Economy

MasterCard finds mobile shopping up in Taiwan

A MasterCard poll shows that the number of shoppers making online purchases via mobile devices in Taiwan is increasing. (Photo: Huang Chung-hsin)

• Publication Date：05/07/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today

Shopping via mobile devices is a growing trend in Taiwan, the latest MasterCard Worldwide Online Shopping Survey released May 4 has found.

Of the 66 percent of respondents who can access the Internet on their cell phones, 24 percent made a mobile purchase within the last three months, up 16 percent from the first survey conducted in 2010.

In addition, 20 percent said they are considering making a purchase via this platform sometime over the next six months, with more than 40 percent having considered the option at some point.

Convenience and greater ease due to more applications were most often cited as the main reasons for wanting to make mobile purchases, at 63 percent and 58 percent of the respondents, respectively.

The top three items bought via mobile phone were products offered on discount websites, at 27 percent, restaurant and home meal delivery, 23 percent, and clothing and accessories , 20 percent.

The poll also showed that women in Taiwan do more online shopping than men, with female respondents purchasing an average of 4.8 items via the Internet in the most recent three months, above the overall average of 4.6 items. Women in the 35-44 age group topped the list with 5.4 purchases.

The age of online shoppers in Taiwan is clearly on the rise, with 87 percent of respondents between 50-64 years old saying they have made at least one purchase in the past three months. The average number of items bought by this age group was 4.5, ahead of the figure of 4.3 for respondents between 18-24 years old.

The survey also revealed that the gap between developed and developing nations in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of online shopping has been narrowing.

It was conducted in 25 markets across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa Dec. 5, 2011 to Feb. 6, 2012. The report for Taiwan is based on 500 respondents who access the Internet at least once a week. (SB-THN)