The latest MasterCard Mobile Shopping Survey covering Asia Pacific finds consumers embracing the convenience of mobile shopping. Almost half of consumers – around 45% in total – made a purchase using their smartphone in the three months preceding the survey.
Exactly 50% of respondents across Asia Pacific cited convenience as the most compelling reason for shopping on their smartphone. Other motivating factors include the ability to shop on the go and the growing availability of apps that make it easy to shop online.
| Fig 1: % consumers who have made a purchase using a smartphone | |||
| 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |
| Asia Pacific | 46% | 39% | 35% |
| Korea | 54% | 48% | 40% |
| China | 70% | 59% | 54% |
| Thailand | 59% | 51% | 51% |
| Hong Kong | 38% | 40% | 41% |
| Taiwan | 62% | 45% | 28% |
| Singapore | 37% | 31% | 40% |
| Vietnam | 45% | 35% | 34% |
| Indonesia | 55% | 47% | 55% |
| India | 63% | 47% | 30% |
| Malaysia | 46% | 32% | 25% |
| Philippines | 34% | 33% | 21% |
| Japan | 26% | 23% | 26% |
| New Zealand | 21% | 15% | 18% |
| Australia | 20% | 25% | 19% |
In addition to using their mobile phones to make purchases, shoppers in the region are also using it to compare prices between physical and online stores. Close to half (45%) of respondents have conducted price comparisons, with a similar proportion (44%) also stating that they have conducted research online prior to making a purchase in-store.
Overall, consumers from China (70%), India (63%) and Taiwan (62%) are the most likely to shop using their smartphones with the most popular mobile shopping purchases amongst Asia Pacific shoppers include clothing and accessories (27%), followed by apps (21%) and daily deal coupons (19%).
Asia Pacific consumers are also adopting new mobile technologies, with 28% of respondents saying that they use mobile banking apps. Group buying apps (40%) and digital wallets (28%) are the most popular amongst Chinese consumers.
Increased smartphone ownership is clearly having a massive impact on the way people across Asia Pacific shop and spend. Brands and online shopping portals need to continue to develop easy and simple ways to browse and pay, as convenience remains paramount to consumers whether they are shopping on their phones or in-store.