KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 11 August – The IDC InfoBrief titled “Revolutionizing Customer Experience through the Power of Conversational Commerce” highlights the rising role of AI-powered conversational commerce and omnichannel communication platforms in the Asia Pacific region.

This study commissioned by Infobip, highlighted the importance of customer-centric strategies and provided a guide for brands to adopt conversational commerce.

What was observed from the study was a shift in customer communication preferences that sees a noticeable increase in conversational interactions. Gathered stats demonstrated brands that adopt the omnichannel approach and deliver end-to-end experiences, have higher change of increasing loyalty and customer lifetime value.

Also, conversational commerce powered by AI, have gained significant traction amongst businesses in Asia Pacific. Studies have also shown that since the start of the pandemic, the APAC region has seen an addition of 60 million digital consumers who are here to stay.

Rising Demand for Conversational Commerce

Conversational commerce relies on Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) as a crucial tool.

Why?

CPaaS are seen as enablers for organizations to seamlessly integrate real-time communication features (such as voice, text, video, instant messaging, and social media) into their internal and external applications using developer-friendly API as building blocks.

New research reveals Asia Pacific companies increasing investments in cloud-based solutions for enhanced customer experiences and operational efficiencies.

Software as a Solution (SaaS) tools such as smart chatbots powered by the cloud are also on the rise, as organizations recognize their inherent benefits to deliver personalized interactions and improved customer experiences. For example, during the Singles’ Day in 2022, communication interactions in the Asia-Pacific region accumulated to over 70 million within the Infobip platform. Total interactions within platform increased 21% compared to 2021 and surged 46% compared to other days in November.

WhatsApp interactions alone on Single’s Day grew 29% in 2022 compared to 2021.

The power of CPaaS and SaaS-based solutions enable businesses to provide a seamless, customer journey that’s visible across multiple touchpoints.

This reflects a general pattern among businesses in Asia Pacific adopting a more conversational theme with their customers to gain benefits such as increased ROI and customer engagement.

Conversational commerce also empowers local businesses to branch out globally through automated messaging and cloud customer support. A study by Facebook and Boston Consulting found that Malaysians (26%) are among the highest respondents who had undertaken a conversational commerce transaction.

Drivers of CPaaS investment Across Asia Pacific

This upward momentum in customer-centric business strategy among brands across Asia Pacific reflects their current mindset and expectations. Despite a few countries averaging 50%-59% in CPaaS usage, the vast majority of organizations in the region (70%) plan to increase communication platform spending over 2023-24 in order to provide unique, unparalleled customer experiences to the region’s growing social media users, who are mostly young, active, and aware of the power of their own influence*.

Although all countries plan to invest in CPaaS and SaaS solutions in the near future, their motivations for doing so can greatly differ.

Singapore and Indonesia businesses aim to bring about enhanced customer experiences and create new revenue streams, while those in China, Thailand and the Philippines are more motivated to improve and mobilize their business processes, as well as look towards domestic and international business expansion.

This is likely due to the latter countries’ overall higher adoption rate of CPaaS solutions (above 60%) and booming retail/eCommerce segments. In Malaysia, 56% of organizations are already using CPaaS solutions and 73 percent more are already planning to increase their communications platform spending throughout 2023 and 2024.

“CPaaS solutions are increasingly recognized as crucial catalysts for enabling conversational commerce experiences. In fact, 27% of businesses in Asia Pacific are actively partnering with CPaaS platform providers to deliver contextualized customer interactions that not only boost profitability but also foster emotionally fulfilling engagements.

This trend highlights the increasing importance of leveraging these technologies to meet customer demands and achieve business success,” said Nikhil Batra, Research Director, Telecommunication, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Organizations planning to embark on their conversational commerce journey will need a good, experienced partner as not all solutions are equal. Platforms with omnichannel capabilities are ideal as they are essential for building meaningful, high-quality customer engagement. Easy integration capabilities are also necessary because these ensure better customer experience as well as compliance with security and audit policies.

Finally, CPaaS platform providers must be agile enough to respond to new use cases and tech that can help drive business growth.

To learn more about the benefits of conversational commerce and how it has influenced industries across Asia Pacific region, download the IDC Infobrief: Revolutionizing CX with the power of conversational commerce.

SUMMARY

Not all solutions are created equal, and customer experience is more important than ever seeing how 60 million additional customers hopped onto digital commerce platforms. A seamless, end-to-end experience seems to be the way to go, but… an AI-powered conversation platform as part of that seamless experience may require different approach and treatment, as customer expectations continue to escalate.