As part of Lazada’s 10th birthday celebrations, the Southeast Asia e-commerce platform has conducted a region-wide consumer study in collaboration with Milieu Insight to look at the online shopping habits of consumers in Southeast Asia. The findings of the study reveal that regional shoppers still actively participate and make purchases during mega campaigns. It also highlighted that shoppertainment has become an increasingly valuable tool for engaging consumers online, and that value and convenience are key drivers for shopping online.
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Milieu Insight surveyed 6,000 online shoppers on their current and future commerce behaviours and attitudes. The study was conducted in January 2022 across six markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
According to the report, consumers continue to actively participate during Mega Campaigns such as 11.11, 12.12 sales, with 67 percent of the digital consumers completing a purchase during a Mega Campaign.
Low prices (45 percent), affordable shipping (45 percent), ease of search (43 percent) and convenience (43 percent) top the list of reasons why Southeast Asian people shop online, with Singapore (55 percent), Thailand (48 percent) and the Philippines (49 percent) showing a strong preference for doorstep delivery .
In addition, reviews and ratings are key to a positive shopping experience, especially for online shoppers in Singapore (61 percent) and Thailand (66 percent). Buying authentic products is amongst the top reasons for online shopping in Singapore (54 percent) and Vietnam (53 percent) while the variety of payment options available is the top reason for Indonesia (54 percent). In markets like Singapore (53 percent) and Malaysia (45 percent), secure payment options are also a key criteria.
Consumers are actively choosing to purchase their items through digital channels, with 65 percent reporting that when they shop online, they already know what they’re going to buy. To further augment the experience, 29 percent of respondents report enhanced engagement with the platform through additional browsing for the best deals and exploring the platform for additional items ahead of completing the sale.
The majority of markets have fully embraced cross border shopping with 79 percent of respondents in Singapore having no preference for local or global brands, followed by 58 percent in Thailand and 56 percent in Malaysia. Shoppers in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines have a preference for local labels, with one in two (52 percent) Vietnamese respondents showing a strong preference for shopping from local labels followed by Philippines (41 percent) and Indonesia (36 percent).
From secure payment options to authentic product reviews, the study suggests that trust remains one of the most important considerations when choosing a platform to complete a purchase.
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“The digitalization of shopping has changed consumer behaviours across different touch points, such as the shorter journey from awareness to purchase, and the limited senses that are engaged via online shopping. Thus, it is important for brands and sellers to understand their target consumers, and the new online purchase journey well, in order to give a strong reason to their consumers to purchase and remain competitive. The Lazada Consumer Study marks the first region wide study aimed at understanding the current shopping behaviour and serves as a good way to understand the shift in shopping habits,” said Dr Li Xiuping, NUS EMBA-C Deputy Academic Director, Associate Professor of Marketing, National University of Singapore, who was not involved in the survey.