Among emerging countries, Vietnam recorded the strongest increase of mobile payments at 61 percent in 2019 from a 37 percent growth rate year earlier, according to PwC’s latest Global Consumer Insights Survey.
Within the group, China claimed the top spot with mobile payment rate of 86 percent, followed by Thailand 67 percent, Hong Kong (China) 64 percent and Vietnam standing at fourth at 61 percent.
PwC’s report assesses behavior, habits and expectations of over 21,000 online consumers in 27 territories, which reveals rapidly changing consumer behavior in a host of areas other than entertainment and media.
For the first time in the 10 years that PwC has conducted this survey, consumers surveyed are using smartphones over other mobile devices to shop online, with 24 percent of consumers using a smartphone to shop online weekly.
According to the report, more than half (51 percent) of consumers surveyed used a smartphone to pay bills and invoices online, and the same percentage transferred money online.
The report also revealed that consumers are increasingly using digital technology for more than just shopping. There is a revolution occurring in how consumers access entertainment and media, for example. Thirty-eight percent of global consumers stream entertainment at least daily, and among Gen Z consumers, cord-cutting for entertainment is at more than 50 percent.
When it comes to news, 25 percent of consumers now go to social media first to hear about current events. Given how pervasive social media is today, this likely doesn’t come as a surprise. That social media-placed ads that allow consumers to interact with a brand is now ranked as the third most effective form of advertising, and among millennials, this is the most popular form of advertisingbeating out traditional television ads.
Additionally, consumersbombarded with a multitude of choicesare constantly seeking tools such as digital technology to help simplify their purchasing decisions.
“The key to a great end-to-end customer experience isn’t just about the shopping and retail experienceit spans across industries,” said John Maxwell, PwC’s Global Consumer Markets Leader.
