Consumers turning to online orders for essential goods

by Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star), 16 May 2021

MANILA, Philippines — The credit card unit of Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said consumers are shifting to more essential spending through e-commerce platforms due to the impact of the pandemic.

RCBC Bankard president and chief executive officer Arniel Ong– said online transactions surged as consumers continued to tap digital channels for their basic necessities amid the mobility and quarantine restrictions due to the global health crisis.

“The digital journey will continue, so we will continue to bring more customers to the digital platforms, as we ride on the waves of this consumer behavior,” Ong said.

Data released by RCBC Bankard showed online credit card transactions–excluding travel, amusement, airlines and hotels – surged by 58 percent.

On the other hand, the credit card issuer said swiped or face-to-face transactions plunged by 36 percent.

For one, the contribution of grocery spending is seen further rising this year after increasing to 29 percent last year from 21 percent in 2019.

Likewise, RCBC Bankard said consumers spent more on service providers, digital goods, utilities/internet/cable services as well as shipping services.

On the other hand, spending on amusement and recreation as well as food and dining plunged by 59 percent last year.

“Consumers are shifting toward essential spending through e-commerce transactions and less discretionary spend,” Ong said.

As of end-March, total cards-in-force of RCBC Bankard stood at 917,729.

Under its three-year Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has committed to convert half of the total retail transactions in terms of value and volume to digital channels as part of efforts to transform the country into a cash-lite from a cash-heavy economy by 2023.

Based on the latest data provided by the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA), the share of digital payments increased further to 14 percent in 2019 from one percent in 2013 in terms of volume and to 24 percent from eight percent in terms of value.