A survey by The Economist reveals that Asian women are increasingly empowered financially and they are the one’s driving the explosive growth of e-commerce in the region.
The magazine did a detailed survey of 5,500 women across Asia’s major urban areas and the results are published in a report titled, ‘On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia’.
Across the eight markets covered, 41 per cent of the women surveyed say they are joint breadwinners in their household and another 8 per cent reveal that they are sole breadwinners.
The trend is particularly pronounced in China, where 62 per cent of women call themselves as joint breadwinners.
“Women are also showing increasing independence in handling finances, just over two-thirds report having their own bank accounts and 48 per cent have their own credit cards,” the report informs.
Nearly half of women polled say they prefer shopping online to doing so in stores and the figure is as high as 69 per cent in China.
Among several reasons, 62 per cent and 60 per cent women pointed to cost savings and time savings, respectively.
59 per cent are also of the opinion that online retailers can be relied upon to have the products they want to buy in stock, while 56 per cent believe that online shopping offers a broader range of choices.
Nearly half of women say they feel pressured and stressed in traditional shops and more than 50 per cent in Macau, South Korea, India and China feel this way.
The survey also rings bells of alarm for brick and mortar retailers, when it informs that 27 per cent feel store staff talk down to them because they are women, seen more pronounced in Macau, India and China.
For many women, online shopping has become a favourite pastime. Among the survey respondents, 63 per cent say they browse for products and services at least once a day, with nearly 30 per cent doing so twice or more.
Nearly 90 per cent of the women surveyed buy some clothing and accessories online, of which 39 per cent buy the majority of their clothing this way.
Among 18 to 29-year-olds, 53 per cent prefer shopping online rather than offline, compared to 48 per cent among 30-49-year-olds and 42 per cent for those between 50 and 60 years of age.
Similarly, 58 per cent of 18-29-year-olds shop on their phones as against 38 per cent of 40-49-year-olds. (AR)
