A total of 35 per cent of respondents have plans in the next six months to use the internet for booking flight tickets and 29 per cent for tours and hotel reservations.
Clothing accessories come in at 25 per cent and purchasing books at 25 per cent. These percentages are lower than the global average for books (44 per cent) and fashion (36 per cent).
Going online for groceries is not as popular in Hong Kong with only 12 per cent compared to 18 per cent on a global level.
Peers mainly drive online spending behaviour in Hong Kong. 73 per cent said friends have influenced their decisions compared to 59 per cent globally, and 52 per cent attribute their behaviour to family recommendations compared to 52 per cent globally.
In addition, 47 per cent of Hong Kong consumers claim they trust online product reviews.
Consumer electronics, personal care items and telecommunication services are among the top categories where people search first-person opinions online before purchase.
Nielsen points out that close to half of Hong Kong's online consumers prefer sites that offer products from different online retailers in order to make comparisons and access more choices.
“As our lives become more fragmented and cluttered, it isn’t surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the internet when it comes to researching and buying products,” said Oliver Rust (pictured), managing director at The Nielsen Company Hong Kong.
Nielsen’s global online survey polled over 27,000 internet users in 55 markets.
