Singapore consumers most digitally impatient in APJ: study

That patience fell sharply for automated channels like chatbots (53%) and IVR systems (47%).

Consumers in Singapore are the most digitally impatient in the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, according to a new study by Twilio.

Whilst 90% of Singaporeans feel social pressure to remain polite during service interactions, only 59% report staying patient when online.

The study found that more than half of Singaporean respondents (54%) feel less tolerant when interacting with AI systems, the highest share across APJ.

Satisfaction with AI-powered service was also low, at just 29%. Key frustrations included AI not understanding queries (52%), delivering generic responses (49%), and sounding robotic (48%).

Despite growing adoption of automation, nearly half of Singaporean consumers (46%) prefer to start with a human agent, even if it means a slower experience. Patience remained relatively high for traditional support channels, with 86% saying they are patient on phone calls and 84% on live chat.

That patience fell sharply for automated channels like chatbots (53%) and IVR systems (47%). Respondents also reported greater tolerance offline (25%) compared to digital channels (12%).

On average, Singaporeans expect customer service issues to be resolved within 24 minutes. Key service expectations included quick resolution (50%), clear instructions (49%), and not needing to repeat information across agents or platforms (37%).

Patience also varied depending on the type of task. Consumers reported being more patient when it came to healthcare-related needs such as follow-ups (76%) and appointments (75%).

In contrast, tolerance was lower for retail and tech issues like service outages (54%) or delivery delays (52%). Among luxury shoppers, patience was higher for complex processes but dropped when high-value items or money were at risk.

On the other hand, whilst 62% of Singaporeans said they are willing to accept slower service for better security, only 43% were willing to pay extra for it, below the APJ average of 48%.

Twilio’s report advised brands to improve digital service experiences by making AI interactions more transparent and human-centric.

Specifically, it recommended focusing on clarity or setting expectations for AI capabilities, choice or allowing easy escalation to humans, continuity or avoiding repetitive information requests, and care or using conversational and empathetic language.

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