Most online shopping done during office hours

Mumbai: This bit of information is sure to make bosses frown — unless they are a part of this too. According to a study conducted by an e-gifting portal in Lucknow, majority of the online shopping is done during office hours. The portal confirmed that majority of the orders are placed between 12 noon and 4 pm and around 52 per cent of the orders come during the working hours and more than 35 per cent deliveries are done at office addresses.

A representative of the portal said that more than anything else, it was convenience which made people shop online during office hours. “A large number of shoppers said that they do not have internet connectivity at home and others said that delivery in office was easier since they did not have people at home to take deliveries while they were in office. They said that shopping and taking deliveries during office hours, mostly lunch hours, was extremely convenient for all,” he said.

While some workplaces in the state capital have already started blocking shopping and social networking websites with firewall, others have started limiting internet access to their employees. “Only those employees who are in marketing and research get access to a number of websites but those working in the core departments are not allowed unnecessary access to the net because we have found many of them doing window shopping online and spending hours on social network sites,” said an executive level officer in a multi-national company.

Another multi-national company has found a way out by allowing one hour internet access to all its employees for online shopping or social networking. “If we restrict this, then they will spend time on their smart phones,” said the executive of the company. A leading courier company that handles deliveries for major online shopping sites admitted that a large number of deliveries were made at office addresses