Tag: consumer behavior

Manila, Philippines – Filipino consumer behavior during the pandemic has shifted to frequent use of e-commerce platforms and cashless payments systems, a new report from financial services Visa shows.

In the Philippine-centric report, Visa noted that 52% of Filipinos shopped online through apps and websites for the first time during the pandemic and 43% of them made their first online purchase using social media channels.

Online shopping activity behavior also rose within the period of past year, as the report showed close to 9 in 10 Filipinos have increased their online shopping activities on websites or apps, whilst 7 in 10 are shopping more on social media channels. 

More than half of the consumers are also more inclined to shop from large online marketplaces (53%) and home-based businesses (61%). These new shopping preferences might turn into habits that last beyond the pandemic.

As part of the growing behavior of online purchases, food deliveries also rose, as more than 9 in 10 Filipinos used home delivery in the Philippines and 67% of them increased their use of home delivery services during the pandemic. This can be attributed to the existing quarantine and lockdown restrictions being implemented by the government in the country.

“The pandemic has transformed the way Filipinos shop and pay. Based on the latest highlights from our annual study, we see adoption of new consumer behaviors including more Filipinos using digital commerce platforms and helping to accelerate the usage of digital payments in the country. We see double digit growth for e-commerce transactions for purchases on marketplaces and digital goods,” said Dan Wolbert, country manager for the Philippines and Guam at Visa.

Wolbert also noted that some of the initial purchases made by first-time online consumers include food and groceries, bill payments as well as pharmaceutical products.

Using physical cash as payment has dwindled by the offset of the pandemic, as best compared to pre-pandemic consumers averaged to 7 out of 10 payments made in cash, compared to mid-pandemic consumers who only averaged to 5 out of 10 payments made in cash.

Filipinos cited using more contactless payments (73%), perceiving cash as unsafe because of the potential spread of infection (54%) and more places adopting digital payments (50%) as the top reasons for carrying less cash. In addition, Filipinos see bill payments (81%), grocery shopping (71%), and overseas travel (68%) as the top categories where they would likely go completely cashless in future.

The study also showed that contactless payments had 66% increase in usage amongst current users due to the pandemic. In addition, 88% of Filipinos who had not used contactless payments stated interest in using this payment method in the future. Top benefits perceived by Filipinos for usage of contactless cards include not having to carry cash with them (88%), feeling safe from infection (75%) and being an innovative payment method (68%).

“We believe that contactless payments will continue to grow as Filipinos appreciate the benefits of contactless payments, including perceiving this payment method to be more hygienic due to the absence of physical interaction at point-of-sale. Even though we’ve made progress in digital payments adoption, there remains huge opportunities for us to encourage more Filipinos to embrace digital payments as we look to expand digital payments acceptance across the country,” Dan added.

The study was conducted on 1,014 Filipinos aged 18-65 years of age across key cities in Manila, and in several provinces.

Singapore – Video game playing in the Asia-Pacific has risen to a new level, with consumers playing more than 9 hours of online games each week in 2020, a report by content delivery network company Limelight shows.

According to the study, the sudden spike in gaming has been driven by some gamers looking for social connections. More than 7 in 10 Asia Pacific gamers (72%) say they have made new friends through online games in the past year and more than one in three (36%) say the ability to interact with other players is extremely important. 

Furthermore, opportunities for interactivity and social engagement are likely drivers for video game adoption with the majority (79%) of global gamers saying they started playing video games in the past year.

Part of the growing numbers in the online gaming community is the high demands for next-generation consoles as gaming performance peaks. About three quarters (74%) of gamers are interested in purchasing a new console, due to updated technology (39%) and faster gameplay (37%. According to the study, gamers in China are most likely to consider upgrading their console (92%).

Such high rise of next-generation consoles comes with a higher demand for faster gaming experiences, as the study showed that five in 10 (51%) of Asia Pacific gamers cite this importance, also emerging as the top-cited significant aspect of game. In addition, 84% of gamers in the region say the process of downloading games is frustrating.

“Asia Pacific is home to some of the world’s most ardent gamers, and they are now looking to video games to provide an interactive, high performance, disruption-free experience that allows them to connect with others and play longer,” said Edwin Koh, director of Southeast Asia at Limelight.

The study showed the average APAC region gamer has played video games consecutively for four hours and 49 minutes. Young gamers ages 18 to 25 have binge-gamed for the longest, at an average of nearly five hours.

Gaming has also become a spectator sport. The report shows that 72% of Asia Pacific gamers say they’ve started to watch others play video games in the past year. The average gamer spends three hours and 36 minutes each week watching others play video games online and gamers in India spend the most time of any country surveyed (five hours and 18 minutes each week). Furthermore, more than three in five (67%) gamers say they prefer to play video games versus watching a movie or TV show.

“This evolution is putting pressure on gaming companies to match this demand with edge-based content and compute to deliver high-quality gaming environments to users across the globe,” Koh stated.

Singapore – With more people relying on e-commerce during the pandemic, shoppers have also increasingly become more selective with the platforms they’re using, and in the Southeast Asia region, about half of consumers across markets were found to uninstall shopping apps, according to a report by e-commerce aggregator iPrice Group, in partnership with SimilarWeb and AppsFlyer.

Data from the report showed that in the first and second quarter of 2020, an average of half of the consumers in SEA countries Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia as well as Thailand, and Singapore ditched using shopping apps, with the group of consumers demonstrating the behavior with a slight uptick in the second quarter of 2020. The highest average uninstallation was led by Vietnam with 49%, followed by 47% in Indonesia, 41% in Malaysia, 37% of consumers in Thailand, and 36% of shoppers in Singapore. 

When it comes to app acquisition, on the other hand, there has also been an increase in installations, in tandem with data showing that some apps are being let go. With over 12.4 million installs analyzed, the report found that there was a 2% average increase of organic installs on iOS and android shopping applications from users in the SEA region from January to June in 2020. 

The report noted that among many things that led users to install shopping applications were lockdown periods, online sales, and app features, such as free shipping and discounts. E-commerce companies partnering with superstars, such as K-pop group Blackpink, actor Lee Min-ho, and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, have also become a factor in attracting consumers.

With web traffic among e-commerce sites, on the other hand, the report revealed that online shopping platforms across SEA markets gained a positive increase year-over-year from 2019 which can be seen most in Singapore, whichexperienced a surge of 35% compared to 2019, followed by the Philippines (21%), Vietnam (19%), Malaysia (17%), Thailand (15%), and Indonesia (6%).

Online department stores’ web traffic also experienced a 52% average increase from the first quarter of 2020, proving that most countries in the region flocked to online department stores instead of physical stores due to social distancing.

However, platforms that particularly offer cosmetic products showed a web traffic decrease of 35% from the first quarter to fourth quarter of 2020. Fashion and electronics sites also experienced a 14% decrease in traffic in the six countries.

With more visits to online shopping platforms, comes the increase in average spending. The same study revealed that SEA consumers’ average spending increased by 19%. Although fashion and electronics sites saw a slight decrease in web traffic, the average basket size for these categories significantly increased, as well as for sports and outdoor products.

According to the study, consumers in SEA spent an overall average of US$2 per order in 2020, which was 19% higher than 2019’s. Singapore recorded an average US$61 spent per order, while Malaysia locked in US$41, with both showing the highest average basket size in 2020 in the region.

“These unusual shifts have presented a sign of digital acceleration in online retail despite the global pandemic that is affecting consumers in the region,” noted iPrice.

Singapore – As more and more people are stuck in lockdown during the pandemic, over-the-top (OTT) mobile streaming has garnered mainstream success, new study from mobile app analytics platform Adjust shows.

According to the recently published data, 52.5% of consumers worldwide have used smartphones to stream more video content, and 12% of consumers are streaming less — which means four times more consumers are mobile streaming. 

In terms of streaming frequency, China led the survey, with around 93.8%of users admitting to do mobile streaming at least once a day. This is then followed by South Korea (86.2%), Singapore (83.7%), Turkey (91.9%), United States (69.4%), Japan (57.2%) and the United Kingdom (45.7%).

South Korea led the study’s data on willingness to spend a sizable amount for streaming and on-demand entertainment services, averaging to US$42.68 a month, compared to its Western counterparts, the United States (US$33.58) and the United Kingdom (USD$34.82).

“This drastic shift to routine mobile streaming around the world and across generations has created massive advertising opportunities and a new role for mobile analytics. By understanding how and when consumers stream, as well as which channels and campaigns deliver the highest marketing impact, the potential to build a large, loyal user-base with high lifetime value is virtually limitless,” said Gijsbert Pols, lead product strategist at Adjust.

The study also found out that more than three quarters (76%) of all respondents use their mobile phone while watching television, viewed as ‘second-screeners’, with this viewing behavior most pronounced in Singapore and China (both 85%), closely followed by the U.S. (83%).

Furthermore, social apps are the number one choice for second-screeners — favored by 65.4% of respondents, on average, followed by banking (54.9%) and gaming (44.9%). Second-screeners in APAC have a healthy appetite for food delivery apps, with use strongest in China (65.2%), Korea (36.6%) and Singapore (48.2%). 

Singapore – The pandemic has been a driving force of the increase of Google searches related to Valentine’s Day gifts, more specifically a 57% increase compared to 2019, according to statistics from e-commerce aggregator iPrice.

iPrice observed certain Asian countries’ Google searches on romantic gifts, such as in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and it was found that among gifts searched during Valentine’s day, ‘Care Packages’ were looked into the most, with a surge of 238%. ‘Care package’ is a term coined during the lockdown, which refers to a personalized bundle of items that could contain any gifts such as food, stationery, or even health-related items, as a gesture of connecting to loved ones and friends.

The top search on the term was followed by ‘scented candles’, which tallied a 236% surge. Interestingly, ‘lingerie gift’ searches have also spiked by 82%.

Which are the most sought after gifts this Valentines - iPrice Group

Common gift items for Valentine’s Day have also seen a greater increase in online searches, including terms ‘roses’ (123%), ‘flowers’ (83%), ‘chocolates’ (50%), and ‘bouquets’ (49%).

Dating apps have also drawn greater attention at a time of lesser physical interactions. The same report has stated that between the period of February 2020 and January 2021, keywords results in relation to each country’s top 5 dating apps have increased. 

The study explains that this means if a person types any of the top dating apps in the app store, like ‘Tinder’ for example, results for apps like Tinder would show. iPrice observed such an increase in suggested dating apps related to dating apps in all Asian countries during the pandemic.

Did the pandemic drive the rise of dating apps in Asia - iPrice Group

Interestingly, Taiwan takes the top spot with a surge of 194% of keyword results of dating apps. The trend is followed by Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore with the most increase in keyword results on dating apps in the App Store. 

Manila, Philippines – The current state brought by the global pandemic has seen a rise in consumption of over the top (OTT) media, particularly in the Philippines, a new report by technology company The Trade Desk stated.

According to the report, 36 million consumers streamed about two billion hours of OTT content per month – making OTT one of the fastest growing media channels in the country. OTT services enable viewers to stream professionally-produced video content over the internet on-demand, from any device including smart TVs, personal computers, or mobile devices.

More than half, or 55 percent, of all Filipino OTT users report streaming more OTT content during the pandemic than before. These habits are likely to persist even in a post-COVID world as 65 percent say they plan to maintain or increase OTT consumption after the pandemic ends.

Mitch Waters, SVP of Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand for The Trade Desk, supports the idea that the pandemic has accelerated consumer trends in making OTT the next big thing in the market of TV media consumption.

“The shift to OTT streaming in the region, and specifically the Philippines where more than half of viewers are turning to OTT than ever before at higher viewing rates than other countries in the region, demonstrates the undeniable inflection point for TV consumption that will most certainly never turn back to the way it used to be,” Waters stated.

Philippines-OTT-Media-Research-The-Trade-Desk-Kantar

In terms of tuning in, 1 in 2 users prefer to tune in between the hours of 8 PM-12 AM, bringing streaming into direct competition with traditional TV for valuable primetime audiences. Filipino viewers are also looking to OTT for their favorite content, with 62 percent tuning in to OTT to watch their favorite programming versus just 54 percent on traditional broadcast.

Furthermore, more than 20 million Filipinos tune in to at least one ad-supported OTT platform, with 55 percent of all OTT viewers between 16-34 years of age, providing a new channel for brands to build relationships with this high-coveted demographic.

“As more young, engaged, and active Filipinos shift to OTT and are willing to view more ads, advertisers have an enormous opportunity in front of them. This provides an opening for advertisers to employ a data-driven approach with an improved advertising experience in a way that’s not possible with traditional TV,” said Waters. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – New report from integrated car e-commerce platform Carsome showed a significant change in private car ownership and the aspect of buying and selling of cars among consumers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand despite COVID-19.

Malaysian and Indonesia consumers have shown a greater interest in buying cars after the pandemic lockdowns, with up to 32% and 12% of consumers respectively showing interest compared to pre-lockdown behavior.

Meanwhile, all three markets saw an increase in consumers wanting to sell their cars, with Malaysia registering a 133% spike of consumers, followed by Indonesians (up 52%) and Thais (up 15%). 

As more and more consumers are selling their old cars due to getting more cash on hand, the usage of car selling platforms, including Carsome, also became popular 55% among Malaysian respondents, 34% among Indonesian respondents and 19% among Thai respondents. 

The increase of consumers selling their cars all have primary reasons in doing so due to financial constraints brought by unstable income and lack of budget. Other reasons include selling the much older car in favor of an existing usable car in their property, savings for future circumstances, and uncertainty of the economy after the pandemic woes.

On average, most Malaysian respondents (58%) plan to buy a car in a span of 1-6 months, while Indonesians (64%) and Thais (63%) plan to buy a car in a span of 7-12 months. Those that buy a car in a shorter time span reason out that a car is urgent to carry on daily duties. 

In terms of selling their cars, all the three markets shared an equal view of selling their cars in a span of 12 months, adding up the reason for replacing the car and optimism for the economy post-pandemic on reasons why to sell the car, aside from extra finances. In addition, all markets have shared the same perception that car dealers and car inspection centers are vital in selling cars to reduce contact of COVID-19 (Malaysians, 83%; Indonesians, 92%; Thai, 94%)

More than 50% of Malaysian and Indonesian respondents have lessened their car usage, while Thais have maintained the level of car usage pre-pandemic and post-pandemic. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way Southeast Asians think of car ownership and mobility. The need to balance socially distancing and financial stability is leading many to a conclusion that the idea of car ownership is valuable to them during the pandemic. The car industry will continue to thrive as more Southeast Asians plan their car buying and selling within one to six months, creating a significant flow of car sales in the industry,” Carsome said in a statement.

Carsome conducted the survey in October 2020 among 1,000 Malaysian consumers, 1,005 Indonesian consumers and 1,055 Thai consumers. The survey was carried out through online panels sourced by research agencies.

Singapore – Marketing insights startup InsightzClub has announced the launch of its new customer insights solutions which uses the passive-embedded technology.

The aforementioned technology focuses on gathering data based on actual consumer behavior rather than data collected from surveys or those based on user claims. 

InsightzClub will make available to customers two new solutions- a brand journey solution and an advertising effectiveness solution from early 2021 onwards.

InsightzClub’s passive-embedded technology utilizes a mix of image recognition, textual analytics, and behavioral signals to creative data analytics to arrive at metrics for brand journey and advertising effectiveness.

In a statement to MARKETECH APAC, InsightzClub’s co-founder and managing director Padmanabhan Ramaswamy said the newest innovation responds to a greater need to ‘understand behavior more accurately, as well as providing more confidence to marketers to make data driven decisions.’.

He also stated that InsightzClub envisions to ‘offer solutions to consumer brands who are more likely to be early entrants to use new disruptive solutions in the market to set a precedence for other consumer brands to follow across the region.”.

“We are very excited at the possibilities these two solutions could offer to change  the manner in which consumer insights are consumed. These two solutions have been developed at the back of extensive R&D by our technology team. We look forward to partnering with various brands on these solutions to drive data driven decisions,” Ramaswamy added.

Once available, the new solutions will be offered as subscriptions to customers. and can be accessed by downloading the InsightzClub mobile app on Google Play or Apple App Store.

Singapore – More consumers in the Asia-Pacific are doing their holiday shopping on their mobile devices, a new survey from mobile advertising AdColony shows.

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have the highest share of consumers that prefer to make purchases on their smartphones, as the majority of the country respondents clocked 94%, 93% and 91% respectively. 

AdColony-Online-Shopping-Philippines
AdColony infographic of mobile shopping in the Philippines

Respondents from Thailand (88%), Malaysia (86%), and the Philippines (84%) stated they prefer to shop in-app rather than use a mobile browser. On average, APAC shoppers showed 73% majority of showing the same consumer behavior. 

Purchases related to seeing an advertisement online are also relevant to the majority of APAC consumers, as Indonesia (92%), Malaysia and the Philippines (89%), and Singapore (85%) showed majority of such behavior.

AdColony-Online-Shopping-Malaysia
AdColony infographic of mobile shopping in Malaysia

In terms of what matters most for consumers’ shopping experience on mobile devices, an average of 52% said that easy payment process matters, as evident by the majority of respondents from Thailand (60%), Indonesia (59%), the Philippines (55%) and Malaysia (54%).

Japan (50%), Australia (53%) and Indonesia (56%) said that gifting this holiday should be done via shipping the gift directly to the receiver, while Malaysia (58%) and Thailand (52%) said that they will do the exchange gifting after the gift shipment has arrived.

AdColony-Online-Shopping-Singapore
AdColony infographic of mobile shopping in Singapore

Meanwhile, online ordering, accompanied with concurrent home delivery still ranks as the top choice of shopping for today’s APAC consumers, garnering an average of 85% of all the respondents. Also, 55% of the respondents state that better deals are the prime reason why they shop online, evident by consumer behavior from Malaysia (70%), Singapore (62%) and Thailand (56%).

Singapore – The pandemic, which caused a drastic decline in retail sales, has created a new brand loyalty shift among Singaporean consumers causing for them to switch brands this year, new research from customer experience company Qualtrics show.

About 56% of the respondents have opted out for cheaper brands during the pandemic. Similarly, 57% of the respondents said that they are more likely to buy items on promotion, while half (51%) have bought different brands due to availability.

“While we know consumers will always value cost, quality, and convenience, findings from the Qualtrics study highlight the major extent to which people are actively seeking out alternatives. In fact, a third of respondents said they have tried at least one different brand since the pandemic began,” said Lisa Khatri, research and brand experience lead for Qualtrics in APJ.

The research also showed renewed consumer priorities among Singaporeans in terms of where to spend their money.

There has been a significant increase in purchases relating to takeaways and home delivery systems (50%), fresh food (42%), and packaged groceries (37%) as well as utility bills and service expenditure (47%), and cleaning products (35%). On the other hand, the majority of the consumers said that they’re spending less on luxury brands and products (60%), entertainment and travel (60%), eating out at restaurants (55%), and alcohol (48%).