Global commerce is a conversation. Are you fluent?
The 427° Lab at Braze is on an innovation world tour and recently wrapped an epic visit to three global creative culture hotspots in APAC: Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo.
What we learned: APAC markets aren’t just “testing grounds” or “catch-up regions”—they are actively shaping the future of digital customer engagement.
Western companies often chase innovation by adding more and more tech. APAC innovates by adding intentionality: leveraging data thoughtfully to anticipate needs, blending technology with intimacy, and scaling with personalization.
Three concepts to know:
→ Omotenashi 🌸— Radical hospitality. The art of noticing, the art of observation. Anticipating needs before they’re spoken, offering support before it's asked.
→ Omakase 🍣 — surrendering choice to the expert; forgoing the fatigue of decision-making; trusting the journey.
→ Bento 🍱 — the art of bundling; curated, compact, powerfully intentional & personalized.
APAC brands are mastering the next generation of customer engagement: one that speaks fluent digital body language across channels, cultures, and moments.
The Future of Engagement Speaks WhatsApp, Kakao, and LINE. Braze helps you understand all of them.
🇯🇵 In Tokyo: Digital omotenashi transforms customer data into anticipatory service. LINE isn't just a messaging app; it's a canvas for relationship-building through thoughtful digital gestures. Brands are reading customers' unspoken needs through their digital footprints and responding with thoughtful service that feels relevant rather than automated. The result? Engagement rates taht don't just outperform -- they look forward to brand messages instead of opting out.
🇰🇷 In Seoul: Korean brands are redefining loyalty through digital intimacy. Kakao T, the dominant mobile platform, is a superapp ecosystem for rides, payments, food, and more, anchored by a reward model (Kakao Pay Rewards) that connects it all.
Korean beauty powerhouse OliveYoung's loyalty program "CJ ONE" does more than track transactions. It thoughtfully anticipates rwhen you'll need a restock, recommends new routines, and offers seasonal skin samples -- right when you're thinking about them. Their mobile app is a continuous digital conversation where brands demonstrate deep understanding of customer rhythms across multiple touchpoints, anticipating needs through AI-driven product recommendations that arrive at precisely the right moment.
🇸🇬 In Singapore: Southeast Asian brands have transformed WhatsApp from a messaging app into arelationship channel. Sephora recently created a virtual "Ang Pao" game for Lunar New Year in Malaysia which achieved a remarkable 132% uplift in purchases among participants -- not because of discounts, but because it was culturally relevant and resonated. This is how Sephora builds intimacy at scale: omnichannel precision, local cultural touchpoints, and leveraging WhatsApp as the intimate, high-engagement touchpoint where over 57% of Singaporeans prefer to seek customer support. They're not just sending messages. They're turning commerce into conversation.
This is not just a channel strategy. This is global interoperability at the emotional level. As global brands rush towards AI and automation, APAC brands are finding more empathy and more humanity within the technology stacks.
This is where tech has to go next:
Not just faster, but more human.
Not just personalized, but relevant.
Not just intelligent, but intentional.
In a world where commerce is a conversation, Braze helps you listen, understand, and respond -- fluently.
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Sharon Panelo is Senior Director, Strategic Consulting & Head of 427° Innovation Lab at Braze. How is your brand speaking the new digital body language of your customers? Join our Braze Bonfire community of forward thinking CMOs exploring the future of customer engagement. 🔥
Updated 2 months ago
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