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IRISH PEOPLE ARE shopping online less than the average internet user in the European Union and considerably less than our neighbours in the UK, according to recently released figures.
The latest Eurostat figures show that nearly 60 per cent of EU internet users now shop online. In 2012, 75 per cent of individuals aged 16 to 74 had used the internet in the previous 12 months.
Among the member states, the highest shares of online shoppers were registered in the United Kingdom (82 per cent of internet users), Denmark and Sweden (both 79 per cent), Germany (77 per cent), and the lowest in Romania (11 per cent), Bulgaria (17 per cent), Estonia and Italy (both 29 per cent).
In Ireland 57 per cent of internet users shopped online over the 12 month period.
Clothes and sports goods and travel and holiday accommodation are the most common online purchases among internet users. Most online shoppers in Ireland are buying travel and accommodation with 26 per cent shopping to clothes and sports good and 21 per cent buying books, magazines and e-learning material.
Almost one quarter of internet users in the 28 EU countries reported that they bought books, magazines or e-learning material from the internet (23 per cent in 2012 compared with 19 per cent in 2008), while fewer than one internet user in ten ordered food and groceries. Irish users followed this trend with only 6 per cent shopping for food online.
While our numbers are much lower than countries like the UK and Germany, the level of internet shopping has seen a steady increase in Ireland since 2008.
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I wonder if someone did take him out 30 years ago, would Zimbabwe be the basket case he turned it into, or would some other “leader”, equally malingnant have just taken his place.
It’s tempting to write Africa off, but these things are not inevitable. The neighbours in Botswana were a landlocked, diamond rich former colony. Not an obvious candidate for success. And yet they were, partly because of Seretse Khama’s leadership, but also because people kept voting for him.
Unfortunately, for every relative success story there are 50 failed states. Nation building is hard and requires guts, enterprise, selflessness and vision. Mugabe wasn’t even asked to nation build. He was handed a fully functioning, very rich and successful country and managed to level it in less than a generation. That takes mean spiritness, stupidity, and the most crass selfishness and myopic vision, which, unfortunately, seems to be the calibre of most African leaders. Take and destroy is what they do and in the meantime, the west continues to do what the west does best. Assuage our feelings of western guilt by feeding, clothing and vaccinating the Africans left behind by their very own “leaders”.
We can write much of Africa off if the Chinese economy falters, And also, we can take Australia with it.
Problem with africa is its full of africans
“Unfortunate event”
In who’s eyes ????
Funny that at Mandela’s memorial when the camera would go to different world leaders the crowd would cheer or boo depending on who it was on. Mugabe got a massive cheer and Bush Jnr got a massive boo. Ya no your screwed when Mugabe gets a bigger cheer than ya!
It was an ANC crowd at the funeral & Mugabe was a big supporter if the ANC during apartheid times so I’d be sure that’s why he was cheered rather than for his recent policies.
That says a lot more about the crowd than it does about Bush Jr.
Whatever you can accuse Bush Jr. of, laying waste to his country, starving his people, killing the productive farmers and having an ugly greedy, mean wife isnt among them. An ANC crowd can turn into a vicious mob at the turn of a hair. Being rational abd discerning is not their thing.
Hurricane Katrina anyone? ;)
Sadly, probably the latter.
Problem with Africa is the tribal government system, and the mentality of it’s people.
@coom
Same could be said for a lot of countries..including ours!
Christina who wrote that paper? Dept of the Taoiseach?
While it is true that Robert Mugabe has a few character flaws, it cannot be denied that he is an active leader who stands up for his people. Much better than the shower we have running this country, he is. You can bet Robert Mugabe would have burned the bondholders and sent the IMF home with a flea in their ear.
Pity he didn’t have a fatal “accident” here.
Proably after totruring them first…Thing is we can elect another incompetant shower to govern us.Mugabe is there forever like a big black blood sucking tick on Zimbabwae.But then thats what happens if you let Marxist gun waving loons loose on a perfectly functioning and producing ,albeit not without is fault state.Turn it into a dictatorship that makes the previous oppression by whomever look like paradise.
have your say