Digital payments, fresh strategies, and recovery

Companies need to adapt to a new normal of business in order to survive, says Euromonitor senior consultant.

Seven years of experience in the industry as a consultant has made Hianyang Chan the go-to expert when it comes to consumer research and formulating actionable insights based on an in-depth analysis in industries such as digital consumer, retailing, consumer foodservice, consumer finance, and retail innovation and consumer insights.

As a senior consultant at Euromonitor International, Chan works closely with digital consumer and retailing teams and is responsible for the research output and client support across the Australasia region, which includes retailing, digital consumer, consumer food service, consumer finance and travel, and a special interest in how innovation and technology are reshaping payments and retailing.

As an upcoming judge for the Retail Asia Awards 2022, Retail Asia gathered his insights on what common challenges companies face and how companies can better adapt themselves with better use of market findings.

What career milestones have you achieved as a senior consultant at Euromonitor International? Can you tell us about your experiences?

As a Senior Consultant at Euromonitor International, I help to oversee the firm’s digital and retail research in Asia-Pacific, providing actionable insights and in-depth analysis into how tech advances are reshaping the way consumers browse and buy goods and services.

I regularly write and speak about the firm’s research with speciality spanning payments, internet retailing and mobile commerce. Some of my career milestones include participating in a live TV panel discussion on Sky Business, sharing my expertise across industry events in the capacity as a speaker or moderator, leading and helping the firm uncover new research methodologies to create better market research findings and most importantly, advising and sharing knowledge with some of the largest global retailers and payment solution providers.

What are the common challenges companies face today as digital payments become more common among consumers?

While many countries within Asia have a plethora of digital payment options on offer, each often operates with its own technology with localised systems and networks and within specific rules. Settling on a digital payment infrastructure will be a concern for many merchants now and in the future, as many will not be willing to bear the cost of additional setup and management fees and are less inclined to facilitate every available digital payment system in the current fragmented digital payments landscape. As digital payments move towards the mainstream and become more attractive, it will be vital for payment operators to better bridge the gap to facilitate more seamless cross-border payment capabilities. 

The change and growth in digital payments will also spark off challenges to better cater to the unbanked and underbanked population, the older demographic and consumers that heavily favour utilising cash as their main payment options. Payment operators will need to continue to make access to digital payments easier for all by not only breaking down barriers to create financial inclusion for all but also providing better education to bring new communities into the world of digital payments.

How can companies better utilize market research findings in their strategies?

In this current retail environment, there are already many companies doing great work within this space to better position themselves in this hyper-competitive retail environment. Gathering tactical data and utilising the latest data science techniques is important, but it might not always be able to provide the necessary context and analysis that is often required when making strategic decisions. By bridging methodologies based on data science and on-the-ground research, companies can better gather context to strategic and tactical data, helping them to understand some of the biggest trends that are driving the market and answering their biggest challenges and identifying opportunities.

What would you advise your clients who are slowly recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic?

Retailers now are suddenly operating in a “new normal”, forcing them to re-evaluate their operations and re-think their long-term strategies. The pandemic inspired and accelerated digital trends that were already in motion, including predictive personalisation, quick commerce and venturing into the metaverse. The expanding influence of tech will continue to be one of the most pronounced long-term impacts of the global pandemic. Technology will play a pivotal role as it can enhance the entire commerce lifecycle from improving operational efficiencies to elevating the consumer experience.

Retailers and consumer brands who were not investing or more broadly adopting a digital-first mindset pre-crisis will need to buckle up their seatbelts and be quick to embrace a digital future or risk falling that much further behind their peers. Do nothing and they risk alienating their consumer base, which is likely to have become much more digitally savvy during this period of rapid digital transformation.

As a judge in the Retail Asia Awards, what projects or innovations are you expecting to find amongst the entries? What are your criteria for judging?

Opportunities for growth in this region remain extensive and I will be expecting innovations and projects that encompass new and better store formats and concepts that blend online and in-store shopping, initiatives and solutions that seamlessly address health and safety while still able to provide an immersive in-store customer experience, responding and supporting a renewed focus on tackling climate change or integrating mechanisms and partnerships to better improve customer loyalty. 

Some of the criteria for these projects or innovations I’m looking for include:

• How seamless and impactful it is
• Does it cater to a wide range of consumer groups
• If there is potential for longevity
• And sometimes the simplest ideas are the best and it does not always require a high capital investment.