More APAC consumers fully adopt digital commerce: study

About 75% tap-and-go payments users will keep using contactless transactions.

A Mastercard study showed that 79% of people worldwide and 91% in Asia Pacific were using contactless payments and most of them want to continue doing this even after the pandemic is over, a press release revealed. These figures denote a major shift from conventional trade to digital commerce.

E-commerce is on the rise in APAC countries, with 30% of consumers in Australia, 49% in India, 55% in China and 34% in Japan planning to make more purchases online. At the same time, 38% in Australia, 68% in India, 57% in China and 40% in Japan are expecting a decline in in-store shopping as well.

With people concerned about safety and many stores shut during the COVID-19 outbreak, digital commerce revenues grew 20% globally in the first quarter of 2020 from a year earlier, according to the Salesforce Shopping Index.

The study showed the shift is underway globally as almost six in 10 consumers say the move to digital payments is likely to be permanent and nearly half of them plan to use cash less even after the pandemic is over.

In Asia Pacific, 46% of consumers say they plan to use cash less often, including 52% in Australia, 49% in India, 43% in China and 41% in Japan. A large majority — 71% in Australia, 77% in India, 73% in China and 62% in Japan — believe the shift to contactless payments is here to stay.