Google has launched a free Consumer Barometer tool offering retailers insights into online shopping based on data from 46 countries.

Google's barometer features online shopping data from 150,000 people

The barometer includes data on how online video influences shopping habits, how often people go online, how many connected devices they have, how people research and purchase online and online behavioural differences between generations.

A user of the service could compare how people in Sweden research and purchase online compared to their neighbours in Finland or a consumer as far afield as Australia.

Google’s data has already found internet users in the UK are the most likely to buy groceries online, with 16% of UK consumers doing so compared with 3% in Europe.

Some 38% of under-24s researching purchases online in the UK used smartphones, compared with an average of 21% across all age groups.

The Consumer Barometer 2014 is the fourth iteration of the research tool and Google said it is the best in terms of its size and range of questions covered.

Google agency sales director Peter Cory said: “People now use digital media for a huge array of purposes but it isn’t always easy to tell what channels and activities are the most effective, particularly if you’re dealing with multiple markets and products.”