According to the survey, of 528 Internet users in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, just over half of the people questioned welcomed the new purchasing method, while the proportion of people still hesitant about online shopping was almost the same.

"The proportion of e-shopping supporters is as high as 50.1 per cent, much higher than expected. Its development indicates a bright future for China's online business,"said Ling Qingxia, an analyst with Horizon.

According to the survey, people who support online purchasing are not only veteran Internet users. About 43.8 per cent of the surveyed people who are not regular Internet users also appreciate the new purchasing method.

For most online shoppers, the wide variety of goods and the discounted prices are not the main attraction.

"Shopping online can save me lots of time,"said Kang Zhe, a middle-aged manager of a Swiss-based company in Beijing. Like Kang, as many as 78 per cent of the online consumers surveyed marked sacing time as the top reason for choosing to shop online, according to the report.

Besides saving time, there are many other factors that attract consumers away from traditional shops and to websites with shopping services. Simplified shopping procedures and the delivery of goods are two of the other top reasons chosen by nearly 60 per cent of surveyed online consumers.

Only 25.1 per cent of surveyed consumers were attracted by cheap online prices, about 15.2 of those questioned did it because others did and a mere 11 per cent of people shopped online out of curiosity, according to the survey.

"From the reasons provided by consumers we can see that online shopping has won a large group of mature and stable consumers. These consumers will provide a promising future for online shopping,"said Ling.

The report also shows that books, CDs and VCDs, computers and mobile phones and their parts are the most common goods bought online. The sales records from online shops say the same thing.

According to statistics from www.joyo.com, a popular online audio and video products shop, the site once reported a daily sales record of 5,000 copies of the VCD "A Chinese Odyssey I & II," a movie about the Monkey King.

However, despite the strong support of consumers, the new purchasing method still faces strong negative feelings, according to the report.

"This is not a surprise as nearly half of the people surveyed were against online shopping. It will take time before all consumers accept the new purchasing method."

While showing an overall bright future for the development of the new concept, the report also points out the weaknesses and disadvantages of the method, of which a lack of trust in security on the Internet and a distinct lack of pleasure in the action of shopping online are the main offenders.