Our cheeky habit: One in five do it in bed and 13 per cent do it four times or more a day…

When the lights go out, we get it out! Yup, that’s right, Australians have a bad habit that involves our credit card and a whole lot of clicking.

Are you guilty of something we usually do in public? Surrounded by hundreds of people? It’s hard to fight the urge sometimes when it’s just there, isn’t it? That’s right, we’re talking about online shopping – what did you think we were talking about?!

According to a new survey by StarTrack, one in five of us love to online shop after dark. Interestingly, our reason for shopping at night stems from our embarrassment of purchasing certain items.

And just what are those things we consider too cringeworthy to take to the counter at a store? Underwear, hair removal and personal hygiene products, medication and….action figures?

During the day, 27 per cent of Australians are guilty of shopping while at work and 3 per cent admitted they even took a day off sick to be able to sign for online orders.

As shopping habits change, so does our want and need to score a bargain. 24 per cent of shoppers try an item on in-store then buy it online later, while 13 per cent couldn’t save money to save their lives: they shopped online three to four times a day.

We’d also hate for our partner, friends or boss to find out what we’re doing behind closed doors or secretly looking at when we’re not being watched.

So how much are we spending? Around 75 per cent of those surveyed will spend up to $300 per month – that’s a lot of shopping.

Roy Morgan Research also looked into online shopping in Australia and found 7.6 million Australians buy one of more products every month, and that food and beverages were being bought online in droves. We also love to buy magazines and books – 2 million Australians purchased reading material every four weeks last year.

So tell us below: when was the last time you went shopping online? What did you buy? Do you prefer it to traditional shopping? 

The findings have been released to coincide with the launch of the Star Track Online Retail Industry Awards People’s Choice Award which calls on all Australians to vote for their favourite online retailer at www.startrack.com.au/peopleschoice