(Editor's note: This article was written by MoneyMax, the Philippines’ foremost online platform for comparing financial and telecom products and services, for ABS-CBNnews.com. Find out more at MoneyMax.ph)
MANILA - Filipinos are among Asia Pacific's most active Internet users and the ones most proactive in product research that includes comparing product prices, reading consumer reviews and searching for the best deals.
Ordinary Filipino opt to conduct extensive research, before actually purchasing online.
However, most of the time, only 34 percent of these online searches convert to actual sales. That is smaller compared to 64 percent in our Asian neighbors and 49 percent globally.
The most visited sites are music downloads sites (43.9 percent), personal, education or professional development portals (40.3 percent) and computer software websites (33.9 percent).
But the sites where Filipinos actually buy from are app stores, supermarkets, and airlines.
People choose sites that are environment-friendly (78.6 percent), while 62.5 percent choose sites that donate to a good cause.
Filipinos are generally cautious on online shopping because of security (89 percent), speed of transaction (88.5 percent), convenience of payment methods (88.5 percent), 80 percent price/values, return or exchange policy, website reputation, online review, customer service, low delivery charges, and use of various payment methods.
Because of the continuous rise of Internet use among Filipinos, more and more E-commerce companies are starting to penetrate the different industries including car and auto trading, transportation services, food and recreation, and even the financial sector. You can even buy car insurance plans online or apply for a salary loan.
According to Digital Filipino founder Janette Toral, in the years to come, the Philippines needs new business models that are in line with our economic situation and the needs of the rising generation.
Do you buy goods and services online? Here’s an infographic of these statistics:
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/19/14/what-buying-behavior-filipinos-online