Asia-Pacific consumers are the world’s most prolific online shoppers and many rely on Internet reviews when making purchases, research firm Nielsen said yesterday.
The firm said 35 percent of consumers in the region used more than 11 percent of their monthly spending to make online purchases, compared with a global average of 27 percent of consumers.
South Koreans were the heaviest online buyers in Asia, with 59 percent directing more than 11 percent of their monthly spending to online purchases, followed by 41 percent in China, Nielsen said in a report.
A further 31 percent of Asian consumers use between 6 percent and 10 percent of their monthly shopping spend to buy items online.
“Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region are the world’s most prolific online shoppers,” Nielsen said.
More Asia-Pacific consumers also intend to buy online in the next six months than those from other regions, with South Koreans and Chinese the most likely to make such purchases.
Among the purchases consumers in the region are likely to make in the next six months are books, clothing, accessories and shoes, airline tickets, electronic equipment and hotel reservations.
“We are seeing a strong trend in markets like [South] Korea, where a significant population of online shoppers buy essentials such as groceries, cosmetics and nutrition supplies over the Internet,” said Pete Gale, a managing director at Nielsen’s Retailer Services.
Asia-Pacific consumers were also the most likely to share dissatisfaction at a product on the Internet compared with consumers elsewhere.
“The increasing accessibility of the Internet and the incredible popularity of social media and online discussion forums mean today’s brands have nowhere to hide,” said Megan Clarken, Asia-Pacific managing director at Nielsen’s online division.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
RSS