ALMOST nine in 10 survey respondents across six rapidly growing e-commerce markets said they had bought products and services online in the past year, with the biggest chunk of expenses going to travel purchases.
The 2010 Visa eCommerce Consumer Monitor covered 3,156 regular Internet users from mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.
Respondents spent the most on travel, paying an average of US$550 over the last 12 months for airline tickets, accommodation and travel agent services. This was out of an average of US$2,086 spent in total over a one-year period.
Online shoppers from Taiwan reported spending almost double the survey average (US$4,041), while those from mainland China (US$2,557) and Malaysia (US$2,006) also spent above the median.
Making purchases on the Internet was most popular among respondents from mainland China and Taiwan where nearly all those surveyed (98 per cent and 97 per cent respectively) said they had shopped online in the past 12 months. .
Paul Jung, head of eCommerce, international, Visa, said: “China in particular continues to attract attention of many e-commerce retailers because of the growing number of affluent consumers who are going online to shop.”
