Nations with a smaller share of active online shoppers before COVID-19 are more likely to see a stronger rise in online shopping activities, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which found people with tertiary education and female consumers were the most likely to have raised their online purchases.
The majority of participants from China, Turkey and South Korea declared to have been shopping online more often since the outbreak of COVID-19. On the other hand, much fewer consumers in the developed economies of Germany and Switzerland increased their online purchasing activities, the survey found.Nations with a smaller share of active online shoppers before COVID-19 are more likely to see a stronger rise in online shopping activities, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which found people with tertiary education and female consumers were the most likely to have raised their online purchases.#
The e-commerce sectors of consumer electronics and information and communication technology (ICT) products, tools, gardening and do-it-yourself (DIY) products, and pharma and healthcare products represent the categories with the largest growth of active users due to COVID-19 across all countries. Cosmetics and personal care and food and beverages are the categories with the most active users during the pandemic.
Participants across all countries indicated to have lowered their average expenditures per online purchase for most of the categories. Food and beverage, books and media, and tools, gardening and DIY represent the only categories with an increase.
The decline was the most pronounced for travel and tourism, consumer electronics & ICT products, and fashion and accessories, UNCTAD said in a press release.
In terms of communication platforms, participants in Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey mostly increased the use of Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The use of well-established platforms such as WhatsApp or partially Facebook Messenger remained relatively constant. In China, home-grown communication platforms dominate, led by WeChat followed by Ding Talk.
For most of the participating countries, consumers mostly use traditional means of payments for online shopping. Chinese consumers mainly pay with mobile payments such as Alipay or WeChat Pay. Swiss consumers show a unique preference for paying against an invoice.
The vast majority of respondents from all countries prefer home delivery of their online acquisitions. Consumers in the Russian Federation are also often picking up their orders from a retail store.
In terms of future purchasing channels, consumers in China and Turkey express a strong preference for buying more often online than in physical stores. German, Italian, Swiss and Russian consumers indicate a preference for a balanced approach between digital and physical retailing.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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