“Asia-Pacific Online Payment Methods: Full Year 2016”, a new report from E-Commerce and Online Payment market intelligence specialist yStats.com, based in Germany, exposes the varying payment method preferences of online shoppers in this fast growing region. Using secondary market research methodology, the report synthesizes data published in 2016 and reveals among other findings that mobile payment usage is on the rise in Asia-Pacific, driven primarily by perceived convenience of this payment method.
This new report by yStats.com covers 10 major E-Commerce markets in Asia-Pacific, focusing on the preferences of online shoppers regarding methods of payment. With alternative online payment methods on the rise worldwide, digital buyers in emerging markets including China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, show a higher tendency for using non-card payment methods, while in the advanced economies of Japan, South Korea and Australia, credit cards remain the leading payment method used for Internet-based purchases.
A common trend prevailing across the region is the growth of mobile payments. Asia-Pacific is the world’s leader when it comes to usage of mobile wallets. Nearly one-quarter of mobile shoppers there used this method in 2016, five percentage points above the global average. China especially shows high rates of mobile wallet adoption, with three-quarters of users reporting that they prefer this method due to its convenience. Another example of mobile payment leadership in Asia-Pacific is Australia, the world’s top country by contactless payment usage among banked consumers, according to a recent survey cited in yStats.com’s publication.
Attending to shoppers’ preferences in payment methods across Asia-Pacific is an important consideration for merchants seeking to expand to this booming E-Commerce market. A 2016 consumer survey from Japan, also cited by yStats.com in this report, revealed that close to a third of online shoppers had cancelled a purchase in progress when they found that their preferred payment method was not offered.
