The latest Qualtrics survey on consumers’ preferences during the pandemic poses a significant opportunity for businesses to find the best e-commerce solution to increase online presence and competitiveness.
With the global health crisis compelling businesses to embrace digital technologies to survive, thrive, and reach out to consumers, business leaders can take into account the recent Qualtrics survey results when mapping their strategy during and post-pandemic.
Following the release of the Qualtrics survey on consumer behaviors and expectations of brands they engage with during a pandemic, the Experience Management company’s latest survey results highlighted the consumers’ preference for e-commerce in the time of COVID-19.
“After months of disruption, we are beginning to see new behaviours and preferences emerge that are likely to remain post-pandemic. There is no doubt that there has been a massive shift towards digital, making it critical for brands to ensure they are able to optimise the experience they deliver on their digital channels including mobile applications,” said Qualtrics Southeast Asia head of CX solutions strategy Harish Agarwal.
“Simultaneously, even though consumers are beginning to go back to some previous habits, high levels of ambiguity remain, meaning businesses must be able to understand and quickly respond to changing environments. Businesses can deal with this ambiguity using tools like Qualtrics to get an “always-on” and integrated understanding of their customer experience across touchpoints, equipping them with end-to-end insights to continually deliver superior customer experience,” Agarwal further explained.
In this article, we look into the Philippines and Singapore consumers’ preferences during the pandemic and in the coming months. Over 300 respondents were surveyed in each country.
Filipinos Switching to Digital
Though 94{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents are still very concerned by the pandemic, the Filipino consumers have quickly adapted to utilising online platforms since COVID-19 hit the country.
- 67{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents have purchased more online, which is evident in the frequency increase of online banking (62{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22})
- 55{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of respondents said that visit to retailers have been lessened, reflecting an increase for online grocery shopping (53{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22})
- 76{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of Filipino consumers said they will continue online shopping over the next six months
- 47{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents still prefer food pick up versus dining in despite the 50{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} increase for dine-in capacities of restaurants in general community quarantine (GCQ) areas and 75{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} in modified GCQ areas in the country
Looking at the next six months, 40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said it is likely they will choose to eat at a restaurant; 37{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} were planning to take a family holiday; 36{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said they are ready to use public transport. For air travel, Filipinos are still quite ambiguous about it saying it’s unlikely they will travel internationally (57{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) or domestically (54{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}).
The number of people in the Philippines expecting COVID-19 to affect their day-to-day life for more than a year has increased to 45{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} (up from 40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} in June 2020).
Singaporeans Embracing E-Commerce
Commenting on Singaporeans’ behavior during the pandemic, Agarwal said:
“Even though Singaporeans are beginning to go back to some previous habits, high levels of ambiguity remain, meaning businesses must be able to understand and quickly respond to changing environments.”
The recent Qualtrcis survey revealed that consumers in the city-state are embracing e-commerce.
- 57{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents have purchased more online and have used online banking
- 47{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said they visit retailers less, reflecting an increase in shopping for groceries online (44{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22})
- 73{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of surveyed Singaporeans said they will continue shopping online even after six months
- 56{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} still prefer picking up their food order instead of dining in restaurants
In the next six months, contrary to the Philippines survey results, a higher percentage of the Singaporean respondents are willing to eat at a restaurant (58{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) and are most likely to use public transport (61{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}). However, more than 60{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents said they are not ready to travel by air, a bit higher than the Philippines’ number.
The number of Singaporeans expecting COVID-19 to affect their everyday lives for more than a year has also doubled to 37{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} from May 2020.
