PETALING JAYA: Malaysians spent RM1.8bil shopping on the Internet last year, and this figure is expected to almost triple in three years, according to a Nielsen Company study. The study, commissioned by PayPal, also found that Malaysians were spending more on local websites with transactions worth RM825mil, compared with foreign websites which only recorded RM627mil in receipts. The study polled 400 Malaysian online shoppers aged 18 and above in January and February this year for their online and mobile shopping transactions in the past 12 months. A PayPal statement Thursday said online shoppers mostly bought airline tickets, financial services, fashion and cosmetics from local websites while more book purchases and music and movie downloads were made on foreign websites. When Malaysian shoppers buy from overseas websites, they cite unavailability of items as the main reasons for shopping there. Cost was the least of their concerns. The study also found that shopping on mobile devices registering strong growth potential. Last year, more than 254,000 online shoppers spent RM100mil paying bills and buying movie tickets, books and movie/music/game downloads on their mobile devices. However, online security was among the top concerns for online shoppers with seven out of 10 shoppers willing to spend more online if safety measures were increased.