Retail in Asia

In Trends

Mobile commerce shaping the future of retail in Asia

As Asia-Pacific continues to see exponential growth in smartphone penetration in recent years, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is also growing.

The Nielsen report, "Decoding the Asian Mobile Consumer," reveals that in majority of Asia-Pacific markets, m-commerce is still largely untapped. However, Korea and Japan are well-progressed, with close to nine in 10 (89 percent) Japanese consumers and around two-thirds (67 percent) of Korean consumers having participated in m-commerce activities in the past month.

The report said outside of these two markets, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia exhibit the strongest m-commerce up-take, with 31 percent, 28 percent, 27 percent and 25 percent of consumers in these markets, respectively, participated in m-commerce in the past month).

In less developed markets, m-commerce activity trails at just 8 percent in India, 7 percent in Thailand and Indonesia, and three percent in the Philippines.

“We are seeing signs of huge opportunity for mobile shopping in markets such as Korea and Japan, where m-commerce is already a developed habit,” observed Sagar Phadke, Director of Nielsen’s Telecom and Technology Practice in Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific. “The mcommerce wave is quickly catching on in other markets across the region, and will play a key role in shaping the future of retail in Asia.