Hong Kong retailers face checkout & fraud pressure - CFOtech Asia
Hong Kong retailers are confronting mounting payment and fraud pressures as the peak shopping season begins with Singles' Day, according to new research from payments company Adyen.
The research, based on surveys of 1,026 Hong Kong residents and 324 merchants, suggests that checkout performance and fraud prevention are central concerns for retailers during high-traffic periods like Singles' Day, Christmas, and Chinese New Year.
More than half of consumers, or 51%, want a seamless shopping experience across both online and in-store channels, while 45% expect real-time product visibility before visiting a shop.
These expectations become more visible during periods of intense seasonal demand, when high traffic can expose weaknesses in payment systems and fulfilment processes.
The findings point to a broader expectation of consistency across digital and physical retail, a demand that is amplified during the busiest trading months of the year.
Checkout pressure
Payment errors can quickly affect customer behaviour, with 12% of consumers saying they would switch to a competitor immediately after a payment issue at checkout.
Women were more likely than men to abandon a purchase altogether after an error, at 29% compared with 22%. Younger shoppers were also less tolerant, with 36% of Gen Z saying payment errors damaged their perception of a brand, compared with 22% of Gen X.
On the merchant side, every retailer surveyed said they had been affected by payment performance issues. About 36% said they had lost sales because of failed or slow transactions, 31% cited in-store queue abandonment, and 26% pointed to abandoned online checkouts.
Online-only retailers appeared to be under greater strain, with 37% saying payment issues had reduced customer trust, compared with 23% of cross-channel or physical-only retailers.
A retailer's peak season hinges on the final click. Friction at checkout costs sales. Speed and security are baseline expectations. By unifying data and modern payment infrastructure to prevent fraud without disrupting genuine customers, businesses can confidently scale through peak demand and turn single-purchase shoppers into lifetime value.
Fraud concerns
The study also pointed to a rise in fraud during peak trading periods, with refund fraud showing the largest increase over the past year.
Refund fraud affected 55% of affected merchants, ranking it among the three biggest fraud increases they had faced. Phishing scams affected 40% of merchants, while identity fraud and chargeback abuse each affected 38%.
Consumer data showed a similar pattern, with 33% saying they had received phishing or scam messages and 14% saying they had been targeted by refund, prize or loyalty scams.
For retailers, those figures suggest the seasonal uplift in sales also raises exposure to losses, disputes, and customer distrust.
Younger shoppers
The findings also indicate that younger consumers are shaping changes in retail expectations. Millennials placed greater emphasis on seamless experiences than other generations, with 57% identifying this as important, compared with 48% of both Gen Z and Gen X.
One in five consumers said they expected better shopping experiences through social and emerging platforms, adding another layer of complexity for retailers.
Retailers are increasingly expected to support sales and customer engagement across a wider range of channels while keeping payment journeys consistent.
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