Lack of attention to product image quality and on-time delivery causing “negative experiences”, whilst carefully packed items and free delivery lead to “positive experiences”.

transcosmos inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and COO: Masataka Okuda) conducted the “Online Shopping Trends Survey in 10 Asian Cities 2020” in order to gauge consumers’ experiences regarding online shopping across major Asian cities.

▼Visit transcosmos research department’s official blog for detailed survey results (Japanese only).

URL: https://blog.trans-cosmos.co.jp/research/20200305_onlineshopping-survey.html

In addition to identifying the changes of online shopping behaviors over the past 3 years, such as the usage of cross-border e-commerce, this year transcosmos chose “Customer Experiences (CX) in Asia” as the main topic of the survey.The results revealed specific “negative experiences” that prevent online shoppers using the same e-commerce website and “positive experiences” making them return.

Key findings

1. The primary cause of a negative experience is the quality of the product image. For example, “the product delivered differed significantly from the photo” became the top reason in most cites, especially high response came from Hanoi (58%), Kuala Lumpur (55%) and Jakarta (54%). “The images on the website were small, and the product details were difficult to understand” also became a major reason causing negative experiences in most cities.

2. For positive experiences, “packaging done with care” became the top reason in Tokyo (32%) and Shanghai (43%), whilst “free shipping services (where it usually costs some fee)” received high scores, between the range of 60% to 70%, in the other 8 cities.

3. “Safe Drop (Delivery via leaving packages at the doorstep/in the letterbox)” is widely used among Asian cities. Although less than 10% cited it as a frequently used delivery method in Tokyo, wheras it ranked the highest in Bangkok (47%) and Shanghai (43%).

4. Looking at the changes behaviour over the three years, there has been an increase in the usage of brand websites and apps rather than online shopping malls to check product information before purchase. These changes were especially significant in Manila and Kuala Lumpur.

About “Online Shopping Trends Survey in 10 Asian Cities 2020”

Survey method:                                     Global online research panel, multilingual questionnaire (respective local language options

                                                              available)

Surveyed regions:                                 Japan (Tokyo), China (Shanghai), Taiwan (Taipei), Indonesia (Jakarta), Singapore

                                                              (Singapore), Thailand (Bangkok), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Vietnam (Hanoi),

                                                              Philippines (Manila) and India (Mumbai)

Survey respondents:                             Men and women aged between 10 and 49 years old that have used online shopping

                                                              (made a purchase) in the past 1 year

Number of collected samples:              320 × 10 cities = Total 3,200

Survey period:                                      December 2019 to January 2020

<Chart 1: Negative experiences that make people think “I don’t want to use this shopping website anymore.” >Figures show %

<Chart 2: Positive experiences that make people think “I want to use this shopping website again.” >Figures show %

“It is obvious that clear and accurate product images and on-time delivery are critical factors when shopping online, yet, the survey result indicates that many e-commerce websites in Asian cities still do not meet these basic requirements compared to Tokyo,” commented Masashi Hagiwara, an analyst in Global Business Headquarters at transcosmos. “In terms of reducing negative experiences, e-commerce players should pay attention to the what the customers expect from the information they receive on the website and provide a shopping experience that meet these expectations. At the same time, it is also important to understand the expected level of services in each country that include packaging and shipping fee, and to exceed the level in order to increase the positive experience.”

transcosmos delivers comprehensive initiatives that include e-commerce operations, marketing campaigns and customer support services with a focus on CX across Asia in order to help clients operate e-commerce businesses overseas. transcosmos continues to deliver localized e-commerce support services that fit with business practices and consumer behavior of each individual country.

“Global E-Commerce Handbook 2019” A practical guide to global e-commerce market (publisher: Impress Corporation) (Japanese only)

transcosmos has issued “Global E-Commerce Handbook 2019,” a practical guide to global e-commerce market that shows each country’s e-commerce market size, detailed e-commerce market data, cross-border e-commerce market size, trends in e-commerce users, e-commerce market ranking and more. The book is available on impress books, Amazon, etc.

Impress books (Japanese only):    https://book.impress.co.jp/books/1119170072

Amazon POD (Japanese only):      https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4295007951/

* transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. In Japan and other countries.

* Other company names and product or services names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies.
 
About transcosmos inc. 

transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior “people” with up-to-date “technology” to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients’ business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 168 bases across 30 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce services to deliver our clients’ excellent products and services in 48 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the “Global Digital Transformation Partner” of our clients, supporting the clients’ transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment.