BackKids’ appetite for online retail sites grows threefold amid shift in browsing behavior, says Kaspersky report
The most searched for retailers by children across the globe include AliExpress, Amazon and EbaySearching for goods online, as well as visiting specific retailers’ pages does not necessarily imply actual spending
PremiumNEW DELHI : Children have been actively taking to e-commerce sites, with their interest in online shopping having more than tripled over the last 12 months to 9% from 2%, according to global cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab’s annual report on kids’ safety released on Thursday. The report is based on anonymized statistics from Kaspersky Lab products with parental control functionality.
The report found that, just like adults children too enjoyed the benefits of online shopping and browsed (and sometimes buying) in a way which will probably become the only way to shop in the future. According to the statistics, youngsters’ growing interest in e-commerce sites was a global trend, but the extent varied depending on location.
According to the report, the largest share (and also biggest growth) in online shopping searches was seen in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (23%). This was followed by a significant percentage gap in other regions: North America (15%), Europe and the Middle East (11%), Asia and Latin America (9%).
As such, parents need to provide their kids with the right guidance and support, to ensure they have a positive online experience — without the risks of unintentionally sharing personal and payment information with fraudsters, or potentially falling for social engineered scams or suffering monetary loss. It is therefore vital that parents and other adults in the family stay up-to-date with key changes in children’s online behavior.
While there were clearly some regional differences, the most searched for retailers by children across the globe include AliExpress, Amazon and Ebay. When it came to Chinese retailers in particular, kids’ queries have steadily grown year-on-year. Sports apparel (Nike, Adidas), electronics (Apple, Samsung), and fashion brands (Gucci, Vans, Supreme, Zara, Bershka) were the most searched for sites among young consumer audience.
According to the report, searching for goods online, as well as visiting specific retailers’ pages does not necessarily imply actual spending. Kids might have been just looking at things they wanted or were compiling ‘wish lists’ to share with friends and family. Therefore, this increased attention towards online shopping by children should not be interpreted as a need to forbid such activities, but rather that parents pay attention to online habits and talk to their children about the possible risks and precautions while establishing some clear ground rules.
“The internet offers a lot of opportunities for kids, and we are now seeing many children becoming a key audience for online retailers. Whether they spend money or not, they need support and guidance from adults who can help them avoid inadvertently coming across inappropriate content, suffering money loss or unnecessarily sharing their personal data. While there are certain things that parental control software can do, it is vital that adults are aware of what their children are doing online and ensure they are armed with all the facts to do it safely," said Anna Larkina, web content analysis expert at Kaspersky.
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