Alipay and Nielsen have jointly released a new survey on the latest trends in Chinese outbound tourism and the consumption habits of Chinese travelers for the third consecutive year. This year’s survey also finds that overseas merchants are actively exploring digital operations via Chinese mobile payments to increase sales and customer traffic. This is demonstrated by nearly 8 out of 10 (78%) U.K. merchants surveyed saying they are likely to recommend Alipay to their peers, especially for utilizing digital operations to improve efficiency and turnover.

“top 10 countries where Chinese tourists love to use mobile payments in 2019.”

Surveying 4,837 Chinese travelers and 547 overseas merchants, the report finds that Chinese tourists’ usage of mobile payments while traveling overseas continues to increase, with Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, France, Thailand, New Zealand, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. ranked as the “top 10 countries where Chinese tourists love to use mobile payments in 2019.”

Marketing Technology News:  Vervotech Continues to Expand Market Base with AI in Travel Technology

This trend is taking hold, with regions like the U.K. accelerating the acceptance of Chinese mobile payments. Overseas merchants are also going beyond payment to explore more digitalized solutions including digital marketing, with nearly 70% of U.K. merchants surveyed saying they have already utilized additional services other than payment in Alipay. Nearly 9 out of 10 (88%) U.K. merchants surveyed who have used additional services on Chinese mobile payment platforms recognized that these solutions helped market their stores, and 63% believed they improved the efficiency of store management.

Marketing Technology News: Why Audio Ads Should Be a Part of Your Advertising Strategy in 2020

The report provides a new look at the digitalization trends of the overseas retail sector at a time when online and offline businesses are increasingly merging, and Chinese tourists are poised to have more influence in this industry.

Marketing Technology News:  TechBytes with Vinayak Nair, VP Research Ops and Custom Analytics at Verto Analytics