KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Malaysian shoppers have above global average expectations for tech-enabled shopping experiences, according to the Adyen Malaysia Retail Report 2022.

The report findings showed that 87% of Malaysian consumers are more likely to shop with retailers that use technology to enhance the customer experience, compared to 55% of customers globally, 64% in Asia-Pacific and 74% in Singapore.

It also stated that 81% of Malaysian consumers will abandon a retailer if they have had a bad customer experience, either online or in store. This figure is 11% above the global average and 8% above Asia-Pacific and Singapore respectively.

Therefore, it predicted that if technological adoption is accelerated locally, the retail sector could add 5.6% to its growth rate over the next five years.

It said Malaysian businesses are also aware of the potential as 97% plan to invest in digital technologies in 2022.

The global survey was conducted from the end of 2021 to early 2022, among 40,000 consumers across 26 markets, and 11,500 businesses across 23 countries. In Malaysia, 1,000 consumers and 500 businesses were part of the survey.

These businesses are primarily in the retail sector with polled segments in the hospitality and food and beverage sectors.

The report was commissioned by global financial technology platform Adyen and sponsored by multinational professional services network KPMG.

Adyen Southeast Asia and Hong Kong head of commercial Priyanka Gargav said Malaysian businesses have performed well in digital transformation though there is room for more growth.

“Malaysian consumers’ love for tech-enabled, seamless shopping experiences stand out on a global level and the time is ripe for retailers to capitalise on the RM334 billion opportunity in digital transformation,” Priyanka said.

She said the RM334 billion is the “size of the pie” for retailers to win.

She told the press during a media briefing on Tuesday (Aug 2) at Hilton Kuala Lumpur that the challenges to adoption of digital transformation among businesses included cost, training of talents and available technologies.

Meanwhile, KPMG Malaysia executive director and head of technology consulting Alvin Gan, who was also present at the briefing, said most organisations are working on data analytics as they seek better data quality and data governance.

The report said Malaysian businesses are fortunately among the best in the region at using data to inform decision making and engage customers.

Currently, 39% of Malaysian businesses use payments data to build a better picture of their customers, which is 12% above the global average and 9% above in Asia-Pacific and Singapore respectively.  

Apparently, over one in four businesses have connected payment systems to other parts of the organisation, such as inventory management and supply chain.

“As a result, 60% of businesses are now in a better position, that is 11% above the global average and the highest in Asia-Pacific,” the report stated.

“Specifically, companies that connect payment systems with other sections of their business grow 18% more than those that do not.”

That being said, half of Malaysian consumers will only allow their data to be stored and used by retailers if there are assurances around security and privacy.

During the pandemic in 2021, the report said 71% of Malaysian retail businesses grew their revenue by 20%.

“Eighty percent of Malaysian consumers believe retailers used technology well to make their products available during the pandemic.

“The majority believe that retailers should deliver the same cross-channel flexibility they provided during the pandemic (77%) and use technology to improve loyalty or rewards schemes (90%).

“These figures are both 16% above the Asia-Pacific average,” it said.

The report also said 76% of Malaysian consumers believe online shopping is about convenience, while shopping in physical stores is for pleasure.