CROWDED malls can be a reluctant shopper’s idea of hell. Online shopping is an increasingly popular way of avoiding the masses.

Australians are shopping online more than ever before. The latest Sensis business survey found one in four Australians intended to do some Christmas shopping on the internet this year.

A variety of retailers

The most popular Australian shopping website, according to online ratings house Hitwise, is eBay.com.au.

Together with its US parent site ebay.com, it accounts for more than 30 per cent of the market.

Online book and music retailer Amazon came in third, with Trading Post, Ticketek and DealsDirect rounding out the top five.

A recent survey from Deloitte found that online shoppers who bought traditional gifts opted for books, DVDs, videos and tickets.

Based on trends over Christmas 2006, Hitwise predicts department store websites will undergo a traffic surge before December 25 as shoppers browsed online, but continued to go in store to buy.

Shop securely

There are concerns about he safety of shopping online raises concerns but Australian Bankers Association head David Bell said the incidence of online crime in relation to the number of transactions made was relatively low.

He said there were two traps online shoppers fell into - one was providing too much information and running the risk of identity theft, the other was not receiving the goods or services you've paid for.

"The incidence of online crime, in relation to financial institutions is pretty low actually, relatively low compared to the number of transactions made out there," Mr Bell said.

Use your credit card

Mr Bell recommended using a credit card over online payment services such as PayPal.

"One of the great advantages of using your credit card is that it provides a number of services for the cardholder, including the ability to dispute a charge if you don't get the good or service"

Tips to keep safe

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has the following tips for online shoppers:

*Be aware of who you are dealing with. If it’s not a household name make sure that contact details check out.

*Read the product description carefully and make sure you’re aware of the size, colour and value of the goods.

*Read the fine print and familiarise yourself with the company’s refund and cancellation policy.

*Check what the total cost will be, including postage, insurance, and currency conversion charges. *Print and keep a copy of all stages of the transaction.

*Only make payments on a secure site.

*Do not send bank account or credit card details via email.

*And the old chestnut - if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Do you shop online? Have any tips for online shoppers?, VOTE and have your say!

Online shopping has become very popular here in the UK. eBay is very popular, as is Amazon, and grocery shopping is getting used more and more. Prices are often lower than in the shops, and of course - no queues.