In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Singapore Consumers Want to See Online Traits In-Store; Delivery Main Contributor of SEA Consumer Complaints; Taiwan E-commerce Group Partners Korea Logistics Firms; and Lazada Tweaks Liveup Benefits & Refreshes Brand.

Singapore Consumers Want to See Online Traits In-Store

Some 41% of Singapore consumers are more likely to spend in-store if the items are categorised similarly to online stores, while 55% will leave without buying if they are unable to find the right item.

When they do shop online, 58% would abandon their cart if delivery charges are too high, according to a global study by Blis, which surveyed 6,000 consumers including more than 450 in Singapore.

The findings suggested that retailers should consider new technologies such as automated store assistance and smart mirrors to facilitate product discovery, as well as introduce home delivery or in-store collection for online purchases, to improve purchase rate.

Some 80% of Singapore consumers also tapped their mobile phones while shopping in-store, with 72% doing so to compare prices online. Another 63% said they spent time browsing for items in-store before purchasing them online, the study found, adding that 54% did so because they found better deals.

On the flip side, 67% of Singapore respondents said they spent time searching for items online before making the final purchase in-store, with 56% doing so to ascertain the quality of the product before buying.

Consumers in Singapore, at 68%, also are willing to offer their personal data at the entrance of a store in exchange for vouchers.

Another 64% said they decided to walk to the nearest available store in search of relevant products after seeing an online advertisement while outdoors. Amongst these, 86% would proceed to purchase the corresponding product.

Blis' Asia managing director Richard Andrew said: "Shoppers' attention and discretionary spending are now being pulled in multiple directions, meaning, retail strategy has to evolve. In a mobile-first world, retailers have to master new approaches like location-based data to connect with shoppers at the right place and time to win their hearts, minds, and wallets.

"Emotions influence behaviour and retail therapy is real. Retailers must, therefore, design physical-digital experiences that surprise and delight, engineer serendipity, as well as negate common frustrations and points of friction," Andrew said.

Delivery Main Contributor of SEA Consumer Complaints

Delivery is a primary source of unhappiness amongst online shoppers in Southeast Asia, where more than 90% of customer complaints and negative feedback related to late delivery or lack of communication about delivery statuses.

In addition, 34% in the region perceived parcel delivery to be the biggest painpoint in e-commerce, revealed a survey by cloud-based parcel tracking platform, Parcel Perform, and iPrice Group. The study polled 80,000 online shoppers in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Malaysia had the most respondents who gave one-star ratings to current delivery service, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia. The study attributed the low ratings to a lack of communication during the delivery period, as consumers expected regular updates and notification on their delivery as well as for parcels to reach them within the estimated delivery dates.

The report also indicated a correlation between parcel transit time and customer satisfaction, where the latter would drop between 10% and 15% as transit time increased.

Parcel Perform's founder and CEO Arne Jeroschewski said: "With every parcel delivery, there is an average of 4.6 consumer touchpoints available during the delivery process. These are excellent opportunities to engage consumers after checkout. By improving the post-purchase experience customer engagement, we have seen our customers improve their customer lifetime value by 40%."

With online retail seeing high adoption in the region today, Jeroschewski noted that Southeast Asian consumers were savvy e-commerce shoppers and discerning about when, how, and from where they purchased.

He added: "Besides making price comparisons across platforms, consumers are also getting more demanding in the post-purchase delivery process. Merchants will have an edge if they provide a fully visible post-purchase delivery experience."

Taiwan E-commerce Group Partners Korea Logistics Firm

Taiwanese e-commerce group PChome Online has inked a partnership with South Korean logistics company Nonghyup Hanaro Mart, in a bid to drive cross-border business between their two domestic markets.

To kick off the collaboration, Korean goods popular amongst Taiwanese consumers would be introduced on PChome's online marketplace, said the e-commerce operator's chairman Jan Hung-Tze.

The partnership would be further expanded in future to drive the export of goods from Taiwan to Korean via Hanaro's existing physical and digital channels, he said.

Jan said: "Due to the frequent bilateral trade between Taiwan and South Korea as well as Taiwanese consumers' love of South Korean food and pop culture, we hope to establish a platform that provides a diverse selection of goods and foreign products, so that goods from regions such as Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Europe, and North America can be traded in Taiwan. This will allow Taiwan to become the most important trading channel in the Greater Southeast Asia region."

The Taiwanese marketplace has a membership base of more than 10 million, while Hanaro Supermarket operates more than 2,200 physical outlets across South Korea, selling local agricultural and livestock products, frozen and processed food, and daily necessities.

Lazada Tweaks Liveup Benefits & Refreshes Brand

(Source: Lazada)

The Southeast Asian e-commerce marketplace is making several changes to it Liveup membership programme, including increasing the annual fees from S$49.9 (£28.95) to S$59.9 (£34.76) and removing free delivery on its main platform.

The changes would kick in from July 1, according to Lazada.  Apart from the increased annual fees, Liveup members also will no longer enjoy free delivery from anywhere, for any purchase value. In addition, they will earn less rebate on each order orders, which will be changed from 5% to 4% on each order.

Lazada, however, is introducing a Liveup monthly subscription option at S$5.99 (£3.48). Deliveries also will remain free for orders on Lazada's grocery service, RedMart, that are above S$40 (£23.21).

These changes were announced the same week Lazada unveiled its new brand campaign, which the company described as its "first brand refresh" in five years. Its new brand identity aimed to reflect a "more youthful, energetic, and dynamic look-and-feel" and included a new logomark and logotype, and new brand colours.

Lazada Group CEO Pierre Poignang said: "We first introduced Lazada in Southeast Asia to provide effortless shopping online. Seven years on, we are the e-commerce leader that aims to serve 300 million customers by 2030. We are elevating the role of Lazada beyond just a transactional shopping platform, to a lifestyle destination that can enable and progress hopes, dreams and desires--whether you're a seller or a shopper."