The economic downturn presents a good opportunity for hardware vendors to sell online, new surveys have suggested.
According to Claus Mortensen, principal for emerging technologies advisory research, digital marketplace and new media at IDC Asia-Pacific, a poll of Chinese consumers in October 2008 showed that up to one-third were considering buying products online instead of physical stores as a result of the recession.
"So it would appear that Asian consumers are ready to move online," he said in an e-mail interview.
Mortensen noted that the market analyst firm is not yet seeing any major push from vendors to pursue direct online sales, and most will follow their planned strategies and schedules for Web retail. "However, I do believe that the recession is a good reason for moving online sooner rather than later though," he added.
Some brands, he said, have already begun to peddle their goods online "in at least part of Asia". According to Mortensen, Canon is one such example--it offers "most if not all of their products online in Hong Kong".
In an e-mail however, a Singapore-based Canon spokesperson said the company is "not considering online sales at the moment". Andrew Koh, director and general manager of Canon Singapore's consumer imaging and information division, separately noted: "Canon have a very strong sales network across Singapore which, to date, has been the most effective method to get our products to market locally. That said, our emphasis will always be on our consumers, and we continue to look for ways to deliver the most value to them."
Other vendors also suggested they were not planning for such a move. An Asus spokesperson said in an e-mail the company offers its products online in Korea as it is "very popular among Koreans to do online shopping". In Singapore, she added, Asus products are sold using the distributors-and-resellers model. Seagate and Sony, which have online stores in the United States, declined comment for the story.
Climate right?
IDC's Mortensen pointed out that, compared to the United States where online buying behavior is more advanced, "Asian consumer purchase habits have historically been different and the immediate opportunity for selling consumer goods online has therefore not been as apparent".
He added: "Electronics are still mostly bought in shops and for premium brands like Sony, dedicated retail outlets are also very much [a] part of their strategies for building up their brands."
Another problem, said Mortensen, was the adoption of credit cards had been quite low in key emerging markets such as China until quite recently. "Fewer credit cards mean fewer potential online customers."
The tide, however, appears to be turning. New statistics from payment card vendor MasterCard show a growing appetite for online shopping in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.
Its survey released Thursday, revealed that online shoppers shopped more frequently and spent more money shopping online in the fourth quarter of 2008, over the same period in 2007. Online shoppers in the those locations spent an average of US$667 on items purchased on the Web in fourth quarter of 2008, compared to US$633 a year earlier.
The average number of purchases also increased from 3.1 in 2007 to 3.3 last year. In terms of items purchased, home appliances and electronic products accounted for 37 percent--a narrow second to books and arts, which formed 38 percent of online purchases.
"Online shopping is growing in popularity despite the current economic climate, as consumers realize the convenience and ease of shopping online," Georgette Tan, MasterCard Worldwide's vice president of communications for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said in a statement. "As businesses look to grow their online retail presence, they need to be aware of the preferences and concerns that drive online shoppers."
MasterCard surveyed over 5,000 respondents across 10 markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
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