Lazada Whitepaper has revealed that 88 percent of consumers make purchasing decisions using artificial intelligence (AI), and 83 percent are willing to pay for AI-enhanced shopping experiences.
Lazada said in a statement on Tuesday that nearly two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) in Southeast Asia believe AI is widely adopted in online shopping, with over half of the respondents identifying AI chatbots (63 percent), translations (53 percent), and visual product searches (52 percent) as key recognized AI features in eCommerce.
In terms of actual adoption, the usage for these features hovers below 50 percent for AI chatbots (47 percent), visual product searches (40 percent) and translations (40 percent).
However, only one-third of the respondents rated these features as helpful in addressing their needs.
Meanwhile, the gap between perceived and actual effectiveness of AI features highlights an opportunity for the eCommerce industry to elevate shopping experiences, said Lazada.
By leveraging AI and data-driven insights to bridge this divide, it noted eCommerce platforms can deliver hyper-personalized and seamless shopping experiences across multiple touchpoints to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, and open new avenues for growth and engagement.
The Artificial Intelligence Adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia whitepaper was jointly developed with Kantar.
The whitepaper surveyed more than 6,000 shoppers across six Southeast Asian markets to comprehend usage and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) on eCommerce platforms, by analyzing awareness, trust and preferences, shopping behavior, and consumer pain points.
The whitepaper examined consumer behavior when it comes to online shopping, to evaluate how eCommerce players can better leverage AI to cater to shoppers’ priorities and needs.
According to Lazada, there is a significantly high level of trust towards AI-powered platforms, with majority of respondents relying on AI for personalized recommendation (92 percent) and product summaries (90 percent).
Notably, 88 percent of respondents make purchasing decisions using AI-generated content and product recommendations.
The whitepaper also explored consumer motivations for leveraging AI in online shopping, where more than half of respondents (52 percent) in Southeast Asia cited convenient shopping as a top reason for embracing AI in their personal life.
A similar proportion of respondents (51 percent) view product and seller reviews as a key feature they priorities, spotlighting the opportunity to introduce reviews with more depth, relevance and authenticity using AI technology,
Given the impact that AI delivers, a huge majority of shoppers have also expressed their willingness to pay more for AI-powered shopping experiences (83 percent).
This can be attributed to the beneficial outcomes for shoppers, with close to half of the respondents (49 percent) expressing that AI improves discovery, customer service, and increases enjoyment during online shopping.
With 80 percent of respondents using AI features on eCommerce apps at least once a week, eCommerce platforms can deepen their AI integration efforts to deliver more holistic and exceptional shopping experiences, said Lazada.
“The launch of our inaugural whitepaper marks a pivotal moment in understanding how AI is shaping the future of eCommerce,
“As technology evolves, so do consumer expectations. This whitepaper explores the transformative potential of AI and provides insights into how businesses in Southeast Asia can harness it to create personalized, seamless, and smart shopping experiences,” said James Dong, Chief Executive Officer, Lazada Group.
He also said at Lazada, they are committed to staying at the forefront of innovation, ensuring that AI drives both efficiency and enhanced customer engagement across all touchpoints.
“Going forward, we will continue to invest into AI and cutting-edge technologies to revolutionize the eCommerce ecosystem,” he added.
Howard Wang, Chief Technology Officer, Lazada Group, said AI has become an integral part of the eCommerce landscape, enabling smarter decision-making and more tailored customer experiences at scale.
“As we dive deep into how we can enhance AI algorithms to personalize product recommendations, optimize supply chains, and enhance customer service interactions, it is clear that AI will remain a key enabler in pushing the boundaries of what eCommerce can achieve,
“What excites me most is how we are building robust AI systems to solve complex technical problems in ways that directly improve the shopping experience for our customers,” he added.