A new survey from Opinium has found that e-commerce sites are losing around £18 billion a year because they have not embraced modern payment platforms, according to Internet Retailing.

Consumers and businesses alike were questioned in the report, almost three quarters of outlets that offer safe shopping online admitting that they have not updated their checkout service in the past 24 months.

86 per cent of retailers said that they were hoping to boost their online sales this year, but experts argue that unless changes are made to the payment options that are available, such goals will be difficult to achieve.

16 per cent of consumers who responded to the study said that their biggest frustration with safe shopping online was the amount of time it takes to get through the checkout at most sites. A similar proportion said that they have given up on making a purchase altogether because a retailer did not give them the option to pay with a single click, instead pushing them to complete lengthy forms.

22 per cent of shoppers said that they would be in favour of retailers adopting modern approaches to online payments, streamlining the checkout process and allowing them to reduce the amount of time it takes to place an order.

Cart abandonment rates will remain consistent with current levels, or could even rise in the coming years, if retailers continue to ignore the calls for payment system modernisation, the report’s authors argue.

Convenience is certainly seen as one of the biggest perks of online shopping, but while sites have been improved to make finding products easier, the checkout remains an obstacle that prevents many people from enjoying the experience. If retailers follow this advice then they could increase their sales significantly.