IDC guides retailers on leveraging payments in Singapore digitisation push

IDC unified commerce

Covid-19 has accelerated the digital transformation efforts of retailers, as they scramble to navigate this new reality.

As Singapore went into its circuit-breaker phase to prevent further spread of the pandemic within the community, shops were forced to close and many consumers have had to turn to shop online. Many retailers have had to quickly embrace e-commerce in order to survive. Now that the stores have reopened, retailers need to be agile and transform fast to meet the ever-evolving shopper expectations. 

Get the IDC report commissioned by Adyen for the full insights on retail and key industries in Singapore

While businesses in Singapore have been impartial to both cash and card – allowing consumers to pay with the method that is most convenient, there has been an accelerated shift towards cashless digital payments for both low- and high-value transactions, according to the IDC report, “Driving Transformation Through Payments: The Singapore Challenge”. Cash-dominant businesses are also going the digital payment route, in response to consumers’ changing payment habits including more frequent use of contactless cards and QR code payments.

Explosion of e-commerce

The digital economy has sparked massive changes in how shoppers make payments in the last decade, with more transformations on the horizon. The continued explosion of e-commerce, the wider and deeper expansion of the sharing economy, are all pushing change in payments — a key touchpoint across industries. In the sharing economy, for example, payments are vital as these businesses expand their services and to new markets.

The IDC report also covers how customer expectations are evolving. Shoppers are exposed to many shopping options that range from buying online, collect in-store and flexible curbside collection. They also expect a frictionless shopping experience. They want to make a purchase and pay for it whenever they want, using the device or channel of their choice.  

Are retailers ready to embrace unified commerce? 

This demand for seamless multichannel purchasing options means that retailers not only need to be present at all customer touchpoints, but also offer payment options that blur the boundaries of online, mobile app and in-store purchases. To glean insights across multiple channels and optimise the customer journey, a unified commerce strategy is necessary.

According to the IDC report, the top priority for retailers in Singapore: optimising the customer journey across multiple channels. 

Sixty per cent of businesses plan to seek improvements in seamless payments to overcome disjointed customer experience and shopping cart abandonment. Payment issues, such as poor payment flows where customers are redirected to archaic-looking and slow payment verification sites, can result in losing 10 per cent of sales. 

Get your complimentary copy of the IDC report to gain full insight into how retailers are transforming in response to today’s challenges including:

  • Top priorities for Singapore retailers
  • Leveraging payments to boost customer experience
  • Optimising payments to create a safe and seamless checkout for customers
  • Unified commerce strategy for customer insights across digital and physical channels.