LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Britain's love of online shoppingshows no signs of slowing, with average spending per householdrising 16 percent in 2012 to 1,175 pounds ($1,900), more thantwice the level in France and nearly ten times spending inItaly, Ofcom said on Thursday.
Consumers in Britain also order goods online more often thanshoppers in any of the 17 countries surveyed by the telecomsregulators for its annual International Communications Reportthat it publishes in December.
Some 73 percent of respondents in the survey bought items online at least monthly, Ofcom said, and 24 percent weekly,ahead of second and third-placed Japan and Germany.
The regulator asked, in 9,070 interviews conducted inSeptember and October this year, why Britons were more likely toshop online. It found that UK shoppers trusted online retailersmore than shoppers in other countries and had greater confidencein the security of shopping sites.
Ofcom said seven out of 10 people in Britain felt securewhen paying for products online, higher than any other country.
The survey also found that Britain, where four networkoperators slug it out and where there is strong competition inthe retail market, had the cheapest mobile phone deals, withprices half or more than half the level found in Germany, Spainand the United States.
It is also cheapest for fixed-line broadband, but it wasbeaten in landline deals by Germany and Italy.
Britons spent more on pay-TV than their counterparts inFrance, Germany, Italy and the United States, it found, althoughOfcom noted the premium charged for HD services pushed up pricesin the UK.
The survey was compiled by independent market researchagency Populus.
Vodafone (VOD)