Pandemic accelerated shift to E-commerce with 91% of respondents purchased online in 2020, and 36% of them received suspicious messages related to online shopping
27th August 2021, Hong Kong – Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (“HKIRC”) today announced the results of the “Hong Kong E-Commerce & Security Survey 2021” (“the survey”). The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world and triggered some changes in online shopping behaviour, the importance of cyber security has also been raised. This survey aims to explore e-commerce adoption in Hong Kong and its close relationship with cyber security.
In mid-June, HKIRC conducted a research study through telephone and online interviews. Nearly 1,300 responses from local enterprises and individuals were successfully collected. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 54 and they covered a wide variety of retail sectors.
Concluded from the survey findings, HKIRC recommended Six Tips for E-Commerce Strategy including:
- Use multiple sales channels for e-commerce
- Use digital identity to demonstrate your local presence
- Use a dedicated business domain email address instead of general one
- Choose the best domain name to strengthen consumers’ confidence
- Secure the online store with HTTPS to increase customer confidence
- Focus on data protection measures to prevent data breach
As the Internet grows, so does the importance of digital identity for businesses. Both small and medium-sized businesses (83%) and large enterprises (95%) are aware of the importance of a business digital identity. Key identities include trademarks, business domain names, business email and business social media accounts. It is also noteworthy that 33% of SMEs are still using free email addresses for business purposes, but not dedicated email addresses with business domain names.
Retailers are encouraged to protect their business digital identity when moving their business activities online and to apply dedicated domain email addresses to strengthen their online presence.
Mr. Wilson Wong, CEO of HKIRC, said: “The e-commerce boom is driving online retail and reshaping consumer behavior for the future. Our survey results show that today there is a greater focus on securing digital identities, so we strongly recommend that retailers should not overlook the importance of security controls while seeking multiple promotion channels. Companies should take a proactive approach by rolling out a strong and resilient protection strategies, strengthening customers’ confidence, and staying up-to-date on market insights.”
On the bright side, e-commerce consumers are becoming more aware of cyber security. The majority of online consumers (73%) consider security and privacy controls when choosing an online store. Their top requirements of browsing online stores include the site’s adoption of HTTPs (78%) and account security (73%).
From retailers’ perspective, “cyber security and compliance” (39%) is one of the top 3 difficulties in setting up an E-commerce presence. Despite the challenges, nearly 80 percent of retailers still consider cyber security to be critical to the success of their e-commerce business.
E-commerce sales in Hong Kong are expected to sail and remain on an upward trend in the future. Digital asset management is particularly important for ambitious e-commerce retailers in establishing a strong position in the Internet world, and as such, domain name registration should be at the top of the entrepreneurial agenda. In the face of the new challenges of the digital age, HKIRC will continue to support the ecommerce development by building a secure Internet environment through various programmes such as free website security scan programme, cybersecurity information sharing and collaborative platform (Cybersec Infohub) and seminars.
About HKIRC