Offline shopping plays key role at purchase stage: report

Around 41% of the spending was done offline.

Shopping in physical stores still play a crucial role in the consumer journey in Southeast Asia as it accounts for 41% of the share of wallet among the respondents in the purchase stage, according to a report by Meta and Bain & Company.

Online is the go-to channel for discovering products for 82% of the respondents, and 81% conduct reviews and research of items online, particularly on social media and e-commerce platforms.

In the post-purchase journey,  online is still the channel customers choose, with 88% going for online for product support, and 82% doing product returns digitally.

READ MORE: Southeast Asia’s digital consumer to reach 370 million by end-2022

“Increasingly, consumers are demanding an integrated shopping experience—one that enables a seamless switch between both channels,” the report read. 

“The end-to-end consumer journey shows that digital channels such as social media and eCommerce platforms are as important as ever for product discovery, while offline channels are still vital at the Purchase stage,” it added.

According to the report, 12% of those surveyed switch to offline in buying at least one their purchased categories, led by fresh groceries at 9%, followed by general household furnishings (8.2%), groceries comprising cleaning supplies and packaged food (7.9%), household appliances (7.6%), and home office furnishing (7%).