Lazada says 88% of consumers make purchase decisions via AI-led recommendations

Around 63% of shoppers believe that AI is highly adopted in online shopping with the tech mainly used to save time from browsing and to make more informed purchase decision. In fact, 91% of Southeast Asia shoppers are confident that AI can identify products that are most relevant to them.

Moreover, 88% of shoppers now making purchase decisions using AI-powered product recommendations. This is according to a research study by eCommerce platform Lazada titled "Artificial intelligence adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia" where it surveyed 6,038 eCommerce shoppers across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

According to the study, 78% of Southeast Asian shoppers today embrace AI in their personal life, including AI chatbots (47%), visual product search (40%) and translations (40%) when they are online shopping. AI chatbots and visual product searches are the most commonly used AI-powered features in online shopping too where the top usage scenarios for AI chat bots being enquiring product availability (73%), getting information about delivery status (70%) and learning about rewards and membership (66%). 

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On top of that, AI-powered features are also an effective tool for price-conscious Southeast Asia shoppers, where 49% indicated price comparison as one of the most preferred features on an eCommerce platform. 

With the integration of Ai features into online shopping, shoppers are also feeling more confident in using eCommerce platforms to enhance their shopping experience. Of which, 80% of shoppers use AI features on eCommerce platforms at least once a week. Vietnamese (92%) and Filipino (91%) shoppers show a higher frequency, revealed the study. 

This confidence in artificial intelligence encourages Southeast Asia shoppers to use AI-driven solutions throughout their shopping journey from an enhanced product and service discovery (49%), faster responses and customer service solutions (49%), increased ease of shopping (49%) and finally an improved and optimised delivery efficiency (48%). 

In addition, 83% of shoppers are willing to pay more for an AI-powered experience, according to the study. 92% of shoppers trust AI-powered platforms to provide personalised recommendations that align with their needs and preferences while 90% trust product summary generated by AI as it is able to accurately represent the product's features and benefits. 

Similarly, McCann Worldgroup's titled the "Truth About Singapore" earlier this year revealed that 65% of Singaporeans would prefer shopping recommendations made by AI than by a real human being. This has led to the development of ChatGPT-powered eCommerce AI such as Lazada's LazzieChat, said the study.

It also found that 77% of Singaporeans also agree that seamless customer service, whether human or robotic, is of the highest importance. 

Interestingly, one in two Singaporeans have expressed that they would be open to becoming friends with robots. This is due to a need for connection that digital communications are unable to meet, added the report.

However, there is a balance between eagerness and caution when it comes to placing complete trust in AI. Whilst AI is seen as beneficial in the service line and in forming connections, the same cannot be said for the health industry where human counsel is still preferred when it comes to health and wellbeing. According to the study, 22% of Singaporeans still prefer humans over AI for health advice and 14% prefer humans over AI for diagnosis and therapeutic counselling.

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