Hong Kong shoppers embrace AI, but not at checkout

Adyen has published its Hong Kong retail index on AI in shopping and payments. The study found strong consumer use of AI tools alongside persistent reluctance to let them complete purchases.

The findings highlight a split between discovery and checkout in Hong Kong's retail market. AI is becoming a common part of how shoppers search for products and brands, but concerns about trust, security and reliability are most visible at the payment stage.

The survey covered 1,026 consumers in Hong Kong and 324 enterprise retail merchants with an annual turnover of at least HK$150 million. It found that 74% of consumers have used AI assistants to improve their shopping experience.

Among those consumers, 88% said AI helps them cut through online noise, while 73% said it provides faster shopping inspiration. The data also showed that 71% want to use AI to discover unique brands and experiences.

Generational differences were pronounced. One in four Gen Z consumers use AI assistants daily for shopping, compared with 17% of Gen X and 2% of Baby Boomers.

Checkout concerns

Adoption weakens when the process moves from browsing to payment. The study found that 45% of consumers are uncomfortable allowing an AI assistant to complete a purchase on their behalf, even after they have reviewed and approved the product and price.

Another 14% said they would use AI only for product discovery, not payment. A further 14% said they would be comfortable only if extra security checks were added.

Those responses sit alongside broader concerns about failed transactions. Two-thirds of consumers (66%) said payment errors damage their perception of a retailer, while 26% said they would abandon a purchase and avoid that retailer after a payment issue.

The figures suggest that checkout is not only a conversion point but also a brand risk for merchants adopting more automated shopping tools. In that context, security measures appear to reassure consumers rather than deter them.

Two in five consumers (41%) said they feel more confident when retailers require two-factor authentication. Only 9% said they were willing to trade security for a faster checkout.

That creates a challenge for merchants trying to remove friction from the buying process without making customers feel exposed. Retailers have spent years simplifying payments, but the findings suggest Hong Kong shoppers still value visible safeguards over speed when money changes hands.

"Consumers already consider payments as part of the wider brand experience, meaning that if checkout fails, trust breaks," said Kai Tang, Head of Hong Kong, Adyen.

"As agentic commerce moves closer to reality, the next challenge is making sure the retail backend systems can keep up while maintaining trust at every transaction," Tang said.

Merchant plans

On the merchant side, familiarity with so-called agentic commerce was high. The term refers to AI systems that can browse, decide and make purchases on behalf of a shopper.

The study found that 94% of Hong Kong merchants were familiar with the concept. More than half (52%) said they planned to integrate AI-driven or agentic commerce tools into their revenue growth plans.

Even so, merchants also identified several barriers to wider use. The leading concern, cited by 43%, was the risk of losing direct customer relationships or brand control.

Data privacy and security ranked at 38%, while 35% cited the difficulty of integrating AI into existing systems. Those concerns suggest that interest in AI-led transactions is outpacing the operational work needed to support them.

Integration strain

The report argues that the next stage of digital retail will depend less on consumer awareness of AI and more on whether merchants can connect different platforms, product data requirements and checkout processes. As new AI-driven shopping interfaces emerge, retailers may need to support multiple technical standards rather than a single purchase path.

That could increase the cost and complexity of adoption for larger merchants, especially those operating across online and in-store channels. It also raises questions about who controls the customer relationship when product discovery and purchase decisions increasingly occur through third-party AI tools.

For Hong Kong retailers, the data suggests the opportunity lies in using AI to improve product discovery while treating payment reliability and data protection as central parts of the customer experience. Consumer appetite for AI shopping tools is already established, but trust must still be earned at the point of the final transaction.

The research was conducted online by YouGov Plc among a nationally representative sample of Hong Kong residents aged 18 and older, along with senior managers or above at retail businesses with an annual turnover of at least HK$150 million.