HONG KONG--Internet shopping will be covered in the year-long Household Expenditure Survey conducted by the Hong Kong Government.
Deputy Commissioner for Census and Statistics Fung Hing-wang told IT Daily that if respondents used the Internet for shopping this would be reported in their expenditure diaries.
The participants will be required to record the cost, quantity and source of all of their purchases. He was not sure as to what the response would be, but felt that Internet shipping was becoming a popular practice and the survey would indicate how much users were spending online.
"The extent is still unknown, so this is a very good opportunity to let us know how often and how much" the typical household uses the Internet for shopping, said Fung.
The survey will be conducted over the next 12 months at a cost of about HK$29 million.
Around 10,000 households will be asked to keep a diary detailing all their expenditures over a two-week period, with 400 filling in diaries at any one time. Josephine Lau, assistant commissioner for the department said each household member who is able to complete an expenditure diary would be given a one.
In return for keeping the diaries, each household will be rewarded with a cheque for HK$150.
The survey results will be used to compile the 1999/2000 Consumer Price Index, which will be released around April 2001. The current CPI was compiled based on the results of the 1994/95 survey.
The last survey was conducted in 1994-1995 and had a 76 percent response rate.
Copyright © 1999 I. T. Daily
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