Children are becoming more active adopters of e-commerce sites, with their interest in online shopping has more than tripled from 2% to 9%, according to global cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab’s annual report on kid’s safety. The report is based on anonymized statistics from Kaspersky’s products with parental control functionality.

Kaspersky’s report found that, like adults, children are enjoying the benefits of online shopping and are browsing (and sometimes buying) in a way which will probably become the only way to shop in the future.

According to the statistics, youngsters’ growing interest in e-commerce sites is a global trend, however the extent varies depending on locations.

According to the report, the largest share (and also biggest growth) in online shopping searches has been in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (23%). This is followed by a significant percentage gap in other regions: North America (15%), Europe and the Middle East (11%), Asia and Latin America (9%).

While there are clearly some regional differences, the most searched for retailers by children across the globe include AliExpress, Amazon and Ebay. When it comes to Chinese retailers in particular, kids' queries are growing steadily year on year. Sports apparel (Nike, Adidas), electronics (Apple, Samsung), and fashion brands (Gucci, Vans, Supreme, Zara, Bershka) are the most searched for sites among this young consumer audience, said the report.

But searching for goods online, as well as visiting specific retailers' pages does not necessarily imply actual spending. Kids might just be looking at things they want or compiling 'wish lists' to share with friends and family, claims the report.

"The Internet offers a lot of opportunities for kids, and we are now seeing many children becoming a key audience for online retailers. Whether they spend money or not, they need support and guidance from adults who can help them avoid inadvertently coming across inappropriate content, suffering money loss or unnecessarily sharing their personal data,” said Anna Larkina, a web content analysis expert at Kaspersky.

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