“I am not suggesting for a minute that online shopping is going to put our retailers out of business tomorrow,” stated Chris Moerdyk, a columnist for South Africa’s News 24. “Relatively few South Africans have access to the Internet or credit cards which seem to be essential to the process.”
But what if Internet access or credit cards were not essential to the process?
While Internet access is becoming prevalent across the globe, easy access to reliable payment mechanisms is still not as widespread as it should be, especially given the lure of single-click online payments using mobile devices.
The telecoms seem to agree, as evidenced by their m-payment initiative, which will bring these services beyond the web (www.xbiz.com/blogs/124456).
Nielsen Online recently revealed that Chinese surfers are the most prolific Internet shoppers in Asia, with 95 percent of them expected to make online purchases within the next six months — at levels accounting for up to 25 percent of their income.
Like many other consumer groups, payment issues top their list of concerns.
“Online payment security, ensuring product quality and after sales services are the key barriers for online shopping,” John Burbank, CEO of Nielsen Online, stated, adding “The online market must take steps to improve the credibility of suppliers and transaction security. This will help bolster consumer confidence in online shopping.”
This is true no matter what you are selling online, or to whom you are selling it to; and the search for next generation payment solutions will not be locally limited either.
