Asia Pacific: 80% of Internet users shop online

Nearly 80 percent of Internet users in Asia Pacific shopped online and spent an average of over 3,000 US dollars each in the past 12 months, according to a Visa e-commerce tracking survey released here on Wednesday.

The survey was conducted by Visa in April and May this year with Internet users aged 18 to 49 years from six countries and territories, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia and India, in a bid to measure their online usage behaviors.

Respondents said they spent the most on travel services, including airline and rail tickets, hotel accommodation and travel packages, with an average spending of 812 US dollars in the last 12 months.

Other most commonly made online purchases were digital entertainment (59 percent), travel (51 percent) and fashion (49 percent).

The top three draws for shopping online were being able to shop at any time (88 percent), at the best prices (83 percent), and being able to shop easily (82 percent), according to the survey.

In the region, Japanese and South Koreans surveyed emerged as the most frequent shoppers, with 99 percent and 93 percent respectively having made an online purchase over the last 12 months.

However, Australians were the biggest online spenders with an average 12-month tab of $4,160, $680 more than Singaporeans, who are the next biggest online spenders.

Visa said, with almost four in five internet users buying online, people in Asia Pacific are taking full advantage of the global shopping experience that the Internet provides.