Online shopping survey | transcosmos

transcosmos inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and COO: Masataka Okuda) conducted the “Online Shopping Trends Survey in 10 Asian Cities 2018” in order to gauge consumers’ experiences of online shopping and their interests in cross border e-commerce across 10 major cities in Asia. 3,200 online shoppers aged between 10 - 49 years old participaited in the survey, revealing unique characteristics of each city as well as common trends across Asia.

Key findings

• 1. Social media and influencers have strong impact on online shopping behavior
• 2. Online shoppers are willing to use new services, including chat support
• 3. As for cross-border e-commerce, online shoppers are highly interested in buying Japanese products which are renowned for their reliability and high-quality

According to the survey, Asian city dwellers enjoy the benefits of online shopping such as broad product lineup, price and saving time. Most respondents, excluding those in Tokyo, reported issues such as “products which had arrived were different from photos and product explanation on the online shopping site” and were concerned about “damage during delivery” and “delayed delivery”. Therefore, they tend to put more value on factors like genuine product guarantee and product origin. The also prefer collecting purchased items at their workplaces or from stores. As for the purchasing process, many respondents cited social media like Facebook as a channel where they first became aware of products which indicates online reviews and influencers’ comments have a strong impact on online shoppers. Compared to Tokyo, online shoppers’ willingness to use messenger apps/online chats for price negotiation and customer support were drastically higher in the other 9 Asian cities.

The respondents expressed their large appetite for cross border e-commerce, shopping from online stores based outside their countries, to shop products and brand-named items that are difficult to purchase in their respective countries. More than half of the respondents in Taipei, Hanoi, Shanghai, Manila and Singapore cited “Japan” as their preferred shopping destination, whilst “China” attracted respondents in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The “U.S.” was popular among respondents in Manila and Mumbai. The top 3 reasons for selecting “Japan” as their most preferred shopping destination were “Reliability and Safety”, “Quality and Performance” and “Design”, whilst “Good value” was the top factor cited by respondents who selected “China”.

% of respondents citing “Japan”/“China” as their preferred online shopping destination outside their country

Related Services

• Global E-Commerce One-Stop Services
• Analytics Services
• Global Services

*transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. in Japan and other countries.
*Other company names and product or service names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies.

About transcosmos inc.

transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior “people” with up-to-date “technology” to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients’ business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost reduction through our 170 locations across 33 countries with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce Services to deliver our clients’ excellent products and services to consumers in 49 countries around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the “Global Digital Transformation Partner” of our clients, supporting the clients’ transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment.