If you guessed ease of login authentication and flexible payment options, check out this survey …

In a July 2021 survey of respondents across Singapore (1,048), Indonesia (2,178) and the Philippines (1,107), online shoppers expressed their sentiments about their e-shopping experiences and preferences.

Safety and security remained a top concern among online shoppers responding to the survey, and there was an unspoken expectation of merchants to put in place the right solutions.

Respondents also cited the hassle of multiple verification and authentication as a top payment problem.

Other findings

Globally, South-east Asia is the fastest-growing mobile wallet market, with Indonesia and the Philippines poised for continued hypergrowth in mobile payments over the next five years. In spite of this, the survey on online payments commissioned by Vesta showed that 47% of respondents had encountered payment problems in the last 12 months. Also:

  • 33% of respondents felt multiple verification and authentication was a top payment problem; second was declined payments without valid reasons, experienced by 22%.
  • 57% of respondents in the three countries cited they would stop shopping at the e-commerce site should they encounter a problem when making a purchase. 
  • 54% of respondents who had faced a payment problem when making an online purchase would also warn their family or friends about the merchant or e-commerce site.
  • 69% of respondents relied on past reviews from previous buyers to determine if a site was safe to purchase from.
  • 60% of those surveyed in Indonesia and the Philippines indicated that they preferred to pay using e-wallets, attributable to a large unbanked population and low credit card penetration.
  • 11% of respondents from these two countries faced declined payment without a valid reason, resulting in revenue loss for merchants.
  • 57% of respondents in Indonesia shared retail accounts with their friends or family, putting them at higher risk of fraud methods, such as account takeover. 

According to Shabab Muhaddes, General Manager (Asia Pacific), Vesta: “In burgeoning e-commerce and m-commerce markets like Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, merchants and customers are increasingly vulnerable to false declines, fraud and poor payment experiences. Overall, the results of this survey indicate an obvious and urgent need for sophisticated solutions that offer a better protection against fraud, drive higher approvals while enabling a seamless consumer payment experience.”