Bangkok--27 Nov--Spark Communications
Visa survey finds one in every three dollars spent online is at an overseas website
To keep up with the latest looks and trends, fashion lovers across Asia Pacific are expanding their wardrobes with outfits from overseas online malls and boutiques, according to the Visa eCommerce Consumer Monitor[1].
Among the 2,294 respondents across the region polled for the survey, the most popular online purchases on overseas websites in the past 12 months were clothes/shoes (14 percent), followed by airline tickets (12 percent) and online auctioning (10 percent)[2]. Clothes/shoes (55 percent) were also the most popular local and overseas online shopping category overall.
Mohamad Hafidz, regional head, e-commerce, Asia Pacific, Visa, said: “It has been predicted that consumer eCommerce sales in Asia Pacific will reach US$168.7 billion by 2011[3]. As online shopping carts continue to be filled with the season’s latest lines, Visa is working to promote a safe online payment environment by securing all points in the electronic payment process — from payment terminals at merchants to online checkouts.”
From exclusive deals to budget steals, respondents said they are getting their shopping fix from overseas websites because products and services were not available on local websites (49 percent), it was cheaper for them to purchase from overseas websites (23 percent), and because overseas websites offer better discounts (11 percent).
In the 12 months ending June 2009, respondents reported spending US$871 on overseas websites, which represented one-third (34 percent) of the average consumer e-commerce spending of US$2,526 in Asia Pacific.
Overall, the region’s top spenders on online purchases were from South Korea (US$ 3128), Singapore (US$2,976) and Japan (US$2,734).
Somboon Krobteeranon, country manger, Thailand, Visa said: “The survey shows that fashion, music downloads and travel-related purchases such as accommodation and air tickets make up the majority of online purchases for local and overseas websites. Interestingly, there is strong evidence that demand for items that require overseas shipping such as books and shoes is much lower as compared with similar purchases made from local websites where cross-border shipping isn’t an issue.”
For the majority of respondents, the main overseas online shopping destination was the US, with respondents from Singapore (60 percent), Australia (53 percent), India (51 percent), China (22 percent), South Korea (17 percent) and Japan (13 percent) saying most of their international online purchase were from websites located in the US.
Among the respondents, while both sexes tend to shop online (women 90 percent; men respondents 87 percent), women were more likely to buy clothes/shoes online (61 percent for women, 46 percent for men).
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
About Visa e-Commerce Consumer Monitor
The Visa e-Commerce Consumer Monitor tracks quarterly online spending trends of internet consumers in six key countries and territories in Asia Pacific. The Monitor also asks respondents about drivers and barriers to spending online, and their future intention to make purchases on the internet. The findings from this Monitor offer important insights into consumer online spending behaviour and are part of Visa’s commitment to providing information that help economies grow. The data covers the period from Q2 2008 through Q1 2009.
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