The number of digital consumers in Southeast Asia has reached a staggering 200 million, representing a US$50 billion digital economy. This colossal growth presents an opportunity for a new form of consumerism, one where the consumer experience is of utmost importance.
Visa’s latest report titled ‘Rise Of The Digitally Engaged Consumer' serves as a guide to the evolving payment needs of consumers in the new digital economy in Southeast Asia.
They conducted the annual Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Survey to understand the behaviours of digital consumers and to identify areas where we can drive greater adoption of electronic payments.
The latest survey was conducted amongst 4,000 consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in July 2017.
Within the report, herewith are extractions that well-explained the evolving digital world happening in the region.
Look at how the industry has emerged!
SOUTHEAST ASIANS CAN REALLY GO CASHLESS!
Close to seven in 10 (68 per cent) of consumers in Southeast Asia are confident of going completely cashless for a full day, and close to half (45 per cent) said they can go cashless for three days. This is a testament to the effectiveness of a robust payment infrastructure that supports each country’s vision to become a digital nation.
Herewith is the full rankings of two categories listed in the report:
Category 1: Consumers in Southeast Asia Who ‘Go Can Go Cashless for 24 hours’
| COUNTRY | PERCENTAGE (%) |
| Indonesia | 76 |
| Philippines | 69 |
| Singapore | 68 |
| Vietnam | 66 |
| Thailand | 63 |
| Malaysia | 61 |
| Myanmar | 45 |
Category 2: Consumers in Southeast Asia Who ‘Go Can Go Cashless for 3 Days’
| COUNTRY | PERCENTAGE (%) |
| Vietnam | 57 |
| Philippines | 51 |
| Indonesia | 47 |
| Singapore | 42 |
| Malaysia | 42 |
| Myanmar | 38 |
| Thailand | 37 |
THE REGION’S SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
As consumers become more digitally savvy, they want to be able to shop, browse and purchase goods and services at any time of the day. Hence, for many consumers across the region, such “on-the-go” attitudes are already ingrained in their minds as they go through their daily lives.
On average, consumers in Southeast Asia spend approximately six hours on their smartphones and almost three hours on social media in a single day.
Here’s the percentage of respondents who shopped on mobile at least once a month, AT LEAST, is the keyword:
| COUNTRY | PERCENTAGE (%) |
| Thailand | 87 |
| Indonesia | 81 |
| Vietnam | 74 |
| Malaysia | 73 |
| Singapore | 71 |
| Philippines | 69 |
SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST USAGE OF DEVICE-INITIATED PAYMENTS
The introduction of various payment solutions such as Visa contactless payments, Visa Checkout and Visa Token Service has transformed the way consumers conduct their daily lives – from shopping to booking a taxi to ordering and paying for food in a variety of restaurants.
On this particular area, Seasia personally opined that the ranking of countries in the region somehow reflects the e-commerce sector emerged in respective countries. Look here, the percentage usage of device-initiated payments:
| COUNTRY | PERCENTAGE (%) |
| Vietnam | 91 |
| Indonesia | 85 |
| Philippines | 69 |
| Malaysia | 68 |
| Singapore | 67 |
| Myanmar | 2 |
SCAN TO PAY
The new world of commerce has involved Quick Response (QR) codes being used for a broad range of payment activities such as payment at a merchant in a coffee shop, receiving a disbursement or even paying on public transportation.
Visa’s QR-based payment service allows consumers to transfer funds from their designated account to the retailer or merchant’s account reliably and securely, by scanning a QR code.
But how aware you are on the QR payment services? Are you the regular users of using such form of payments?
Here’s another interesting fact for you:
| COUNTRY | PERCENTAGE (%) |
| Thailand | 74 |
| Vietnam | 65 |
| Indonesia | 57 |
| Malaysia | 52 |
| Singapore | 50 |
| Philippines | 48 |
| Myanmar | 11 |
Source : Visa Singapore Official Report
