A recent survey of 150 online shoppers from around the Mansfield area uncovered some disturbing findings for local businesses.

The survey, carried out on behalf of Mansfield-based company dijitul, found many local retailers with online shops are not undertaking basic online security measures for their shoppers.

Whilst our high streets are in decline, online shopping continues to grow in popularity with wider product selections available, sometimes for half the price they are in stores.

The study found that while most of the people questioned now shop online, many are not buying from local retailers’ websites. One reason given was that many local shops’ website are shown as ‘not secure’.

Owner of dijitul, Dave Hartshorne, explained: “If a website doesn’t have basic security measures in place, visitors could be alerted by Google and by their computer’s antivirus software that the site isn’t safe to buy from.”

The survey found many Mansfield shoppers stuck with names they know and trust when shopping online. Companies like Amazon, Tesco, Asda and eBay were the most popular online shops in the survey. Survey-goers stated the wide variety of items available, delivery options and trust in each company’s website swayed them to make their purchases.

When researchers digged a little deeper, respondents stated that many did not feel safe shopping with local companies online and after being advised to visit websites that possess a padlock in their URL, many shoppers ended up back at Amazon or eBay.

Dave said all was not lost for Mansfield retailers though: “If local companies want to compete with the likes of Amazon and eBay, they need to cover the basics and have their website’s security fully up-to-date – this includes installing an SSL certificate on their site.”