IDC reports about 205 million consumers in Asia to be Internet-ready, but just 74.9 million, or 2.5 per cent, of Asia’s total population has purchased online, even if broadband links and mobile commerce are seen as areas of great potential. In Singapore, 2.8 million citizens, or 59.6 per cent of the population, use the Internet, while 1.4 million, or 29 per cent of this total, has shopped online. Despite Asia’s burgeoning online travel market, which should exceed USD 16 billion by 2006, only 10 per cent of Singaporeans had bought air tickets online, and 13 per cent, booked hotel rooms, according to research firm, Marketshare.

eCommerce vendors targeting the Asia-Pacific market are advised by IDC to focus on three key markets, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, where broadband connections are tipped to boost online sales. Since online retail in the US only reached critical mass in the holiday season of 2003, when 40 per cent of Internet consumers bought online, Asia has potential catch up, especially as mCommerce takes off. Research firm, Global Information Inc (GII), for instance found 94.9 million mobile subscribers to spend USD 6.86 billion on mCommerce in 2003, with 1.67 billion users predicted to spend USD 554.37 billion wirelessly by 2008.

Within Asia, markets such as Australia and Japan have a sufficiently mature eCommerce infrastructure and consumers to catalyze the online travel market, according to Craig Hewett, of the InterContinental Hotels Group. China’s eCommerce growth, by contrast, is limited by a lack of credit card use and by immature retail sites, but, given the level of overseas interest in the market, this will soon change. For now, retailers targeting the pan-Asia eCommerce market need to address consumers’ security concerns, improve their cross-border and alternative payment methods, and increase their appeal to customers.

(Singapore Business Times)