While online security remains a top consideration for Asia-Pacific consumers, it hasn’t stopped them from opening up their wallets.
According to the latest Mastercard Online Shopping Survey, eight in 10 of consumers across the region who have shopped online last year intend to make at least one online purchase in the first half of 2017.
Purchase intentions are strongest in emerging markets including China (97.3%), Vietnam (96.2%), India (92.9%), Malaysia (92.8%) and Thailand (87.1%).
Findings from the study indicate that while one in two consumers in Asia Pacific feel secure shopping online, providing secure payment facilities (85.9%) remains the most critical to getting shoppers in the region to make such purchases, along with price (85.5%) and convenience (85.1%).
This consideration resonates most strongly in Indonesia (95.3%), followed by the Philippines (92.2%), Taiwan (91.5%) and Malaysia (91.2%).
In Asia Pacific, nine in 10 consumers have made an online purchase in the three months preceding the survey, led by those in South Korea (96.7%), India (95.8%), Japan (95.0%), Vietnam (92%) and China (91.8%).
A majority of consumers in Asia Pacific (53.9%) feel secure when shopping online. This sentiment is felt especially in India (72.1%), Indonesia (66.4%), China (63.5%), Australia (62.2%) and New Zealand (59.8%).
On the other hand, consumers in Vietnam (34.0%), South Korea (34.6%), Japan (36.6%) and Hong Kong (37.4%) are more wary of online shopping security.
Indonesian consumers are the most satisfied with existing opportunities and facilities for online shopping (97.1%) in the region. Consumer satisfaction also rings strongly in India (94.3%) and Malaysia (92.6%).
“The verdict is in – consumers across Asia Pacific want enhanced security and convenience when shopping online. Despite our research showing that the majority of consumers feel safe when shopping online, we cannot stop our relentless focus on developing solutions that address and erase underlying fears about the safety and security of payments across the board,” Mastercard SVP for Digital Payments and Labs, Asia-Pacific Ben Gilbey said.
“We know the payment experience consumers are looking for, no matter where they choose to shop. As a result, we will not relent on our commitment to work with merchants and key industry players to design, develop and deploy e-commerce experiences that are fast, easy, seamless and safe. Some of these include digital wallets and biometric payments, which are also reimagining and redefining the shopping experience for consumers.”