Global Online Shopping Population
The twice-yearly global ACNielsen Online Consumer Opinion Survey asked Internet users around the world about their online shopping experiences including when they last made an online purchase, what items were last purchased, the method(s) of payment used, what payment card was used the most for online purchases and the most preferred payment method when shopping online.
The survey found more than 627 million people have shopped online, including over 325 million within the last month. Over 212 million online shoppers mention books as among the last three items they purchased online. In addition:
- over 135 million people have purchased DVDs and/or video games;
- close to 135 million made plane reservations;
- over 128 million purchased articles of clothing/accessories/shoes;
- over 112 million paid for music downloads and/or CDs;
- over 106 million purchased electronic devices (including cameras, etc);
- close to 98 million bought computer hardware; and
- over 86 million consumers made hotel and/or tour bookings.
In the Asia Pacific region, South Korea and Taiwan rank highest, with at least 90 percent of online respondents claiming to have ever made a purchase online, at least six in 10 of whom have done so within the last month. NZ was not far behind, with 87 percent ever making a purchase online, and one in two having done so within the last month (53 percent).
The world's biggest online shoppers are in Germany and the UK, averaging seven and six purchases, respectively, in the past month. In the Asia Pacific region, where the average number of purchases in the past month is five, online shoppers in NZ averaged four purchases compared to markets like Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and China where shoppers made an average of five to six purchases in the past month.
What and How We Buy
Looking at NZers, we are happy to purchase airline tickets (40 percent), books (27 percent), videos/DVDs/games (19 percent) and computer software (19 percent) online, but are not so sure about cars (2 percent), toys (3 percent), cosmetics (5 percent) or groceries (7 percent).
Globally, for most online purchases, credit card (59 percent) or bank transfer (23 percent) was used to make the payment. NZ ranked in the global top 10 countries to use credit cards for online purchases (81 percent) behind Hong Kong (82 percent) and Malaysia (83 percent). NZ also ranked above the global average in using bank transfer as online payment method (26 percent).
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
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PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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