This infographic from McKinsey offers a fantastic insight into how two key European markets are engaging with digital and how it is revolutionising the buying habits of their citizens.

The implications of these new realities are significant to say the least. As more and more of the population buys online, traditional retailers will have to reinvent themselves or risk going out of business. Because these traditional retailers tend to move slowly, more of them are going out of business than reinventing themselves.

South East Asian countries tend to a year or two behind Europe in how technology is integrated into our lives however we’re already seeing digital influence how we interact with brands in Asia. For instance a recent survey by SDL in the UK found that 90% of Singaporeans evaluate a product or service in person before buying online.

Unless Asian brands wake up to the way consumers are using digital to research and choose brands – and that means more than using a traditional model of mass and invasive ads across news and other sites – they will find it hard to compete and that won’t have a happy ending.