A survey from a vendor of Internet blocking software confirms what most retailers have known for some time--a lot of consumers are shopping from work. But it also reports something that most may not know--a third of consumers whose companies prohibit shopping during work hours shop anyway.
Pearl Software Inc., a Philadelphia-based software company, commissioned Harris Interactive to survey consumers who have Internet access from work to learn their shopping habits and attitudes. Half of employees with online access plan to do holiday shopping from their company computers this year, the survey reported. Further, over a third said they would spend half a day to two days a week shopping online.
Nearly a quarter of employees with online access at work said their company has a formal policy prohibiting personal Internet use. Yet, a third of these employees said they will violate the policy so they can shop at work. Another 20% of online employees had no idea if their company has a policy or not.
Pearl Software dubs its survey--the second annual--the Scrooge Report. It is careful not to lay all the blame for employees’ online shopping habits on the employees. "This is a huge wake-up call for companies to communicate what is and is not acceptable and to verify adherence to policies," said David A. Fertell, CEO of Pearl Software. "Most employees are not allowed to spend hours at the mall on company time. The same is true for web shopping and it is a company's responsibility to explain these policies to employees. Online shopping makes sense for busy, overworked employees. However, companies need to watch out for workers who abuse Internet privileges and sap network bandwidth."
Harris Interactive conducted the online survey between Nov. 19 and 21 among 2,123 U.S. adults aged 18 and over, of whom 1,464 were employed, and 1,325 of whom had online access at work.
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