Survey: Malaysians ahead of global average in embracing tech for retail, but many still prefer physical stores in Covid era

The Adyen Retail Report found that 28 per cent of Malaysian businesses digitally connected their payment systems to other parts of the organisation — such as inventory management and supply chains — compared to the 21 per cent global average and 24 per cent average across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. — ETX Studio pic

By Keertan Ayamany

Tuesday, 02 Aug 2022 4:08 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Malaysian businesses and consumers were the most receptive towards several aspects of digital adaptation compared to more than 20 other countries in a post-Covid world, according to the Adyen Retail Report 2022 released today.

Those 20 countries include the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Germany.

The Adyen Retail Report found that 28 per cent of Malaysian businesses digitally connected their payment systems to other parts of the organisation — such as inventory management and supply chains — compared to the 21 per cent global average and 24 per cent average across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

In terms of consumer behaviour, 81 per cent of Malaysians said they used shopping apps more during the pandemic than before, compared to the 50 per cent global average and 58 per cent average across APAC.

However, more than any other country studied, Malaysians (76 per cent) said they would still shop at physical stores for pleasure, as they see online shopping as just for convenience.

“Malaysian businesses have proven their resilience and adaptability during the pandemic, and their future is bright.

“Malaysian consumers’ love for tech-enabled, seamless shopping experiences stands out on a global level and the time is ripe for retailers to capitalise on the RM334 billion opportunity in digital transformation,” Priyanka Gargav, Adyen’s commercial head for South-East Asia and Hong Kong, said during a media briefing here today.

The study also found that 84 per cent of businesses who digitally integrated their various systems grew by 20 per cent or more.

Malaysians were also found to have the “highest standards”, where 81 per cent of consumers in the country said they would not shop at a retailer if they have a bad experience either online or in-store.

The global average for the same segment was 70 per cent, while the APAC average stood at 73 per cent.

Additionally, 87 per cent of Malaysian consumers said they were more likely to shop with retailers that use technology to enhance the customer experience — which is 32 per cent more than the global average.

For example, a total of 75 per cent of Malaysian consumers said they would love it if in-store sales assistants could use technology to assemble items from customers’ online wish list in the changing room, ready for them to try on.

This was compared to 46 per cent globally and 56 per cent across the Asia Pacific region.

Furthermore, 74 per cent of Malaysians want to be able to buy items online, but return them in-store — something that Adyen noted only 30 per cent of businesses were doing.

For this study, Adyen, a digital payment platform, polled a total of 10,000 businesses from 23 countries, and 40,000 consumers from 26 countries.

This includes 500 businesses and 1,000 consumers from Malaysia.

The study was sponsored by international financial services firm KPMG.