Online shopping is now a mainstream trend, according the results of a survey released yesterday showing that nearly 90 percent of local office workers shop online, spending an average of NT$2,520 per month.
The survey conducted by the 1111 job bank on the shopping habits of office workers shows that 89.6 percent of respondents make purchases on the Internet every two months on average.
Among these respondents, 67.4 percent said they shop online because they can save money thanks to the large amount of discounts available, while 49.7 percent said free delivery is appealing.
Meanwhile, 48.8 percent said they have more options, since the Internet presents endless possibilities in terms of types, sizes and styles.
POPULAR ITEMS
The survey found that clothes, household items and books are among the most popular online shopping items.
About 22 percent of those polled said they felt they had been cheated in their online shopping experiences. The three most common situations were purchased items that were very different from what they ordered (31.9 percent), sellers who did not deliver the products (26.4 percent) and misuse of personal information and scam telephone calls (23.6 percent).
The survey found that 34.7 percent of those who felt cheated would report the case to the police, while 45.8 percent would do nothing after an unsatisfactory purchase.
Henry Ho (何啟聖), the job bank’s public relations director, said long working hours was one reason local office workers turn to Web shopping.
ADVICE
He advised online shoppers not to shop online from work to avoid having their personal information stolen. They should also ensure the security of any page asking for credit card details, he said.
The survey was conducted online between Oct. 21 and Wednesday with 1,098 valid responses received.
It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.96 percent.
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