Mua sắm trực tuyến ở Hong Kong tăng nhờ… SARS

Saigon, Vietnam

Theo công ty nghiên cứu thị trường Nielsen/NetRatings, từ tháng 2 đến tháng 4, khách hàng đi chợ trên mạng ở Hong Kong tăng từ 2,2 lên 2,4 triệu người. Nỗi lo sợ về bệnh viêm đường hô hấp cấp khiến cho dịch vụ mua sắm, giao dịch trên Internet nở rộ.

Peter Steyn, nhà phân tích của Nielsen, cho biết virus SARS đã làm cho nhiều hoạt động kinh doanh ở đây trì trệ, nhưng lĩnh vực thương mại điện tử lại khả quan do có nhiều người thích mua hàng và giao dịch ngân hàng qua mạng hơn là đến những nơi đông đúc.

Parknshop.com, website của loạt siêu thị do Hutchison Whampoa quản lý, có tới 78.830 khách hàng, tăng 161% so với 2 tháng đầu năm. Site nổi tiếng Yahoo Shopping/Auction đạt 429.710 người dùng trong tháng 4, tăng 16%.

Trong hai tháng 3 và 4, giao dịch ngân hàng qua mạng tăng 25% ở Hong Kong. Trong đó, site của Ngân hàng Han Seng có 229.130 khách hàng truy cập, tăng 41%, HSBC có 374.500, tăng 34%. Tuy nhiên, các trang web bán vé máy bay, du lịch, xem phim giảm mạnh. Ví dụ trang Cinema.com.hk giảm 24%, chỉ có 108.100 người.

Online sales hoped to outlive SARS

by Alan Low (iafrica.com)

Posted Wed, 28 May 2003

For the past two months, Hong Kong web portals have seen soaring usage and booming sales of everything from DVDs to bleach as fears over SARS made sure the only place residents visited was cyberspace.

But with signs that the worst of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak is over and as more residents venture into crowded streets and shopping malls, internet executives are hoping the killer virus has led to a permanent change of attitudes toward shopping on the web.

Peter Steyn, director of sales and marketing at Nielsen/Netratings, which tracks internet usage, said home online users rose 13 percent in April, the first month fully reflecting the impact of SARS, which struck in mid-March, compared to February.

"As worries over SARS gripped Hong Kong in April, consumers turned more to the internet to find shopping deals and check out their finances instead of walking in crowded places and standing in queues," said Steyn.

Grocery and banking websites recorded highest surge in hits

Grocery and banking websites were among those recording the highest surge in hits.

"Grocery store Parknshop.com experienced huge growth with visitor numbers up 161 percent since the SARS outbreak," said Steyn. Numbers of cyber surfers visiting the Bank of China's site soared 58 percent over the same period.

In addition to shopping, the net also proved hugely popular for providing up-to-date SARS news for homebound Hong Kongers with usage of news sites leaping 40 percent.

Surfing for SARS bulletins also proved popular among the estimated 60 million internet users in China, where SARS first emerged in the southern province of Guangdong in November.

Baidu, a Chinese language search engine based in Beijing, the world's worst-hit SARS city with 160 deaths and 2465 cases, reported an overall nine percent rise in daily hits last month.

Sohu.com also noted SARS was its most popular search item, generating some 30 000 entries a day.

It was estimated that at peak times, more than one million people in Beijing were trying to get online at the same time jamming connections so that even making a phone call proved difficult.

Is it sustainable?

However, with signs the outbreak is slowing in both Hong Kong and mainland China, industry executives have expressed doubts whether the surge in web use, and hence online sales, is sustainable.

The deadly SARS respiratory virus, for which no cure or vaccine exists, has killed 262 people in Hong Kong from more than 1700 infections, though there have been markedly fewer new SARS cases in recent weeks.

Steyn said it would be interesting to see how many new net users continued to use online services - particularly shopping portals. "It could end up being a silver lining on the SARS cloud.

"I doubt if usage will fall back to the pre-SARS January level ... but whether it will be as high as SARS-levels, I don't think so."

Yahoo! Hong Kong, the territory's number one website in terms of users and traffic, which in April reported a more than 100-percent surge in online sales revenue, expressed concern the rise was not sustainable.

"We are not sure what will happen once SARS is over, but we hope people who had fears about online security will now be encouraged to keep using online shopping services now they have tried them and found them to be safe," said Arthur Chow, Marketing Manager at Yahoo!.

Spokesperson for Park n Shop, Theresa Pang, said online sales had now "settled at around 20 percent higher since the onset of SARS, or 60 percent higher than for the same time last year".

"We hope it doesn't fall back to pre-SARS levels and hopefully we can sustain the 20 percent growth going forward."

Online sales for travel websites, which fell last month as residents shunned travel because of fears of contracting SARS from infected passengers, was expected to rebound after the World Health Organisation lifted an April 2 warning against travel to Hong Kong and neighbouring Guangdong last Friday.

The China Travel website, which saw a 24-percent fall in hits in April, has already recorded a pickup this month along with other travel websites as people rush to take advantage of cut-price travel deals.

AFP

Bezoek online winkels stijgt door SARS

Bezoekersaantallen van online winkels in Azi? zijn door de vrees voor longziekte SARS flink gestegen. Het internetgebruik thuis is in de getroffen gebieden in april vergeleken met februari 13 procent gestegen, blijkt uit cijfers van Nielsen/Netratings.

,,Sinds de zorgen over de besmettelijke ziekte Hongkong troffen, mijdt de consument drukke buitenplaatsen en wendt zich tot internet voor zijn boodschappen en bankzaken'', zegt Peter Steyn van onderzoeksbureau Nielsen/Netratings.

De bezoekersaantallen van online supermarkt parknshop.com zijn met 161 procent gestegen. De website van de Bank of China registreerde een toename van 58 procent. Parknshop hoopt de bezoekers vast te kunnen houden nu de epidemie over zijn piek lijkt

In Hongkong zijn tot maandag 262 mensen overleden aan SARS, er zijn meer dan 1700 mensen ge?nfecteerd met de besmettelijke longziekte.

HK residents feel safe in cyberspace

INCOMMUNICABLE VIRUSES: Web sites that cater to the daily needs of shoppers, such as grocery delivery and banking sites, are the beneficiaries of SARS caution

AFP, HONG KONG
Monday, May 26, 2003, Page 10

For the past two months, Hong Kong web portals have seen soaring usage and booming sales of everything from DVDs to bleach as fears over SARS made sure the only place residents visited was cyberspace.

But with signs that the worst of the SARS outbreak is over and as more residents venture into crowded streets and shopping malls, Internet executives are hoping the killer virus has led to a permanent change of attitudes toward shopping on the web.

Peter Steyn, director of sales and marketing at Nielsen/Netratings, which tracks Internet usage, said home online users rose 13 percent last month, the first month fully reflecting the impact of SARS, which struck in mid-March, compared to February.

"As worries over SARS gripped Hong Kong [last month], consumers turned more to the Internet to find shopping deals and check out their finances instead of walking in crowded places and standing in queues," said Steyn.

Grocery and banking websites were among those recording the highest surge in hits.

"Grocery store Parknshop.com experienced huge growth with visitor numbers up 161 percent since the SARS outbreak," said Steyn. Numbers of cyber surfers visiting the Bank of China's site soared 58 percent over the same period.

In addition to shopping, the Net also proved hugely popular for providing up-to-date SARS news for homebound Hong Kongers with usage of news sites leaping 40 percent.

Surfing for SARS bulletins also proved popular among the estimated 60 million Internet users in China, where SARS first emerged in the southern province of Guangdong in November.

Baidu, a Chinese-language search engine based in Beijing, the world's worst-hit SARS city with 160 deaths and 2,465 cases, reported an overall 9 percent rise in daily hits last month.

Sohu.com also noted SARS was its most popular search item, generating some 30,000 entries a day.

It was estimated that at peak times, more than one million people in Beijing were trying to get online at the same time jamming connections so that even making a phone call proved difficult.

However, with signs the SARS outbreak is slowing in both Hong Kong and China, many industry executives have expressed doubts as to whether the surge in web use, and hence online sales, is sustainable.

The deadly SARS respiratory virus, for which no cure or vaccine exists, has killed 262 people in Hong Kong from more than 1,700 infections, though there have been markedly fewer new SARS cases in recent weeks.

Steyn said it would be interesting to see how many new Net users continued to use online services -- particularly shopping portals.

"It could end up being a silver lining on the SARS cloud. I doubt if usage will fall back to the pre-SARS January level ... but whether it will be as high as SARS-levels, I don't think so," Steyn said.

Yahoo! Hong Kong, the territory's number one website in terms of users and traffic, which last month reported a more than 100-percent surge in online sales revenue, expressed concern the rise was not sustainable.

"We are not sure what will happen once SARS is over, but we hope people who had fears about online security will now be encouraged to keep using online shopping services now they have tried them and found them to be safe," said Arthur Chow, marketing manager at Yahoo!.

Spokeswoman for Park-n-Shop, Theresa Pang, said online sales had now "settled at around 20 percent higher since the onset of SARS, or 60 percent higher than for the same time last year".

"We hope it doesn't fall back to pre-SARS levels and hopefully we can sustain the 20 percent growth going forward," said Pang.

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SARS Boosts HK Consumers' Online Confidence

May 26 2003 : Banks and online retailers in Asia are hoping that once the worst of the SARS pandemic passes, new levels of online banking and sales will remain buoyant as Internet users overcome initial security fears. In Hong Kong, Datamonitor confirms Internet banking rates to have increased by up to 40 per cent as branch traffic shifts to a less 'risky' channel, whereas previous penetration rates were about 8 per cent. Similarly, Hong Kong-based retailer, Park-n-Shop, reports online sales to be "20 per cent higher since the onset of SARS, or 60 per cent higher" than a year ago, while its web traffic has grown by 161 per cent.

Datamonitor says these trends "show the positive potential of disruptive forces such as SARS", which has driven branch traffic down by more than 50 per cent in key Asian markets. As such, "many financial services consumers are retaining their ability to access their financial services products via the Internet", notes analyst, Virginia Garcia. "In the longer term, this channel shift will prompt strategic investments in associated support infrastructure", Garcia advises, and "financial institutions must quickly adjust their ... service strategy... or risk losing customers once convenience overtakes necessity as a critical driver".

With Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong's fifth-largest bank, reporting e-banking transactions in April to have increased to a "mid-double digit" month-on-month total, the next step for banks will be to add security to their online services to assuage users' concerns once the SARS crisis tails off. Internet use in Hong Kong rose 13 per cent in April, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, while the Bank of China's site gained a 58 per cent increase in surfers. Peter Steyn, of Nielsen/NetRatings, doubts that online shopping "usage will fall back to pre-SARS levels", while Yahoo! Hong Kong hopes Internet users will continue shopping online.

Internet firms hope soaring HK Internet sales will outlive SARS

HONG KONG, May 25 (AFP) - For the past two months, Hong Kong web portals have seen soaring usage and booming sales of everything from DVDs to bleach as fears over SARS made sure the only place residents visited was cyberspace.

But with signs that the worst of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak is over and as more residents venture into crowded streets and shopping malls, Internet executives are hoping the killer virus has led to a permanent change of attitudes toward shopping on the web.

Peter Steyn, director of sales and marketing at Nielsen/Netratings, which tracks Internet usage, said home online users rose 13 percent in April, the first month fully reflecting the impact of SARS, which struck in mid-March, compared to February.

"As worries over SARS gripped Hong Kong in April, consumers turned more to the Internet to find shopping deals and check out their finances instead of walking in crowded places and standing in queues," said Steyn.

Grocery and banking websites were among those recording the highest surge in hits.

"Grocery store Parknshop.com experienced huge growth with visitor numbers up 161 percent since the SARS outbreak," said Steyn. Numbers of cyber surfers visiting the Bank of China's site soared 58 percent over the same period.

In addition to shopping, the Net also proved hugely popular for providing up-to-date SARS news for homebound Hong Kongers with usage of news sites leaping 40 percent.

Surfing for SARS bulletins also proved popular among the estimated 60 million Internet users in China, where SARS first emerged in the southern province of Guangdong in November.

Baidu, a Chinese language search engine based in Beijing, the world's worst-hit SARS city with 160 deaths and 2,465 cases, reported an overall nine percent rise in daily hits last month.

Sohu.com also noted SARS was its most popular search item, generating some 30,000 entries a day.

It was estimated that at peak times, more than one million people in Beijing were trying to get online at the same time jamming connections so that even making a phone call proved difficult.

However, with signs the outbreak is slowing in both Hong Kong and mainland China, industry executives have expressed doubts whether the surge in web use, and hence online sales, is sustainable.

The deadly SARS respiratory virus, for which no cure or vaccine exists, has killed 262 people in Hong Kong from more than 1,700 infections, though there have been markedly fewer new SARS cases in recent weeks.

Steyn said it would be interesting to see how many new Net users continued to use online services -- particularly shopping portals. "It could end up being a silver lining on the SARS cloud.

"I doubt if usage will fall back to the pre-SARS January level ... but whether it will be as high as SARS-levels, I don't think so."

Yahoo! Hong Kong, the territory's number one website in terms of users and traffic, which in April reported a more than 100-percent surge in online sales revenue, expressed concern the rise was not sustainable.

"We are not sure what will happen once SARS is over, but we hope people who had fears about online security will now be encouraged to keep using online shopping services now they have tried them and found them to be safe," said Arthur Chow, Marketing Manager at Yahoo!.

Spokeswoman for Park n Shop, Theresa Pang, said online sales had now "settled at around 20 percent higher since the onset of SARS, or 60 percent higher than for the same time last year".

"We hope it doesn't fall back to pre-SARS levels and hopefully we can sustain the 20 percent growth going forward."

Online sales for travel websites, which fell last month as residents shunned travel because of fears of contracting SARS from infected passengers, was expected to rebound after the World Health Organisation lifted an April 2 warning against travel to Hong Kong and neighbouring Guangdong last Friday.

The China Travel website, which saw a 24-percent fall in hits in April, has already recorded a pickup this month along with other travel websites as people rush to take advantage of cut-price travel deals.

Virus forces shoppers online

Staff reporter

Hong Kong consumers increased online shopping by 13 per cent after the Sars outbreak, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

Total Internet shoppers in April rose to 2.4 million from 2.2 million in February, the market research firm said.

``Consumers turned to the Internet for online shopping and banking, preferring to browse the Internet for shopping deals and check out their finances online rather than walk in crowded places or stand in queues,'' said the firm's director of sales and marketing Peter Steyn.

Parknshop.com, the website of the supermarket chain controlled by Hutchison Whampoa, recorded the largest percentage gain of 161 per cent to 78,830 users. The most popular site remained Yahoo Shopping/Auction, which rose 16 per cent to 429,710 users in April.

``It will be interesting to see how many of these new users continue to use online shopping sites, now they have visited once,'' said Steyn. ``It may end up being a silver lining on the Sars cloud for some of the online retailers.''

Online banking also gained popularity amid the Sars crisis with overall users rising by 25 per cent. Users of Bank of China's website rose by 58 per cent from February to 68,760 users in April, Hang Seng Bank's by 41 per cent to 229,130 and HSBC by 34 per cent to 374,500.

Declines were recorded in movie, event ticket and travel booking sites as people opted for in-home pursuits over out-of-home entertainment and travel, Nielsen/NetRatings said, with Cinema.com.hk, for example, suffering a 24 per cent decrease of users to 108,100.

Hong Kong's shoppers seek online refuge

By Maija Pesola in London and Justine Lau in Hong Kong

Financial Times

Like many Hong Kong companies, cosmetics seller Sa Sa International Holding had abandoned the idea that online sales would ever be a big part of its business.

After all, Hong Kong has a reputation as a consumers' paradise, where many people list "shopping" as a favourite hobby. The city's compactness, convenience and plethora of malls have made it a place where people like to shop face-to-face.

All that has changed, however, since the outbreak of Sars in the territory in mid-March. "With Sars, people have realised that shopping online can help them buy things in the safety of their homes," said Sa Sa spokesperson Macy Leung.

Sa Sa's online sales in the second half of March rose 25 per cent compared with the first half of the month and have continued to increase in April.

Web surfers have been snapping up surgical masks, hand moisturiser (because all of that hand washing dries out the skin), thermometers and anti-acne products to combat oily skin from mask wearing.

This is a marked turnaround from the recent past, according to Peter Steyn, director of Nielsen Net/Ratings Hong Kong, which tracks online activity in the region.

"People in Hong Kong love to go shopping - it is part of the culture. But they love to feel and touch the things they are buying," says Mr Steyn.

In the US, for example, an estimated 62 per cent of internet users had purchased products online as of October last year, compared with only 18 per cent in Hong Kong.

However, preliminary data from Nielsen Hong Kong indicate big increases in traffic to e-commerce websites such as Ebay and Amazon and Yahoo Hong Kong's virtual mall in April as panic about the virus began to take hold.

"The increase wasn't initially that great, because people were rushing out to buy things that were in short supply. But now they are spending more time at home, and they are coming on to the internet more," said Arthur Chow, Yahoo Hong Kong's manager of business and marketing.

According to preliminary figures by Nielsen, Yahoo, the most frequently visited site, saw a 16 per cent jump in visitor numbers, while visitors to Ebay increased 25 per cent, and Amazon user numbers jumped 23 per cent. Yesasia.com, an Asia-based online retailer that sells everything from CDs and comics to cuddly toys, has seen a 60 per cent increase in traffic.

Hot selling items include groceries and bleach - used to sterilise homes to help stop the disease spreading. Park N Shop, Hong Kong's largest supermarket chain, is reporting a 40 per cent rise in online sales since March.

Not all e-commerce sites have benefited. The flip side of increased DVD sales is a 34 per cent decrease in traffic at cinema.com.hk, the site for booking cinema tickets online.

But overall, e-tailers are hopeful that these exceptional times will create a lasting shift in Hong Kong's consumer behaviour.

"This is acting as a catalyst, pushing people who have not tried before to shop online for the first time," said Mr Chow. "Maybe, if they are satisfied with the service, they will continue."

El SARS aumenta compras online

SYDNEY, (Reuters).- El tráfico online de sitios de compras, educación, noticias, salud y bancos aumentó en Hong Kong dado que la gente busca la seguridad del hogar para protegerse del virus que causa el SARS y mantenerse lejos de los lugares públicos, según un sondeo.

La firma que supervisa la Internet Nielsen/NetRatings dijo que abril fue el primer mes desde febrero del 2001 en que el número de usuarios activos de la red en la ciudad mostró un crecimiento de dos dígitos.

El tráfico aumentó notablemente cuando los cibernautas exploraron sitios que normalmente no visitarían, dijo el director de mercadeo en Hong Kong de la agencia, Peter Steyn.

El SARS apareció en el sur de China a fines del año pasado antes de diseminarse por el mundo. El brote rebasó las fronteras de Hong Kong en marzo.

El SARS ha matado a casi 600 personas en todo el mundo e infectado a más de 7.600 en 30 países desde que se originó en el sur de China.

Nielsen/NetRatings comentó que el tráfico en los cibersitios nuevos aumentó el 40 por ciento en abril, en comparación con febrero, los visitantes a portales de educación aumentaron un 36 por ciento y el tráfico a cibersitios de bancos se incrementó en un 27 por ciento.

La cifra de personas que visitan sitios de compras generales aumentó un 15 por ciento, pero la categoría estaba modificada por una reducción significativa en el tráfico a sitios de películas y de compra de entradas para programas recreativos y portales de viajes.

Nielsen/NetRatings no aportó información del sondeo sobre el uso de la Internet en otras áreas de Asia afectadas por el SARS o atemorizadas por la enfermedad.

Email still rules, says Nielsen/NetRatings

www.telecomasia.net

Email is still the dominant Internet application, according to the latest Nielsen/NetRatings Global Trend survey.

The survey of 12 countries in the past six months found that at least 75% of households with Internet access used email. In Australia, the UK and the Netherlands, 90% of all adults had used email in the period.

By contrast, involvement in chat rooms was lower than 30% in all countries except Brazil and Spain where 41% and 38% respectively used chat rooms.

"Of all the popular Internet applications, email is the global activity of choice," said, Director, Nielsen//NetRatings director Peter Steyn.

"The key to email's popularity is two-fold: it's a cost-effective way to communicate across great distances, and it doesn't require the same high connection speeds as some of the other applications. In most countries in this report, a 56k modem or slower modem is the most popular tool to access the Internet."

In Hong Kong - the only Asian market surveyed - 58% of those who responded and had Internet access used either a cable modem or high-speed telephone connection to access the Internet. The study found that 38% of Hong Kong users had listened to Internet radio in the past six months, second behind Brazil (40%). The results showed 84% had used email, 28% had participated in a chat room, 26% used instant messaging and 34% had looked audio-visual content.

Globally, the number of people with access to the Internet via a home PC increased from 498.2 million in Q4 2001 to 531.3 million in the first quarter of 2002.

Auction action

Hong Kong's growing fascination with cyber wheeling-and-dealing has given rise to a range of local Internet sites, where Sars-shy shoppers can buy anything from fish to face masks. Neil Western reports Updated on May 17, 2003

GOING ONCE . . . a signed promotional poster of Joey Yung (bids start at $30); Going twice . . . a floral vase which 'might be antique' (open at $50); Gone . . . 'your lover' (upwards of $100,000). These are the types of goods and services you stumble on while surfing Hong Kong's thriving Internet auction sites. While many Americans are addicted to eBay, the growing fascination with cyber wheeling-and-dealing in Hong Kong is a lesser-known phenomenon. Yet sites such as Red-Dots, HK.Auctions and Go2HK are filling the local niche for new and second-hand clothes, cameras, books and, well . . . junk. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, which monitors Internet use, auction sites are pulling in up to twice the number of bargain-hunters than this time last year. Adding to the trend is an overall Internet shopping boom, since Sars forced Hongkongers off the street and into the safety of their homes. In April, Hong Kong shopping sites were visited 1.1 million times by home Internet users, behind news and education sites with 1.5 million and 1.2 million visits respectively, but ahead of banking and travel sites, which attracted 600,000 and 271,000 visits. By far the most popular shopping site was Yahoo, with 430,000 visitors. 'April was the first 'full Sars month' and traffic increased dramatically as surfers explored sites they wouldn't normally visit,' says Peter Steyn, director of sales and marketing for Nielsen/NetRatings. 'There was a clear sign that people were surfing the Internet as a substitute for activities that would normally take place away from home.' The average time users spent online increased from 15 hours 12 minutes in February to 22 hours 39 minutes in April. Yahoo's own figures suggest that since the Sars outbreak in March, many window-shoppers have made their first online purchases and existing customers are spending more. While site visits are up 20 per cent, transactions have soared 70 per cent and revenue 80 per cent, according to business development manager Arthur Chow. 'People are getting used to the online shopping experience,' says Chow. 'Whether Sars will permanently change shopping habits is too early to tell, but making their first buy is a step in the right direction.' According to Neilsen/NetRatings, auction sites sell more than direct online retailers. In April, Yahoo subsidiary HK.Auctions was the biggest draw, having doubled its home-viewing figures to 130,000 since the same month last year. Next came Red-Dots (122,000, up 35 per cent), eBay (119,000, up 98 per cent) and Go2HK (105,000, up 47 per cent). Of these, all but eBay are locally based sites, where people meet and make deals. 'A lot of people in Hong Kong look for special items or good bargains,' says Chow. 'My guess is that they also have more spare time, considering the high unemployment rate. Also, many jobless people are setting up small merchandising businesses via auction sites, as happened in the US. Alan Chow of Go2HK agrees. 'Most Hong Kong people are money-sensitive with sound business minds. They know how to earn money by buying at a low price and selling [on] at a higher price.' The city's faddish consumers also want the latest mobile phone, or this season's fashion, which creates a large pool of second-hand goods, he says. The fact that Hong Kong is relatively small also means buyers and sellers can meet personally to trade goods rather than do so by mail, increasing the chances of a fair deal. However, while Americans trade across cities thousands of miles apart, Hong Kong's unique cultural, political and economic structures mean people cannot trade easily with Taiwan or the mainland. 'Hong Kong is still a standalone city of about two million Internet users,' says Chow. 'Most auction players here only trade with others from Hong Kong.' Although popular here, eBay has no Hong Kong-based site, as it does in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and on the mainland. 'In Hong Kong, our members range from individuals looking for rare items to small businesses trying to find a global audience for their products,' says Chris Donlay, eBay's senior director of communications. But Nielsen/NetRatings' Steyn says regular shopping sites may have a hard time sustaining this recent growth. Although niche products may do well (popular buys from overseas sites are books, CDs and DVDs unavailable locally), low-end local retailers, such as supermarkets, may struggle. Says Steyn: 'Convenience is not a reason in Hong Kong because everything is already convenient. Catalogue shopping is non-existent, so why go online? People like to go to stores and look at different products.' Security can be a problem with Internet transactions. Yahoo and Go2HK say they have a strict privacy policy and secure systems, but a fear of being ripped off remains. 'We have to overcome the barriers that exist. People are wary of buying online with their credit cards,' says Steyn. 'Retailers and banks need to assure people that electronic transactions are safe by providing guarantees of maximum liability in case of overcharging, or a customer's card details being stolen. This is where the Sars-enforced trend to shop from home may help. Web site owners will be able to show customers doing their shopping online that their credit card has not been overcharged.' The Sars-led Internet boom is a golden opportunity that probably won't happen again, says Steyn. 'Site owners have to make sure the online shopping experience works for people, so they will come back.' Additional reporting by Hannah Lee

El SARS hace aumentar las compras online en Hong Kong

Nielsen//Netratings sostiene que abril fue el primer mes desde febrero de 2001 en que el número de usuarios activos de Internet había mostrado un crecimiento de dos dígitos. El tráfico aumentó considerablemente desde el momento en que los internautas empezaron a entrar en sites que normalmente no visitarían, según ha afirmado el director de la empresa en Hong Kong, Peter Steyn. El promedio de páginas vistas en abril creció hasta un 44% comparado con febrero. Las visitas a webs sobre educación aumentaron hasta un 36% y el tráfico en páginas de entidades bancarias registró un crecimiento de un 27%.

Las websites o portales de venta de artículos aumentaron sus visitas un 15%, aunque las de reservas de entradas para cine y otros espectáculos, e incluso reservas de viajes, descendieron considerablemente. Parece ser que los habitantes de Hong Kong han recurrido a Internet para continuar con su vida normal con el fin de reducir al máximo sus salidas al exterior y evitar de esta manera cualquier tipo de contacto con el virus de neumonía atípica.

El SARS, síndrome agudo respiratorio severo, brotó desde la provincia de Cantón, en China, a finales del pasado año y se ha extendido rápidamente por 30 países afectando a más de 7.600 personas. La epidemia en Hong Kong comenzó el pasado mes de marzo. Nielsen/netratings no tiene datos que hagan referencia al uso de Internet en otras áreas asiáticas o países afectados por el SARS o el pánico a la enfermedad.

Cutbacks show that marketers fail to see Sars' silver lining

by Peter Steyn, director of Nielsen//NetRatings Asia Media Asia 16-May-03

When I hear about marketers who are trimming online budgets and deferring online advertising, I'm convinced they have not seen one silver lining of the Sars cloud.

Last month, the net attracted the highest audience ever in Hong Kong.

And all those people spent a considerable amount of time replacing offline activities with online ones. Some likely satisfied their shopping fix on the net. As the war unfolded in Iraq, people in Hong Kong turned to the internet for up-to-the-minute information. Audiences of online news sites reached record highs as people looked for detailed coverage of the latest developments.

Then the mysterious virus hit contributing to a further boost in news site audiences and driving droves of people indoors and online. As many were afraid to go out wandering through shopping malls and other public places, they turned again to the internet for news, health information, shopping, banking, education, and communication. The internet kept them in close contact with - and at a safe distance from - friends, families and colleagues.

For the first time since Nielsen//NetRatings started measuring internet audiences in Hong Kong nearly three years ago, we saw a double-digit increase in a single month of the number of people going online. A look at online channels and their at-home audience for April (a month packed with Sars and war stories) with pre-Sars February shows news site audiences shot up phenomenally with several reaching an audience level previously unseen.

With the net's extensive content and rich media, people sat at their computers longer than ever before.

Online shopping - even online grocery shopping - has become more fashionable than hanging out at big malls or at Mongkok's labyrinth. While most of the shopping sites recorded a healthy increase in their audiences, parknshop.com bloomed like we have never witnessed before. Online banking took off as well. Audiences of the top two bank sites, in particular, shot up considerably in April compared with the pre-Sars days in February.

Not surprisingly, people by the thousands flocked to medical sites such as the Department of Health (info.gov.hk/dh) and the Hospital Authority (ha.org.hk) for virus stats and tips on how to protect themselves. The dedicated Sars website appropriately named www.sosick.org, became an overnight favourite for charts, messaging and its list of infected buildings. As many schools were closed, students found there was no way to escape their educational responsibilities. Most of the educational sites grew by double and triple digits in April, compared with pre-Sars February.

While people in Hong Kong were forced to discover the conveniences of online shopping and banking, it remains to be seen whether they will continue to rely on these conveniences once it is totally safe to head out freely.