Consumer appetite for online browsing and buying is strongest in the developing regions of Asia-Pacific and Latin America, according to a new study conducted online by Nielsen. In Asia-Pacific, online buying rates even exceeded online browsing rates for more than half of the categories studied.
“Asia is the farthest down the e-commerce maturity curve—in Asia-Pacific, tech-savvy consumers have already embraced the convenience of online shopping. Attracting new buyers using mobile could be an accelerator in developing markets, as it provides greater and faster access to more people,” said John Burbank, president of strategic initiatives.
While online browsing rates are also very high in Latin America, online buying rates for the region are the lowest for just about every category in the study.
“Latin Americans are enthusiastic online shoppers, but the online retail infrastructure has not yet caught up with offering conversion opportunities,” said Burbank. “Other barriers to e-commerce success include internet access, shipping costs, high taxes and problematic delivery logistics," Burbank said.
The two regions, however, surpassed the global average for online browsing for all 22 categories in the study. The survey polled more than 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries.
While computers are the favored device for online browsing and buying among respondents in all regions, mobile phones are a close second choice for respondents in Asia-Pacific (52%) and Latin America (48%).