Northstar

The Indispensable Travel Industry Read Feature The dawn of a golden era for Singapore's tourism Vol. 12 | 11 January 2011 | www.travelweeklyweb.com | Published by Travel & Meetings Group, Ten Alps Communications Asia Pte Ltd Travel tops online spending in Visa survey News Mynatour.org - social Hotels networking goes eco-travelling Page 3 New Centra brand launched with Phuket hotel Singapore – Respondents from six key eCommerce markets reported spending an average of US$2,086 online on travel, share trading and electrical appliances. Consumers in six rapidly growing eCommerce markets are taking to onl ine shopping in a big way, according to the 2010 Vi sa eCommerce Consumer Monitor Almost nine in 10 (87 percent) of the survey respondents across the six markets polled said they had purchased products and services online in the past year. The survey asked 3,156 regular Internet users from mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand about their online shopping habits and motivations. Online shopping was most popular among respondents from mainland China and Taiwan where almost all those surveyed (98 percent and 97 percent respectively) said they had shopped online in the past twelve of US$166) , banking and financial services (average of US$92) and computer hardware (average of US$75). Respondents across the six markets reported spending an average of US$2,086 over a period of a year. Online shopper s from Ta iw an months. Purchasing online was also common practice for respondents from India with 89 percent saying they had shopped online over the past year. T he su r vey fo u nd th a t respondents across the six markets spent the most on travel, paying an average of US$550 over the last 12 months for airline tickets, accommodation and travel agent ser v ices. Other major spend categories included share trading (average of US$320), electrical appliances and white goods (average repor ted spending almost double the survey average (US$4,041), while shoppers from mainland China (US$2,557) and Malaysia (US$2,006) also spent above the median. Paul Jung, head of eCommerce, International , Visa, said: "China in par ticular continues to attract attention of many eCommerce retailers because of the growing number of affluent consumers who are going online to shop." Industry research shows that the number of internet users in China climbed to 420 million in 2010, a nine percent increase from the year before. According Page 6 to a report by China's Ministry of Commerce, Chinese consumers spent US$38 billion online in 2009, double the amount spent in 2008. "Going onl ine to book airl ine tickets, purchase financial services or electrical appliances is growing to be as common as paying a visit to the nearest mall or supermarket. In fact, many shoppers who buy online feel it's more convenient to shop on the internet than go to an actual store because they can compare prices easi ly and shop at a time that's convenient to them from the comfort of home," said Jung. According to the Visa survey, convenience dominates as the key motivator for shopping online followed by bargain hunting. Respondents said they shopped online because it allowed them to shop at any time (83 percent), to fi nd and compare products easily (81 percent), and compare prices to save money (81 percent).

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