shoes, or accessories online at 83% compared with 59% of males. Conversely, more than one in five males (21%) bought sports goods online, compared with 18% of females.
In 2022, nearly six in ten (58%) internet users purchased ready-made or takeaway food online.
Online Communications
Email was the most popular activity carried out on the internet, albeit dropping marginally on 2021 figures. Around 91% of internet users in 2022 used email compared with 93% in the same period in 2021, while 85% of internet users used internet telephoning/video calls (Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom, etc.), an increase of five percentage points on 2021 figures.
More than three in ten (31%) internet users reported doing an online course in 2022 (same as in 2021), while 38% of internet users reported using online learning resources (such as e-textbooks or online learning software).
Online booking of Accommodation and Transport
There was a rebound in the use of the accommodation sharing economy in 2022. Some 15% of internet users reported they had rented accommodation (room, apartment, house, holiday cottage, etc.) from a private person on a digital platform (for example Airbnb). This compares with just 4% of internet users in 2021 and 10% in 2020. Just 2% of internet users engaged in the transport collaborative economy activity (via a digital platform such as Uber, My Taxi, Free Now, etc.), compared with 1% of internet users in 2021 and 4% in 2020.
e-Government
Almost four in ten (39%) internet users in 2022 made an online appointment or reservation with public authorities or services such as with the National Driver Licence Service, the Passport Office, or public health appointment with a hospital, etc. At an overall level, of internet users who had accessed the online services of a public authority or service, more than six in ten (62%) had encountered no problems at all. One in four (26%) respondents said the digital platform was difficult to use and not user-friendly, while one in five (21%) experienced technical problems, such as when setting up their MyGovID to access online public services.”