SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Citcon Inc., the leading payment provider enabling global commerce at scale, today reported results of a new global survey of 500 leading merchants in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom revealing the opportunities and challenges of conducting eCommerce in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC). The Emerging APAC Opportunity, developed in collaboration with PYMNTS, reveals that while more than 50% of all APAC eCommerce purchases are abandoned before checkout, merchants agree that accepting local payment options at checkout could reduce that number by half.
APAC countries currently account for nearly three-quarters of total global retail growth, and about two-thirds of online growth. From 2014 to 2019, the compound annual growth rate for APAC retail sales was more than quadruple that of the rest of the world, and online sales growth nearly doubled the rest of the world’s1. The Emerging APAC Opportunity report underscores the merchant perspective concerning this potential market growth.
- 70% of all merchants surveyed expect APAC sales to increase over the course of the next three years.
- 37% of all merchants anticipate their sales growth to reach or exceed 50%
Still, according to the report, more than half of all eCommerce carts in APAC are currently abandoned prior to purchase, inhibiting this growth potential. Merchants already operating in APAC identified the two primary factors underlying high cart abandonment rates as cost-related factors (60%) and payment friction (47%). While cost factors such as shipping and competitive pricing may often be out of a merchant’s control, reducing payment friction is highly addressable.
- 47% of merchants currently selling to APAC customers believe shoppers abandon their carts because they cannot use their preferred payment method or because they have payment security concerns
- Only 13% of merchants currently selling to APAC customers accept domestic global wallets
- The small minority of merchants that currently offer localized payment options report cart abandonment rates 32% lower than their counterparts that do not
“Merchants recognize the mission-critical role local payments will play in their success in Asia-Pacific markets,” explains Chuck Huang, Founder and CEO of Citcon. “Seventy percent of the global merchants we surveyed predicted that cart abandonment rates could be reduced by half just by offering trusted, local payment schemes to consumers. Expanding payment options to better serve local APAC consumers has the potential to unlock exponential growth for merchants of all types.”
About The Emerging APAC Opportunity Report
The Emerging APAC Opportunity Report was developed by Citcon in collaboration with PYMNTS.com. Findings are based on survey responses from 500 business leaders from global merchants in the United States (350), Canada (50) and the United Kingdom (100) gathered between May 16 and June 28, 2022. Thirty-six percent of firms generated annual revenues of less than $20 million, 35% generated between $20 million and $100 million, and 29% generated more than $100 million in annual revenue. Survey results were tabulated by PYMNTS.com analysts. To access the full report and data tables, please visit: https://www.pymnts.com/study/emerging-apac-opportunity-shopping-ecommerce-local-payments-cart-abandonment
About Citcon
Founded in 2015, Citcon’s fintech platform enables seamless global commerce at scale by connecting the world’s businesses with more than 150+ mobile wallets, including local and alternative payment methods. Citcon integrates with POS and ecommerce systems such as Toshiba, Oracle, Cegid, Shopify and SAP and is currently deployed at more than 30,000 merchant sites and locations, including major brands such as L’Oreal, Tumi, Texas Instruments, Revolve, Macy’s, and Panda Express. In October 2021, Citcon closed a $30MM Series C funding round. The company is backed by leading global investors Norwest Venture Partners, Cota Capital, Sierra Ventures, Sonae, and East-West Bank. Citcon has five regional offices in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia to service its global clientele. Learn more at https://www.citcon.com.
About PYMNTS
PYMNTS.com is where the best minds and the best content meet on the web to learn about “What’s Next” in payments and commerce. Our interactive platform is reinventing the way companies in payments share relevant information about the initiatives that make news and shape the future of this dynamic sector. Our data and analytics team includes economists, data scientists and industry analysts who work with companies to measure and quantify the innovations at the cutting edge of this new world.
