FROM dresses, to handbags, diamonds and music downloads, consumers in Asia are taking to Internet shopping like never before as the region becomes one of the world's fastest growing e-commerce markets. “I like to shop for clothes online because no sales girls will pester me,” said Cecelia Wang, a 23-year-old university student in Taipei, who spends about T$1,500 ($44) each month on Internet purchases. “For online shopping, all I need to do is sit in my room and shop, which is great.” Internet retailing is increasingly making its presence felt in Asia because telecommunications infrastructure has improved, and payment modes, a major obstacle to online shopping, are now more secure, analysts say. Internet penetration rates, the percent of the population that has Internet access, is about 17 percent in Asia versus 73 percent in North America and almost 50 percent in Europe, according to www.internetworldstats.com. Although the global economic downturn has affected both traditional and online retailers, analysts say the gloomy economic outlook is actually encouraging consumers to hunt for second-hand goods online or make greater use of auction and rental websites such as http://www.thatbagiwant.com. Asia's tech-savvy online shoppers buy everything from furniture and flowers to airline tickets and iPods. Online games such as mahjong are gaining popularity in Taiwan. In Hong Kong and Australia, shoppers are drawn to overseas retail websites. Amazon.com and eBay are among the most popular sites in Asia. In China, e-commerce firm Alibaba.com operates an online site connecting importers and exporters of Chinese goods. Online gems On eBay India, which has more than 2 million registered users, top purchases in 2008 included gemstones, mobile handsets, MP3 players, women's apparel and Indian stamps and coins, said Deepa Thomas, eBay India's senior manager of pop culture. The company's sales show that despite relatively low Internet penetration, Indians have readily embraced online shopping. “Earlier, people only bought easily affordable items, but now they're also buying more high-value items and unusual items as they have more confidence shopping online,” said Thomas. Market research firm Euromonitor International forecasts Internet retail sales in the Asia-Pacific region will reach in excess of $71 billion by 2012, almost doubling that of 2007. The biggest benefit of Internet shopping for many Asian consumers is that it gives them access to goods they simply cannot buy at home, or can find cheaper abroad. However, there are drawbacks to Internet shopping, users say. “Despite the convenience in all the clickings, online shopping has its own set of problems,” said Annabelle Aw, a 30-year-old events organiser in Singapore. “The last thing I bought was a watch. It took me almost three months to sort out the delivery.”
