Bangkok--25 Mar--ACNielsen More than half of Thai internet users have used the Internet to make a purchase—increasing the market for online shopping by 27 percent in the past two years—according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey on Internet shopping habits. Conducted from October to November 2007, polled 26,312 internet users in 48 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East. In Thailand, 500 internet users aged 15 and above were interviewed. According to our latest online shopping survey, 61 percent of Thais internet users claimed that they have shopped online, up from 48 percent over the previous survey in October 2005 representing a growth of 27 percent. “Online shopping in Thailand is growing rapidly during the past two years — partly attributed to the increasing internet penetration, the well developed commercial sites offering greater product variety, an improved security system and logistic,” said Usana Chantarklum, Director, Customized Research, The Nielsen Company, Thailand “ Shopping online is also less complicated than it was before. Commercial sites can be potential competitors which retailers should not underestimate.” Among Internet users, the highest percentage shopping online is found in South Korea, where 99 percent of those with Internet access have used it to shop, followed by the UK (97%), Germany (97%) and Japan (97%). Additionally, in South Korea, 79 percent of these Internet users have shopped in the past month, followed by the UK (76%) and Switzerland (67%). Globally, the most popular and purchased items over the Internet are Books (41% purchased in the past three months), Clothing/Accessories/Shoes (36%), DVDs / Games (24%), Airline Tickets (24%) and Electronic Equipment (23%). Across Asia Pacific, DVDs/Games is the most popular purchase item among Thai internet consumers, leading the region at 35 percent, followed by Books ( 30%)Computer Hardware (27%), Airline Ticket/ Reservations and Cosmetics / Nutrition Suppliers (same 24%) and Clothing /Accessories/Shoes (23%) in the past three months. Globally, the number of Internet consumers buying books over the Internet has increased seven percent in the past two years but the biggest increase has been in Clothing / Accessories / Shoes which increased from 20 percent to 36 percent. “Some of the biggest buyers of books on the Internet are from developing countries—China, Brazil, Vietnam and Egypt—indicating massive growth potential for online retailers that can specifically target these fast-growing markets. In Thailand, however more DVDs and Games are sold on internet than other products” said Usana.Payment Methods for Internet Shopping Credit cards are by far the most common method of payment for online purchases—60 percent of global online consumers and 59 percent of Asia Pacific consumers use their credit card for a recent online purchase. Online shoppers in Thailand however are more likely to choose “Bank transfer” (57%) than any other form of payment, ranking first in the region, when making online purchase followed by credit card and money transfer (same 35%). Of those paying with a credit card, Thais ranked highest among Asia Pacific internet shoppers for using Visa (84%) followed by Matercard (9%) and Amex (4%).Selecting Online Shopping Sites Similar to the world’s online population, Thai online shoppers tend to stick to the shopping sites they are familiar with, with 52 percent saying they buy mostly from the same site. “This shows the importance of capturing the new online shoppers as they make their first purchases on the Internet. If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty and their money,” said Usana In selecting sites on which to shop, 35 percent of Thai online shoppers were attracted by special offer, 32 percent used a search engine, 30 percent just surfed around to find the best commercial sites and 26 percent compared the price from different websites.Internet usage In Thailand, consumers access internet everyday mostly for checking their emails (81%), instant messaging (37%), Chat group ( 31%) , searching for products (27%) and social networking (26%). 48 Markets Covered: Argentina(Arg), Australia(OZ), Austria(AUT), Belgium(Be), Brazil(BZ), Canada(Ca), Chile(Chi), China(Chin), Czechs Republic(Cze), Denmark(DK), Egypt (EG), Estonia(Est), Finland(Fin), France(Fr), Germany(Ger), Greece(Gre), Hong Kong(HK), Hungary(Hun), India(In), Indonesia(Indo), Ireland(Ire), Italy(It), Japan(Jp), Korea(Kor), Latvia(Lat), Lithuania(Lith), Malaysia(MY), Mexico (MX), Netherlands(NL), New Zealand(NZ), Norway(NW), Pakistan (PAK) Philippines(PH), Poland(Po), Portugal(PG), Russia(Ru), Thailand(TH), Singapore(SG), South Africa(SA), Spain(Sp), Sweden(Sw), Switzerland(Swz), Taiwan(TW), Turkey(TK), UAE, United Kingdom(UK), United States (US) and Vietnam(Vn).