Leading market analysts at Forrester have released a report suggesting a quarter of European shoppers use the web to research products, but 55% still don’t regularly buy online from their computers, mobile or other digital channels.

The report classifies these people as “Digital Holdouts” and it appears that this difficult to monetize market segment may out-number all other users.

“Traditional” online users account for 26% of European shoppers, online researchers make up 25%, mobile users 4%, and “Super Shoppers” who use all channels very frequently are just 15%. Even worse for site owners, those who do zero digital shopping still account for up to 30% of the entire European market.

The research also suggests that there is no single solution to the issue because of demographical diversity throughout the region.

“eBusiness professionals must understand key nuances in shopping behavior across European markets to create the most relevant shopping experience for their target consumers,” writes Michelle Beeson, author of the report.

Sweden has the most “Holdouts” and “Researchers” in the seven studied European markets considered by the report. “The UK continues to have the greatest proportion of “Traditional Web Shoppers,” yet Italian shoppers are edging ahead of other European markets when it comes to researching and buying across multiple devices as “Super-Shoppers,” according to Forrester.

“Growth of the Super-Shopper segment is more apparent in other global markets than in Europe,” notes Beeson. “In the US, Super-Shoppers account for over one quarter of the segmentation versus 15% across Europe.”

Further information can be found in the final report issued at www.forrester.com.