To
respond to the growing need of knowledge in the e-commerce market, Gemius
research on the attitudes and preferences of Internet users towards online
shopping in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe: the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine.
The study deals with the subject of favorite products bought on the Internet,
the frequency of shopping and purchase intent. It reveals also a ranking of
e-shops and auction sites.
As a
result of the project carried out in Ukraine, Gemius got to know that contrary
to the extremely high awareness of online shopping (98% of all respondents have
heard about it), only 29% of all Internet users have ever made an online
purchase. It is even more surprising when respondents’ declarations of positive
attitude towards shopping are considered - 54% of them like or even love this
way of spending time.
50% of
Internet users (who have heard about shopping on the Internet) consider this
medium risky as far as financial transactions are concerned. 6% of those who
have ever done shopping on the Internet admitted that higher security of
payments would make them buy more frequently. An improvement in the security of
delivery would also increase the frequency of shopping (among 6%).
In
addition to the small number of e-shoppers, most of them are far from
purchasing online on everyday basis - only 2% do it more or less once a week.
However, 45% of those who have ever done shopping on the Internet admitted that
they are going to buy on the Web more frequently. An important incentive would
be lower prices as well as a better financial situation of Internet users.
Taking into account what Internet users usually buy online, this is no
surprise. The most popular products bought in online shops are phones and
accessories (49%) and, in the case of auctions, among other things brown and
white goods (27%) and computer hardware (26%). As those products are generally
rather expensive, it is essential for e-shoppers that they can buy cheaper via
Internet. All in all, the on-line shopping is associated with saving money and
time. 35% of Internet users admitted that it takes less time than buying in
traditional shops. It is also worth adding that for 11% of all respondents saving
time and for 16% saving money is one of the most important criteria while
buying.
As far
as the behavior of Ukrainian e-shoppers is concerned, they generally prefer
online stores to auctions. The domestic market edged up to 27% for the former,
while auctions maintain at the level of 5%. Moreover, these two places are
perceived differently by Internet users. The reason for buying in online shops
are lower prices than in traditional shops (57% of respondents who have done
shopping in online stores), while in the case of auctions, it is the fact that
there are goods, which are more difficult to find in some other places (44% of
respondents who have done shopping in online auctions). Even though both online
shops and auctions are popular places to buy books, CDs, films (47% and 27%
respectively) and brown and white products (43% and 27% respectively), auctions
are preferred in case of computer hardware (26%) and online shops in case of
phones and accessories (49%).
To sum
up, as there is clear intention among e-shoppers to buy online, the future of
e-commerce seems to be bright. In order to promote the expansion of online
shopping, its security should be guaranteed. As the saving of time is also very
important for customers, quick delivery of products would be a great advantage.
Last, but not least, online shops and auctions should pay more attention to the
breadth of assortment and the way the products are presented. Fulfilling all
these conditions would speed up the development of the e-commerce market in Ukraine
and result in higher satisfaction of the customers.
Literature:
1.
http://www.gemius.com/pl/archives/2007-05-28/01
2.
http://www.ukraine-today.com/computers/e-commerce/e-com.shtml
3.
http://www.asterslaw.com/publication/ilp001.doc
4.
http://www.e-comua.ukrbiz.net/
5.
http://downloads.klipfolio.com/klipinfo/4727/ECommerce_UKR?sid=22