Online shopping peaks at the end of the working week, while in-store shopping has retained its Saturday crown, according to new research by Magna Global.

The media investment company has released the results of its latest research as part of its ‘The Changing Face of Retail’ research.

The findings also show that group buying websites and price comparison sites are declining in popularity, losing about 9% of their audiences in the past 12 months.

Online shopping has increased across the board in the past year, with shopping via desktop computers rising by 11%, shopping on a smartphone rising by 19% and shopping using a tablet devise rocketing by 52%.

Victor Corones (pictured), managing director of Magna Global Australia, said: “This year’s data shows some important shifts in retail customer dymanics. Group buying sites, price comparison sites and catalogue aggregator sites have declined in popularity by about 9%. This also highlighted the other data in the study where last year 80% of people said they made an attempt to get the best deal, but that figure has dropped to 74% this year.”

Commenting on the study’s finding that online shopping peaks in Australia on Thursdays and Fridays, while in-store shopping has kept its traditional Saturday peak time, Corones said: “This shift in shopping behaviour is an important detail for marketers and an indication that media dollars should be shifting to meet shoppers’ online considerations.”

In another sign that online shopping might be waning, this year 53% of people said they like to engage with a real person when buying a product, compared to 49% last year.