News & Topics
ParcelMonitor.com: What Consumers Truly Think of Returns
Originally published on Parcelmonitor.com, 9th of June 2022. Returns are a necessary evil in the world of e-commerce retail. While frequent returns can adversely impact your profit margins, they also serve as a great opportunity to boost customer loyalty if handled correctly. With over $368 billion in sales lost to returns last year, developing and enforcing a comprehensive returns policy is no longer something that retailers can put on the back burner.
2022 Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behaviour
More than two years on from the COVID outbreak in spring 2020, we look at how consumer behaviour changed during the pandemic and whether this is likely to continue as restrictions ease.
ParcelMonitor.com: Effect of Estimated Delivery Date on Customer Satisfaction
Originally published on Parcelmonitor.com, 2nd of March 2022. For many online customers, the availability of a clear, accurate estimated delivery date (EDD) is a make-or-break factor between conversion and an abandoned cart. Regardless of the purchase or where they are based, EDD is something shoppers expect to see at the checkout page alongside the total price of their items.
Report: What REALLY matters when deciding between two brands
As the world careers towards environmental disaster while trust in big corporations and authority has reached new lows, corporations worldwide have tried to reflect these concerns in product positioning and for some the very substance of the products they sell. Brand purpose has become king. Survey after survey appears to confirm that this is something that consumers (especially the enormous bucket that comprises the moving target ‘millennials’), really want. But is it as simple as that?
United States Panel Now Available
Starting from January 2022, our United States panel is available alongside our 12 proprietary panels in key Asian markets.
Report: Plant-based food alternatives
This story is part of our series on plant-based food alternatives. An infographic is available here. Have you ever consumed plant-based alternatives to animal-based food products? What about lab-grown meat, would you eat it once available? That’s what our new report on plant-based alternatives aimed to find out from consumers across our 13 proprietary panels.
Infographic: Plant-based food alternatives – Future or Present?
The plant-based food revolution is happening and seems to be here to stay. The latest survey from Rakuten Insight indicates that many of our panelists have tried plant-based alternatives, and some products have already been accepted into diets across our panel markets, such as milk, cheese & meats. Most consumers regularly consume these products several times a week or several times a month.
ParcelMonitor.com: Could Free Shipping Be the Key to Higher Customer Retention?
Originally published on Parcelmonitor.com, 16th December 2021. Just like many other regions in the world, Southeast Asia’s e-commerce growth took off at an accelerated pace in 2020. Since the pandemic onset, around 70 million additional people have shopped online across countries in Southeast Asia. The number is expected to grow five times in the next five years.
ParcelMonitor.com: Free shipping on consumers purchasing decisions
Originally published on Parcelmonitor.com, 15th November 2021. The word “free” has a timeless appeal. This is also true of the phrase “free shipping” — at least for anyone who shops online frequently. Free shipping has consistently been proven to be one of the top purchasing factors among millennials. But how can free shipping influence consumers’ purchase decisions?
India: Putting the Emotion into Electric Vehicles
The Electric Vehicle market is anticipated to become a key future battleground with huge potential for growth. Rakuten Insight conducted a survey in India, with the aim to understand consumer awareness, attitudes and expectations from Electric Vehicles.
Snapshot: Retail Insights
In normal times, understanding the retail landscape across different markets is challenging enough, let alone during a pandemic. COVID-19 has impacted consumers as well as researchers, trying to monitor behaviour across the globe, from their homes. It is now more tempting than ever to make sense of data through one’s own lens.
Rakuten Optimism 2021 Business Conference (Virtual)
This fall, Rakuten’s biggest-ever virtual business conference is going live. On October 12 and 13, Rakuten Optimism 2021 will connect participants from Japan and around the world with some of the world’s top luminaries and business leaders to reflect on the myriad ways in which the world is changing around us, and how our lives can be enriched as a result.
ParcelMonitor.com: The E-Commerce Logistics Race South East Asia
Originally published on Parcelmonitor.com, 29th July 2021. Southeast Asia has a booming e-commerce market. In 2020, the region’s e-commerce sector e-commerce grew by 35.2%, adding 40 million new Internet users in 2020 resulting in over 70% of the region’s population browsing the Internet. The region’s e-commerce growth also shows no signs of slowing with a forecasted growth of 14.3% this year.
Rakuten.Today: Global shoppers are embracing a circular economy
Originally published on Rakuten.Today, 21st July 2021. The concept of a “circular economy” — one which designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems* — isn’t only winning over environment groups, it’s inspiring businesses as well. With many global companies now embracing the concepts of a circular economy, the idea seems poised for the mainstream.
Snapshot: Travel
Around the world, vaccination programs are gathering pace and consumers everywhere are beginning to assess their own attitudes to travel. Asking themselves questions such as: ‘is it safe to travel?’; ‘should I travel for business?’; ‘vacation or staycation?’. Rakuten Insight took a snapshot of consumers attitudes to travel through asking consumers from our own 12 proprietary panels in Asia.
Ride Hailing in a Sustainable Society
Sustainability is more than a buzzword. It has become a new way of doing business and an integral part of many mission statements. Authentic sustainability credentials, consistent with a brand’s positioning, create brand value through differentiation and meeting customer demand. As a result, new services & technology can make sustainability claims to meet this demand.
Rakuten Insight Panel Book 2021
As Asia’s trusted research partner, Rakuten Insight has remained at the forefront of consumer market research data collection in the region for over 23 years. Our online panels have been developed throughout 12 major Asian markets, all of which are managed by dedicated local support teams and meet the highest standard of the industry.
Inside China: Sustainability
Sustainability is more than a buzzword. It has become a new way of doing business and an integral part of many mission statements. Authentic sustainability credentials, consistent with a brand’s positioning, create brand value through differentiation and meeting customer demand.
Parcelmonitor.com: What do consumers really think about collection points?
Originally published on Parcelmonitor.com, 5th May 2021. To find out what delivery method consumers preferred in Southeast Asia and why, Parcel Monitor partnered with Rakuten Insight Global who surveyed approximately 85,000 consumers from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Rakuten.Today: How the world is watching, reading, chatting and shopping during the pandemic
Originally published on Rakuten.Today, 3rd May 2021. Over the past 14 months, the global pandemic has fundamentally changed the world–the way we live, work, travel and consume. Facing lockdowns and subsequent restrictions to retail and leisure activities , people around the world are engaging with the digital world in new, more expansive ways.
Inside China: Super Apps & Role of Brand
In China, Super Apps are a way of life & are they coming to a customer near you? So what are Super Apps? Simply speaking Super Apps open the door to a wide range of virtual & physical products and services in an increasingly connected physical & digital world. Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat & Ant Financial’s Alipay are classic examples of Super Apps. Aside from basic functions like sending messages or making payments, the app can also be used to order food, hail taxis and book plane tickets.