A new report from Give as you Live has revealed that 48 per cent of consumers in the UK have carried out safe shopping online while in bed, according to Internet Retailing.

A tenth of the 2,000 people questioned as part of the study said that they even shopped using a smartphone or tablet while using the toilet, revealing that portable gadgets are continuing to break down barriers when it comes to helping people scratch their retail itch.

Eleven per cent of respondents said that they shop online whilst in social situations with others, including while eating out at restaurants or having drinks with friends at the pub. And there is the strong suggestion from report spokesperson, Steff Lewis, that this kind of behaviour is not especially polite, even if it does seem to be becoming more widespread.

While the internet changed the world of retail in a big way, the emergence of portable gadgets with high speed connectivity has made an arguably bigger impact on society, altering the way people shop and also giving them much more choice over when and where they do it.

There are definite benefits to being able to enjoy safe shopping online while you are in bed or on the move, but when a smartphone or tablet gets in the way of socialising and people feel the need to buy things even when they are out with friends and family, perhaps there is a line that needs to be drawn.

No doubt future technological changes will allow for a more seamless shopping experience so that people can make purchases without doing so intruding on their lives. But for the time being, people will continue to use phones to shop in a host of strange places.