Forty six percent of Saudi shoppers access the Internet for online shopping, and that online shopping in Saudi Arabia is led by consumers within the age group of 18-24 years, MasterCard's survey on online shopping behavior showed Sunday. The survey also found that shopping via mobile phones is increasing, with 26 percent of consumers surveyed planning to do so in the coming months. The results of its latest online shopping survey found that online shopping is growing increasingly popular in Saudi Arabia. The survey noted the greatest proportion of online spend is occurring on music download sites, with 64 percent of respondents in the Kingdom preferring to purchase music online rather than at traditional outlets. Other leading categories are computer software (57 percent), airlines (50 percent) and online products/services for gaming/virtual world (48 percent). It is worth noting that while music download leads in terms of the share of online spend versus offline spend, the results show that airlines lead in terms of absolute value of online purchases. On average, 49 percent of respondents who visit retailer websites when online shopping indicated that they visit luxury or high-end goods sites. The survey also found that the most popular online purchasing website for Kingdom respondents is Amazon (11 percent), followed by Souq (7 percent), cashU (6 percent) and eBay (6 percent)[1]. Raghu Malhotra, division president, Middle East & North Africa, MasterCard Worldwide said: "It is encouraging to see the positive trends in online and mobile shopping in the Kingdom. More consumers are going online for technology related products as well as day-to-day items and lifestyle purchases. MasterCard's research on consumer behavior shows that today's tech savvy shoppers are becoming more aware of the various online shopping options, and becoming more discerning in their decisions." In terms of attitudes towards online shopping, 58 percent percent of consumers who shop online said that they tend to go to the same sites when they have used them before. Additionally, 55 percent of the respondents stated that it is easy to shop online, and 53 percent indicated that shopping is a fun way to pass time online. However, 42 percent of consumers in Saudi Arabia still do not feel secure shopping online. Among the top factors impacting online shopping, respondents chose reputation of the website (73 percent), secure payment facility offered by site (72 percent), price/value of the items (72 percent), speed of transaction (72 percent) and convenient payment methods (70 percent). In addition, more than 70 percent of consumers plan in advance about products or services they will shop for before going online. Consumers' research is mostly done through general Internet browsing (58 percent), exploring merchant websites (53 percent) and looking for online product reviews (50 percent). The survey also found that respondents spend 48 percent of their time on foreign retailers' websites. Respondents are most likely to purchase clothing/accessories (23 percent) and home applications/electronics (22 percent) from these foreign websites. In contrast, the main barriers to cross-border shopping were consumers' perceptions that products are available locally (39 percent), their concern about the speed of delivery (38 percent) and their worries about the safety of payments (37 percent). In terms of mobile shopping trends, the survey indicates strong potential for growth in the Kingdom, as nearly 15 percent of individuals surveyed made purchases through their mobile phones in recent months. Apps (33 percent), toys & gifts (22 percent) and music downloads (20 percent) were the top three categories purchased by consumers in the Kingdom through their mobile phones. Among those who did not purchase through their mobile phone recently, an additional 26 percent of respondents are likely to do so in the coming months. The survey also found that approximately 50 percent of individuals purchased items in the last 2-3 years because of one or more ethical reasons, like environmentally friendly items or if a percentage of the sale is donated to a good cause. Approximately 40 percent of individuals who purchased items because of ethical reasons did so online.
