FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY MARKETING SEMINAR - Ecommerce set to boom in Asia-Pacific

Online shopping in Asia-Pacific is likely to follow the US

experience and take off in a big way soon, predicted Looks.com managing

director Ian Smith.

This region is lagging behind the US by between six months and a year,

"so it's very likely that instances of online shopping will explode here

in the near future", he said.

According to an Angus Reid survey, convenience and better prices were

among the reasons behind the popularity of cyber shopping in the US.

The study found that 72 per cent of respondents said they shopped online

because it was more convenient.

Just over half said they bought products and services over the 'Net

because what they had purchased was not available locally. About a third

cited better prices, 26 per cent said there was a better selection, 20

per cent said there were no hassles with sales people while 18 per cent

said delivery was faster.

Mr Smith said that it was, therefore, extremely crucial that online

shopping sites have every aspect of their business as customer-centric

as possible.

He said the purpose of the site had to be clear, it had to be sensitive

to cultural issues and navigation should be easy.

The sites should also have information to make purchases as simple as

possible; it must show the product range, provide pre-sales support,

delivery options, payment options and loyalty programmes.

It must also ensure fast delivery and post-sales support.

In order to channel consumers to a particular website, companies needed

to have both online and offline campaigns.

Mr Smith said that branding the site was crucial.

"Branding campaigns are important because there are so many websites out

there, that in some cases it is only the branding that will separate one

site from another and make one site more successful than the other."