Although it is already known for being a dominant force in the world of safe shopping online, the extent of Amazon’s grip on the UK’s e-commerce market was revealed in a new study published by Wunderman Thompson Commerce last week.

Analysts found that 35 per cent of all products sold via the web during the course of the recent nationwide lockdown were accounted for by Amazon’s site alone, meaning that it succeeded in boosting its share of sales from the 30 per cent stake it enjoyed in 2019.

The study also revealed that although this particular brand is clearly a hit with a large slice of the British population, it is also being viewed with a degree of wariness. 21 per cent of the 2000 consumers questioned said that they had doubts about whether Amazon’s commanding position was a good thing, since this kind of monopoly is not good for competition and edges out other retailers.

The report looked into the kinds of perks which are seen as valuable by consumers - those which help to shape spending decisions when presented with a choice of different retailers to use. Free shipping was the most commonly cited benefit, which is clearly something that benefits Amazon given the number of subscribers to its Prime service.

57 per cent of respondents said that product availability was an important aspect for any online retailer to offer, while 53 per cent said that price was also a predominantly important asset to keep in mind.

When questioned over what improvements could be made to online shopping services, the biggest talking point was the availability of a free returns policy, which is clearly something that not every e-commerce site is able to offer customers at the moment.