Stop Guessing, Start Growing: 4 Key Insights from the Adyen Index Report 2025
From mobile-first shopping to AI adoption, APAC shoppers and retailers are setting new benchmarks for what seamless and connected retail looks like.
Retailers (and many consumers!) are embracing AI, but a sophisticated approach is key
Across APAC, AI isn’t just a futuristic experiment, but a practical driver of growth. Planned AI investments this year are wide-ranging, from 47% of retailers in Japan to 72% in Malaysia, targeting investment in a range of areas, including sales, marketing, fraud prevention, and product innovation. In Malaysia and Hong Kong, retailers are looking to invest in AI to manage fraud as a way to increase revenue in 2025. It’s clear that AI is fast becoming a core part of business engines across the region.
On the consumer side, 38% of shoppers across APAC use AI assistants as they shop. Some markets, such as Malaysia (58%) and Singapore (49%), are higher still. However, elsewhere, customer attitudes are mixed. For example, Australians lead globally in concern about AI-driven scams, with 35% expressing this view. Additionally, 43% find it invasive when retailers track their purchases and browsing history to deliver AI-powered personalised offers and ads.
What it means for retailers
As consumers have a complex set of attitudes toward how much AI they want in their shopping experience, retailers must balance impact with trust to make AI work for everyone.
One way to do this is to keep human connection at the core. In an era of AI-driven personalisation, it’s crucial to remember that technology should deepen relationships, not erode them. Clear communication about data use, easy opt-outs, and timely interaction with real humans can help bridge this trust gap and keep customers engaged.
A second way to maximise impact is to turn AI’s power back on itself, fight AI with AI. Fraudsters are already using AI-driven tactics to exploit vulnerabilities. In response, leading retailers are deploying advanced AI and machine learning to stay ahead.
Physical loyalty paired with digital activity is a standout trait of the region
In spite of the relentless rise of ecommerce, social shopping, and other online trends, in-store shopping remains an important part of life for many APAC consumers. In Malaysia, 57% of consumers like to shop both online and in store, the highest globally. Further, in Singapore and Malaysia, shoppers are more loyal to retailers that offer flexible services like online-to-store returns (59% and 66% respectively). Meanwhile, in Japan and Australia nearly half of shoppers still prefer brick-and-mortar stores, even as online continues to grow. The convergence of digital convenience and in-store experience is a global phenomenon, but APAC markets show how powerfully this shift can reshape shopping behaviours.
What it means for retailers
For APAC retailers, it’s not about optimising for online or in-store. Instead, it has to be about connecting them together. In fact, there’s a huge opportunity to nurture loyalty by offering the freedom to shop across channels without friction.
As shoppers mix and blend channels through the buying journey, your payment systems and strategy should do the same. Retailers that focus on eliminating barriers between online and offline have an opportunity to drive real loyalty and compete on experience rather than price. Take Love, Bonito, a retailer operating across multiple Southeast Asian markets. They partnered with Adyen to offer seamless cross-channel services such as click-and-collect, omnichannel redemption of gift cards, returns for instant credits, endless aisles, and more.
Loyalty programs that track purchases across channels are another opportunity. Right now, many loyalty programs fall short of shopper expectations. For example, 58% of Malaysian consumers find programs to be more hassle than they’re worth, and their rewards irrelevant. This is partly due to the fact that tracking purchase and awarding points for online only is much easier, as retailers have the customer’s email address to link purchases to.
One surefire way to close the gap with shopper expectations is to use payment-linked loyalty across channels. This means your loyalty program is tied to your customers’ payment method, so every time they make a purchase, whether online or in-store, the purchase is captured and the customer accrues points.
APAC customers want brands to take a stand, but with conditions attached
Across APAC, consumers want more than just convenience. In fact, many expect brands to take a stand on ethical or social issues. This impacts their loyalty, as 54% of Singaporean and 66% of Malaysian consumers say they would be more loyal to retailers that demonstrate a strong social purpose, and/or contribute to charitable causes.
However, this comes with a couple of important caveats:
- Only 37% of APAC shoppers are willing to pay more for ethically sourced or locally produced products.
- While APAC consumers are generous, with 70%+ of consumers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia giving to charity, compared to a global average of 65%, they prefer to give in their own way. For example, in Hong Kong, 52% of shoppers say they won’t donate at all if they can’t do it in the way they want.
This speaks to a wider shift. Purpose is important to APAC shoppers, but simply charging a premium for ethical products is not a winning strategy. Demonstrating values that mirror their own and offering the convenience to support initiatives they see as worthy are both important.
What it means for retailers
Payments are not only a transactional moment. In fact, a payment is an opportunity to demonstrate support for values such as sustainability, inclusion, and social impact.
APAC is shaping the future of retail, and technology is critical to meet this opportunity
It’s important to note that some of the world’s biggest retail innovations and trends are being driven by the APAC markets.
For example, the broader APAC region is increasingly mobile-first, with consumers expecting unified, frictionless experiences that seamlessly blend physical and digital together. Innovations in social commerce and the widespread use of super apps such as WeChat, Shopee, Gojek, and Grab in China and Southeast Asia show that APAC is redefining what seamless, tech-enabled retail looks like.
Further, digital wallet adoption in APAC is high, with 56% in Hong Kong and 52% in Malaysia having used them in the past year, compared to 30% globally. This trend reflects a decisive shift towards cashless and contactless retail.
These shifts are positioning APAC at the forefront of retail’s future. It’s mobile-led, hyper-local, and designed to meet fast-changing consumer demands.
What it means for retailers
In a region defined by a shift to mobile-first and a rapid decline in cash usage, the right payment infrastructure is key to increasing conversion, capturing consumer loyalty, and driving sustained growth. To keep pace with emerging consumer trends and support experiences, payment methods, and journeys that customers expect, it’s critical to have the right payments partner.
Find out more – read retail reports now:
These are some of the key insights from the report at a regional level, and backed by how you can capitalise on them. That being said, individual markets always have their own nuances. For deeper insights and market-specific advice, download the Adyen Index: Retail Report 2025 for your market, and discover how to meet the region’s rising expectations.
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This article has been republished with permission from Adyen.
Adyen is a member of our Payment Service Provider Panel.
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Adyen’s Uplift harnesses AI throughout the payment lifecycle to help retailers optimise a range of steps in the payment flow behind the scenes, including fraud prevention, authentication, and authorisation. Athletic brand On saw this in action, increasing its conversion rate by up to 2% while keeping fraud firmly under control.
Solutions such as Adyen Giving allow retailers to embed donation options, sustainability pledges, or local impact initiatives right at checkout, where intent to buy is strongest. For example, Grill’d in Australia use Adyen Giving to allow customers to round up the total cost of the purchase at checkout for donation to local causes. This helps to convert socially-conscious customers into loyal advocates.
Adyen’s Unified Commerce solution, support for local and global payment methods, ongoing innovation, and regional expertise can help retailers meet these expectations, delivering frictionless, secure experiences across channels and markets.
