UK shoppers buy more online than other European countries according to the latest study from Ofcom.

The report found 79% of UK internet users had ordered goods or services online in 2010 compared to 27% of Italian consumers. This is the sixth annual study published by the communications watchdog looking at the online habits of 17 countries.

The research also shows that with an average of 84 minutes spend on shopping websites many consumers may spend long time browsing before going for a purchase.

These figures are great news for anyone running an e-commerce business. If you’re thinking of starting to sell goods online, or you want to add online payments to an existing site, there are lots of things to consider:

• Creating a product catalogue
• Make it easy for customers to search
• Creating Bestsellers and ‘customers who bought this also bought…’
• Customer centred features, log-in, order tracking etc
• Thinking about how a customer gets from the shopping cart through to secure payment

Our guide to building an effective e-commerce site, which also includes advice on taking payments securely and compliance, could be a good starting point.