Singapore – A new survey by social media app Snapchat found that majority of its users, or 7 in 10 of Snapchatters highly value their authenticity online, feeling the need to be recognized, seen, and heard for ‘who they are’ and for their presence on digital media to ‘reflect their true selves’. This is compared to 58% of non-Snapchatters.

Furthermore, the study showed that the ‘Snapchat generation’ is not confined to traditional methods of communication, given the emergence of a variety of digital communication tools today.

The top five ways Snapchatters in APAC use to communicate without words are photos (78%), emojis or emoticons (75%), videos or video messages (59%), video calling (58%), and stickers (57%).

Director of Market Development for Snap SEA Anubhav Nayyar commented that they found that the Snapchat Generation is particularly unique in Asia-Pacific.

“They are identified by a strong desire for authenticity in their offline and online personas. They are also highly mindful of the social issues of today, and look towards harnessing their creativity, empathy, and digital tools at their command to impact the change they want to see in this world,” said Nayyar.

Further, the survey touched on users’ intentions toward virtual experiences. Snapchatters in the region are 1.5 times more inclined than non-Snapchatters to gravitate to immersive video and mobile games, including Augmented Reality (AR) experiences. This has manifested in how Snapchatters use AR to try on products virtually, compared to non-Snapchatters.

The biggest difference is seen in Japan, where 27% of Snapchatters use AR for product try-ons, compared to just 2% of non-Snapchatters in the country. Malaysia, on the other hand, has the smallest gap where 17% of Snapchatters and 9% of non Snapchatters are already using the technology to try products.

Snapchat surveyed more than 8,200 users across five APAC countries, such as Malaysia, Japan, and Australia as well as Indonesia, and India.

India – With the festive season already kicking off, shoppers are getting geared up for their holiday spend. In India, consumers have revealed that during this time, they are more likely to buy a product online when it is discounted and have an easy return policy, according to a study by global marketing company OMG and international research group YouGov.

The two came out as the top priorities for online shoppers in India, coming after good quality of products, which inevitably reigns their purchase specifications. On-time delivery is also a top priority for majority, or 32%, of consumers. Meanwhile, about the same percentage, 20%, is reflected across those who stated the following factors in their holiday purchases: products being in a single place, authenticity of products, brands that are homegrown, flexible payment options, and e-commerce that have varied brands. About 9% of consumers, on the other hand, stated ease of navigation among e-commerce as a priority. 

The study also probed into the kind of products Indian consumers are buying the most online. Food essentials came out with the highest percentage of consumer intent. Groceries and health food drinks for children led the list. Indian shoppers were also shown to depend on e-commerce when looking for household entertainment products.

San Francisco, USA – Marketers in both the Philippines and Singapore are understanding the importance of data-driven marketing, with unified customer data sources showing to be their top of mind, said a study by American cloud-based software company Salesforce. 

For Singaporean marketers, the merging of siloed customer data from different sources such as sales, survey information, web browsing analytics, emerged to be one of their top priorities, while Filipino marketers considered it as one of their challenges. 

Although Filipinos stated it as such, the study found that the median number of customer data sources used by them is only five in 2020, compared to Singaporeans which use a median number of 10 sources in the same year. Such count is expected to increase even more in 2021, with Filipinos expected to use a median number of six, while Singaporeans projected to increase their number of sources to 12. 

Marketers from both regions have also been shown to incorporate the use of AI in marketing efforts. For Filipinos, the increased focus on customer experience reflected on its intentions with AI, using it for improving customer segmentation, personalizing the overall customer journey, and resolving customer identity as well as for surfacing data insights. Meanwhile, Singapore marketers are almost in tandem with Filipinos, using AI for the same reasons, but with programmatic advertising and media buying as one of its intended purposes.

Finally, with success metrics, Filipino marketers are consistent in prioritizing customer satisfaction, stating it as their top measurement of effectiveness. This was followed by revenue and customer retention rates. For Singaporeans, on the other hand, marketing success meant increased revenue the most, followed by sales effectiveness, and customer retention rates as well as channel ROI.