Taiwanese Lead Globally in Smartphone Online Shopping: Google Survey

Fifty-four percent of surveyed Taiwanese use smartphones to shop online, the highest globally, according to a survey conducted jointly by search engine giant Google and market research firm TNS.

Google and TNS sent out 3,100 questionnaires to Taiwanese older than 16-years in Q1, 2014; while Google Taiwan, the local branch, again released 1,600 questionnaires to Taiwanese aged 18 and 59.

A senior manager of Google Taiwan said that many Taiwanese belong to the "multi-screen group" by owning an average of 2.7 mobile devices, lower than 3.1 in the U.K. and 2.9 in the U.S., on par with that in Hong Kong, and higher than in Japan and South Korea.

Another major finding shows 54% of the respondents in Taiwan have used smartphones to shop online (purchasing items including digital products such as mobile apps). However, only 15.4% of such shoppers are satisfied, much lower than 42.9% for shoppers using PCs. Google said the low satisfaction rate of smartphone shoppers does suggest impatience, rather that most utilize fragmented time to shop online and the relatively unstable mobile Internet connection might affect response.

As high as 69% surveyed said they conduct pre-purchase research such as comparison shop, studies of product features, consumer evaluations etc., with such rate being also the highest globally.

Another 68% of the surveyed said  they buy online through mainly mobile online-shopping protocols, while the rest 32% through mobile apps.

The Google Taiwan senior manager suggested online store operators develop cross-device platforms and provide more friendly mobile online-purchase services.