석사학위논문 Study on Customer Satisfaction of Online Shopping in Uzbekistan

Buying Behavior of Uzbekistan


Traditions of shopping at bazaars for a wide-range of products, from fruit and vegetables to apparel and footwear, continue to dominate the behavior of Uzbekistani consumers. Moreover, the strength of traditional bazaars is reinforced by the fact that most Uzbekistani’s inhabit rural regions with limited access to modern retailing formats. Internet retailing is still in the early stages of emergence in Uzbekistan. However, it is likely to see its expansion accelerated by a government focus on creating favorable conditions for the channel’s development, including granting electronic receipts for online transactions the same status as physical receipts and introducing The National Register of Electronic Commerce Entities in 2018, with companies on the register becoming subject to a single payment tax rate of 2%. Population growth, rising consumer purchasing power, expanding store networks, increasing foreign investment and the growing influence of Western trends are all expected to play a part in driving growth in retailing in the Uzbekistani market over the forecast period.
E-commerce is still underdeveloped in Uzbekistan, and it is only now starting to become a priority. In May 2018, President of Uzbekistan signed a decree "On measures for the accelerated development of e-commerce", and approved the "Program for the Development of E-commerce in Uzbekistan for 2018-2021". Nevertheless, given that e-commerce is still rather uncharted in Uzbekistan, there aren't any official numbers on the market value or revenue. The main barriers to development of e-commerce in the country are insufficient electronic banking services, conversion limitations and underdeveloped trade and customs regulations. The capital, Tashkent, is currently the only viable e-commerce market in the country, as it's home to 90% of Uzbek internet users. On the other hand, the increasing number of mobile internet access contributes to the potential for e-commerce growth, and moderate to strong growth is expected in mobile broadband use over the next five years. However, at the moment mobile e-commerce is not widespread in Uzbekistan and is still developing. According to Euromonitor International⁶, the increasing use of Internet services and the competition among internet providers is driving down prices. Arbauz led online sales in 2016 with 11% value share, broad product variety, and strong promotional campaigns. Other popular e-commerce websites include OLX, AliExpress, and Amazon. The most popular products purchased online are health and beauty products, electronics, clothing and shoes. As for cross-border e-commerce, Chinese and Turkish products are the most popular ones among Uzbeks. Online payment is done through the use of bank cards linked to smartphones, although the majority of transactions are still done by cash. However, PayMe, ClickUz, UzCard are the most popular online transaction methods (apps) in Uzbekistan. People use these apps for card to card transactions, payment for phone simCards, communal payments and just only few percent of consumers for online shopping.

Uzbekistan is a low-middle income country and such its consumers tend to be price-sensitive. More than half of population access the Internet through their smartphones, 47% go online using computers (both desktops and laptops), and 2% use their tablets. Growing mobile penetration has been playing a critical role in improving Internet access. However, service is still expensive, and broadband speeds are low, which curbs internet use. In 2017, there were 21.38 million (70% of the population) mobile connections in Uzbekistan, out of which 42% were either 3G or 4G. Uzbeks prefer pre-paid connections, which represent 97% of all mobile connections, while only 3% of them were post-paid⁷.

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