A survey conducted by YouGov has found that 78 per cent of consumers under the age of 24 have a greater likelihood of carrying out safe shopping online with a small selection of retailers, whereas their older counterparts exhibit much lower levels of loyalty in comparison.

The average proportion of people who define themselves as loyal to a handful of retail brands is 62 per cent, although women tend to be more loyal than men, with 68 per cent of female respondents saying that they prefer to restrict themselves to shopping with outlets they have used before.

The issue of consumer loyalty is especially prominent at the moment, with smaller firms that offer safe shopping online trying to work out how they can win customers away from their rivals and retain their current user base.

Two thirds of those questioned said that they would be more likely to switch allegiances if they could get better value for money from other retailers. Almost half said that e-commerce sites should offer a simplified search experience which filters out irrelevant products with greater accuracy.

Interestingly, a tiny four per cent slice of the buying public believe that they are swayed by the presence of content on shopping sites which is designed to engage with them and offer them lifestyle tips or associated coverage.

This could suggest that retailers need to focus less thoroughly on developing their social and multimedia presences, since while it may seem important to gain as many Instagram followers and YouTube subscribers as possible, this may not have much of an impact on brand loyalty as lowering prices and improving the on-site shopper experience.

Security is not an issue covered in this particular report, although it must also be factored in when working out what consumers look for in a retailer.