How can businesses win the hearts of online shoppers in Hong Kong?
The people of Hong Kong have a reputation for being rather tech savvy: nearly three quarters of the population owns a smartphone—the third highest penetration in Asia— while 34 per cent of the population has a tablet. When you consider this alongside the fact that Asia has now overtaken North America in terms of e-commerce spending, one would think it safe to assume that Hong Kong people would rank fairly highly when it comes to shopping online.
In fact, this is not the case.
According to the latest UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study, Hong Kong recorded the lowest number of consumers in Asia whose preferred mode of purchasing is online (i.e. both searching for and purchasing products online). In Asia, nearly half of those surveyed prefer buying online, but in Hong Kong the figure stands at only 26 per cent. Furthermore, our shoppers are 30 per cent more likely than other Asian shoppers to begin their purchase journey by first researching a product online, but ultimately making their purchase in a physical store instead of checking out digitally. It is perhaps not surprising then that in terms of the overall e-tailing experience, Hong Kong shoppers posted the lowest level of satisfaction in Asia.
The study brought to light the rise of the “flex shopper”—online buyers who easily switch channels and devices when evaluating and purchasing products, and expect a seamless retail experience from research to delivery. While Hong Kong people may be equipped with the technology, the question needs to be asked: what is it that’s holding online purchasing back?
“Why buy online?”
It is worthwhile taking into consideration Hong Kong’s standing as one of the world’s premier retail destinations—one that is renowned for both its diverse offerings and convenience. According to the UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper, more than one third of Hong Kong shoppers abandoned a cart because shipping would take between one to five days. In fact, six per cent indicated that they have cancelled an order because shipping time would take one or two days. This is the highest rate of cart abandonment in Asia within these timeframes (the average rate of cart abandonment for one to five days’ shipping is 27 per cent), and would seem to point to the fact that shoppers in Hong Kong are unwilling to wait for something that they could easily buy in town.
As such, e-tailers face the likely reality that the majority of Hong Kong shoppers are navigating their portals for research, but opting to purchase the product at a physical location that suits them.