VINCENT WEE looks at the trends in Internet shopping and discovers there is still some way to go before the e-commerce concept is fully embraced

THE stereotypical statement that men do not shop, they buy stuff, is apparently as true in the online shopping realm as it is in the real world. From the indications of online shopping patterns it seems it is as difficult to get most men to go shopping online as it is in real life. An inherent quite narrow focus on a few specific categories of items coupled with their typically higher value also makes them all the more reluctant to make purchases on the Internet.

This is reflected in the range of shopping websites available. The search results from googling the terms 'shopping' and 'Singapore' throw up a whole bunch of sites but most of them seem to be oriented towards women.

The site shoppinglifestyle.com, for example, clearly bills itself as a website for women. Other ostensibly more general shopping sites like shopping.localstreets.com do actually have categories geared towards guys but on closer examination, these hardly contain any products - a listing for car polish was the only item available under all the car accessories categories.

As in conventional shopping, men seem to know exactly the type of product they would like to buy, typically either something electronic, a watch or a camera. They then go specifically to sites that cater to these interests, like timezone.com or thepurist.com for watches, to compare features and prices. Much like going to an IT mall in the real world, sites like eBay and hardwarezone.com are popular for electronics and cameras.

Yet when it comes to the crunch, many still prefer to go the high street route when making the actual purchase. The preferred purchase method seems to depend on two factors - the age group of the purchaser and the extent of one's experience with shopping on the Internet.

Those in their 30s and above still prefer to see and feel the physical product before making the final purchase decision. A watch enthusiast, sailing executive Tan Thong Meng, does all his preliminary comparisons online. 'Butwhen ultimately spending thousands of dollars on a quality timepiece, I would still go to a watch dealer in town and pay a bit more for a sense of reliability and trustworthiness,' he says.

Thirty-something advertising sales and integrated marketing manager Melvin Yong also prefers the physical shopping experience. About as much as he will do online is to buy DVDs and perhaps book flights and hotels. While he enjoys the 24-hour access convenience of the Internet, he sees it as just another shopping platform, not a replacement.

The next younger demographic, however, has a different outlook. SMU student Su Jia Xian has been buying and selling watches and pens on the Internet since he was 14. This would explain his comfort in buying straight off the Internet.

He's familiar with all the problems that can crop up with non-delivery of or sub-standard goods and knows which payment methods to use to circumvent them.

For him, the value proposition of getting cheaper goods online override theother concerns.

The reluctance to go online for all our shopping needs, however, is not just confined to men shoppers. A recent IDA survey showed that only 27 per cent of Singaporeans over 15 had ever shopped online for clothes, accessories andfootwear but the value of their purchases had doubled from $539 in 2004 to $1,068 last year. This combined with an AC Nielsen survey that said 80 per cent of Singaporeans had made an online purchase in the last year, suggests thatwhile many people do browse online, they are not really buying in a big way.

And those that do are making higher value purchases on specific non-fashion items.

This could be because the rationale for most people to buy online is either because it's cheaper or unavailable locally. Price-conscious shoppers who are prepared to buy something based on just technical specifications and a picture are making use of the Internet to their advantage.

Meanwhile, for others, there is still some way to go before they fully embrace the concept of online shopping. The premium attached to the physical experience of shopping is a barrier that has not been circumvented yet.

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