74 Pct Of Malaysians Use AI For Shopping, But Many Hesitate Over AI-completed Purchases – Adyen
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Bernama) -- About 74 per cent of Malaysians use artificial intelligence (AI) to support their shopping, but 52 per cent remain uncomfortable allowing the technology to complete purchases on their behalf, according to a survey published by financial technology (fintech) platform Adyen.
Adyen’s Index 2026 Malaysia Retail Report found that while AI is increasingly being used to discover products, compare options and receive shopping recommendations, trust remains a key barrier to wider adoption of AI-powered transactions.
Adyen Malaysia country manager Soon Yean Lee said AI is already reshaping how Malaysians shop, but the shift from AI-assisted shopping to agentic commerce is only beginning.
Soon said security has always been a fundamental concern for consumers, even before AI became part of the shopping experience.
“Not just security of data, but also the quality of your product, the comfort level you have when dealing with customer service and after-sales service. All those, in one form or another, give you that sense of security,” he told a media briefing here today.
Soon said payment security plays an important role in building consumer confidence, with the survey showing that 59 per cent of consumers felt payment errors severely damaged their perception of a brand.
He said 26 per cent of respondents also indicated they would abandon a purchase and avoid returning to the retailer after encountering payment issues.
Soon explained that this happens because consumers who encounter payment issues with one retailer are likely to complete their purchase through another retailer instead.
“If I want to buy a Nike shoe or an On Running shoe, I have choices because it’s not always just one shop selling it, so I’ll still end up getting the product, but perhaps not from that particular retailer,” he said.
The survey also found that 47 per cent of consumers already use biometric authentication such as Face ID when shopping, while 24 per cent said they were more confident in retailers that use multi-factor authentication.
“There is a certain level of comfort in allowing additional checks to be done because it builds the trust consumers have towards the brand,” he said.
On the business side, Soon said 85 per cent of Malaysian retailers surveyed were familiar with the concept of agentic commerce, where AI agents can complete purchases on behalf of consumers, while 47 per cent planned to invest in the technology.
However, he said retailers remained cautious, with 43 per cent expressing concerns over losing direct relationships with customers as AI increasingly becomes an intermediary in transactions.
The Adyen Index 2026 Malaysia Retail Report is based on an online survey commissioned by Adyen and conducted by international market research and data analytics company YouGov from March to April 2026.
The survey involved 1,031 Malaysian consumers aged 18 and above, as well as 314 senior retail employees from retailers with an annual turnover of at least RM75 million.
-- BERNAMA