By Anhar Khanbhai

Online shopping among Australians may have risen of late, but almost 40% have recalled having a bad experience while buying on the internet, according to a Galaxy Research survey.

The biggest complaints are long waiting periods for deliveries, failed deliveries and incorrect products arriving at the shoppers’ doorstep.

The findings were from a Galaxy Research survey conducted for Appliances Online involving 1,019 people, aged 18 to 64 countrywide.

The number of Australians using online shopping had increased in the past 18 months, but it still lagged the US and Britain according to Choice spokeswoman Ingrid Just.

"There's still a tendency for Australians to shop on Australian sites particularly in the older demographic," she said.

"So it probably comes down to a couple of things. Firstly just how many Australian online shopping websites there are per capita and secondly that we may not be as fast to take it up as other countries.”

The survey found that 5% were not at all confident about shopping online and that percentage doubled for baby boomers.

However, Just said Australians over the age of 50 were increasingly using the Internet to shop.

Winning Appliances chief executive officer John Winning said his largest demographic for the online section of his business were the over 55s.

"People think it's teenagers and 20 year olds using the Internet, but it's everyone," he said.

The research also found that 54% preferred to buy large, high value items from Australian sites, which Winning attributed to shipping prices and compliance issues.

According to the survey 63% of online shoppers expected free delivery.

Winning said customers felt more secure if they could speak to someone about complaints and issues so a phone line was essential.