When it comes to e-commerce market, Asia Pacific region is the largest in the world and it is witnessing exponential growth. News has it that there is a propensity to shop online and through mobile phones is on the rise, says a marketinginteractive.com report. For instance, a robust year on year 39% rise in Alibaba's 2017 in a single day is a case in point. According to the Research and Markets' latest study reveals how the Asia Pacific as a region will dominate almost half of global B2C e-commerce space. Therefore, it would be interesting to keep an eye on, notes the report.The recent report from Worldpay did make several forecasts on how e-commerce payment would evolve among different regions, nevertheless, its predictions on credit card payment, however, is pessimistic and says the report. According to Worldplay, the credit card payments in APAC will shrink from 30% of the total e-commerce market to 10% by 2021. At the same time, e-wallets are positioned for humongous growth and are likely to eclipse credit cards, thus, eventually turning out to be the most popular payment method for online transactions, usurping 51% of the market by 2021. The exponential rise of e-wallets would eventually help fuel the APAC m-commerce market, which is set to increase at an annual average rate of 12% a year worth $2,100 billion by 2021. Let us examine few markets in APEC to gauge the growth prospects.
ChinaAlready upbeat about eWallets and social app payments, the study says that the Chinese consumers would continue to drive robust growth for these alternatives online. What is more, e-commerce will continue to soar, reaching $1,559 billion by 2021, the study said. Furthermore, China is poised to be at the forefront of new payment innovations, with 93% of consumers already saying they want the opportunity to make purchases in a virtual reality (VR) environment, the report said.SingaporeBy 2021 both bank transfers and e-wallets would double in share; from 11-21% and 13-21%, respectively. Besides Single’s Day, more key shopping days will emerge throughout the year as Singapore shoppers become increasingly keen to buy during events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, m-commerce, now preferred by one-third of online shoppers, will become increasingly important – overtaking desktop shopping to reach $4 billion by 2021, according to the report.Hong KongWithout a doubt, Hong Kong is a leading digital economy. Nevertheless, e-commerce has yet to take off, thanks to the growing concerns around counterfeit goods. So, e-wallets are catching up to credit cards, and are set to make up more than a quarter of Hong Kong’s online payments market (28%) by 2021, while the m-commerce is likely to overtake desktop e-commerce shopping by 2021, touching $13 billion in turnover, the report said.IndiaNow the fastest growing e-commerce market in the world, India will continue to evolve quickly and dynamically. Emerging digital solutions for the unbanked will enable new e-commerce possibilities, as people without traditional banking access become able to pay via e-wallets and other digital payments. Credit cards are expected to decline from 12- 8% market share by 2021, as e-wallets and bank transfers become even more popular, the report pointed out.Phil Pomford, general manager for the Asia Pacific at Worldpay, elaborates: “While there are significant variations in how consumers in different Asian markets prefer to pay, a constant is that they are shifting away from more traditional options like credit and debit cards, and instead choosing e-wallets, bank transfers and cash on delivery. What this means to brands and businesses, Pomford said, is that online merchants should support a wide range of payment options to create a consistent, streamlined checkout experience for local and cross-border shoppers, added the report.