CREATION - Traditional retailers win shoppers, benefit from online gloom

Traditional retailers are proving more successful in online shopping than pure dotcom companies, a study by Nielsen//NetRatings has found. In its first analysis of e-commerce activity across Asia-Pacific and Europe, the researcher found bricks and mortar businesses succeeded on the Web because it enjoyed consumer trust and visibility. On the other hand, dotcoms worldwide have been plagued by negative publicity especially now that the hype has died down and there is a lengthening list of dotcom casualties. "The first report for Asia-Pacific and Europe shows clicks and mortar retailers drove the online holiday shopping trend in both regions," said Nielsen//NetRatings Global Analytical Services spokesman Brian Milnes. "In Asia-Pacific, we observed a two-pronged growth pattern. On the one hand, more surfers visited e-shopping sites, while on the other hand, traditional retailers and local companies began to attract new levels of Web traffic. "The crucial advantage these sites have over their pure play counterparts is trust. In a year when e-commerce received little but bad publicity, the support offered to customers by a familiar name was worth more than any advertising," he said. Web traffic increased during the holiday season, with Singapore recording the highest growth, a hike of 31 per cent from September to December last year. In Hong Kong, e-shopping visitor levels were up 4.4 per cent, 10.7 per cent in Australia and 8.5 per cent in New Zealand. The jump in Web traffic in Singapore was mainly due to the popularity of e-greeting sites during the holidays, Mr Milnes said. "Click and mortar retailers were also able to start their holiday preparations and marketing earlier and with higher visibility than their online competitors," he added. "Leaflets and signs in stores clearly alerted customers to the existence of the sites and the availability of goods online. Many sites ensured they offered as full a range of goods online as possible, even low-ticket items, and many encouraged users to compare items and ranges, aware that price comparison is one of the main reasons surfers visit ecommerce sites." Not surprisingly, home-based surfers in Hong Kong lagged behind the e-shopping growth in the rest of Asia-Pacific. The SAR is after all a compact shopping destination and shopping is one of few leisure options open to residents in this teeming city. Mr Milnes believes that online shopping in the SAR could be restricted because Hong Kong surfers were waiting for more well-developed and secure Cantonese or traditional Chinese e-shops. "Since both cities (Hong Kong and Singapore) are custom-built for offline shopping, online retailers must add even more value to convince shoppers to stay home and shop on their computers when going out is so relatively easy."

Sign In

Trouble signing in?

Reset Password: Click here

Contact Customer Support at

Customerservice@campaignasia.com