Moreover, 70.1% have shopped online through their smartphones, according to a recent survey issued by the card scheme MasterCard. Overall, online shopping continues to grow steadily in Asia Pacific (from 81.0% in 2011 to 86.7% in 2014). Security of payment facility (84.8%), price of the items (84.5%) and convenient payment methods (84.1%) are key considerations when making online purchases.
In Hong Kong, locals love to shop online without leaving home, using both their computers and mobile phones, with 84.0% of local consumers having made at least one purchase in the last three months and well over a third (38.2%) shopping on their smartphones. A majority of Hongkong citizens (79.8%) planned to shop online in the next six months. Among all age groups, 25-34 year olds are the most active online shoppers (91.8%), while the average number of items they purchase (6.0) is also among the highest. Interestingly, although women are often thought of as more sophisticated or enthusiastic shoppers than men, there are no significant differences in online shopping behavior by gender.
In terms of the most common spending categories online, clothing and accessories (46.2%) continues to top the list, followed by travel (40.8%), airlines (38.8%) and home appliances/ electronic products (37.6%). The survey also revealed that secure payment facility and reputation of the website (77.6%) are both the top considerations for local respondents when shopping online. This is followed by low/no extra payment charge (75.4%) and convenient payment methods (74.2%).
In a tech-savvy city like Hong Kong, almost all people who have a mobile phone are able to access the internet through their smartphones (98.4%). This sets the backdrop for more and more local shoppers opting to make purchases via mobile devices (38.2% ), which is up 13.2% since 2011. To local respondents, convenience (56.8%) was the major reason for mobile shopping. The growing availability of apps that make it easy to shop (35.2%) and the ability to shop on the go (30.8%) also drive locals to shop through their smartphones.
As for the most frequently bought items through mobile shopping among Hongkongers, clothing and other fashion accessories (29.2%) tops the list and surpasses cinema tickets (18.9%) for the first time since 2011, followed by personal care products (15.7%) and mobile apps (14.1%).
Check out our Cross-border Ecommerce Research section here for more info on specific ecommerce facts and figures, preferred payment methods, risk and fraud, as well as ecommerce legislation and regulation in China.
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