Manila, Philippines – Around 51% of women-led SMEs and 56% of microbusinesses in the Philippines saw revenue growth after they started accepting digital payments, new data from Visa recently revealed.

Considering that SMEs are important to the economy and that women make up more than half of the population in Asia, utilising women’s economic potential might boost the Asia Pacific region’s GDP by $89 billion a year, including the Philippines. 

According to the study, around 72% of the SMEs in the Philippines surveyed said that running their own business has gotten easier. Digital wallets—GCash in particular—dominate as the primary means of digital payment for SMEs, particularly those led by women (61%) according to a Philippine poll. Millions of unbanked Filipinos now have access to the advantages of having a payment card because of Visa’s partnership with GCash for the launch of the new GCash Card.

Out of all the companies that have begun to take digital payments, those that accept cards have seen the biggest gains in turnover (83%). Instantaneous transfers and cashless transactions are made possible by digital payments, improving the shopping experience. Visa helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the Philippines by providing broad acceptance and strong security against fraud for both customers and merchants. 

The Philippines has over a million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), making them important for the nation’s economic development. 99.5% of the businesses in the Philippines are MSMEs, according to data from the Department of Commerce and Industry. Almost 50% of these enterprises are involved in wholesale and retail commerce, which accounts for 65% of all jobs in the nation. 

Guaya Melgar, CEO and co-founder of Mochi, said, “My business has grown since I introduced digital payment methods. I appreciate the convenience, speed, and the ability to easily track payment records. It provides my customers with a convenient cashless payment option too. I hope to expand my business beyond the Philippines so enabling cross-border payments will help me grow my customer base.” 

Meanwhile, Jeff Navarro, Visa’s country manager for the Philippines, stated, “Small and medium-sized businesses are the driving force behind the thriving economy in the Philippines. Visa is proud to contribute to their growth by providing secure and convenient digital payment solutions. Visa is committed to continuously supporting the Philippine government’s financial inclusion and digitization goals, including empowering SMEs, the cornerstone of the economy, by introducing innovative financial and payment solutions so they can build on this foundation to grow their business.”

Recently, Visa released an online toolbox for SMEs to help travel-related businesses take full advantage of contactless payments. Visa launched the SME Accelerator Program in the Philippines in 2023 with the goal of assisting partners and SMEs with competitive pricing, expedited onboarding, and comprehensive go-to-market support. The enhanced SME Accelerator programs will also concentrate on a broader range of collaborations with ecosystem players to assist smaller vendors and expedite the implementation of solutions for SMEs.

To help women-owned and underrepresented SMEs in APEC countries like the Philippines gain faster access, the Visa Foundation has committed to donate $100 million over the course of five years. Approximately 29.6 million SMEs are from APEC economies, and 10.9 million of the nearly 67 million SMEs that Visa has addressed globally are led by women. 

Singapore – HAVAS Red, the global merged media micro network, launched its The first ‘The State of the Influencer in 2024: A Client’s Perspective’ whitepaper. The report shows that consumers prefer influencers more than traditional media, and the video content is the most effective strategy in influencer marketing. 

The report notes that more than 97% of brands identify content creators as influencers, demonstrating the democratisation of influence. This emphasises how influencers are no longer limited to traditional celebrities and ushers in a new era in which everyone can have influence.

Influencers are also using social proof to increase engagement, which gives brands lots of chances to use influencer marketing techniques targeted at relevant and targeted audiences. This strategy can increase brand conversions and engagement levels. 92% of brands believe that cultivating long-term relationships with influencers is more valuable than short-term collaborations, and 31% of brands acknowledge that influencers can effectively drive engagement. 

According to the report also, video formats are the most effective strategy available to influencers. Because 86% of brands say that video content has more resonance than static forms, influencer marketing is being used by businesses to improve storytelling. They give campaigns life with their creative and graphic elements. Video content is king in Singapore, according to brands that claim that it best connects with their target market.

As social media and the media landscape merge, consumers’ trust in influencers grows as their faith in traditional media declines. The report shows that influencers play a crucial role in increasing brands’ online awareness. 81% of brands have run influencer campaigns, according to research, and one in five have taken part in more than 20 influencer campaigns. 

In influencer campaigns, ROI optimisation is still a goal. Even though 92% of brands stress the importance of evaluating influencer performance to determine return on investment, they also admit that finding the right influencers is a significant challenge in achieving the necessary ROI.

Moreover, influencer cooperation is about shared values as much as economic value. Successful influencer campaigns will go beyond traditional KPIs like engagement and reach and concentrate instead on creating long-lasting bonds through narrative storytelling, shared experiences, and ideals.

Speaking about the report, James Wright, global CEO of the HAVAS Red Group and global chairman of the HAVAS PR Global Network, said, “As an industry, we’ve observed how the influencer category is ever-expanding and increasingly emerging and recognised as a performance channel. Influencer marketing is driving measurable opportunities for both consumers and corporate brands globally, delivering higher engagement and paving the way for accelerated consumer conversion.” 

“Our report delves into influencer marketing at an industry level to help brands navigate the evolving landscape and inform strategic thinking. The findings of this report are insightful for brands when shaping their overall strategy, as it demonstrates the scale of influencer marketing, as well as offering insight into how and why brands are engaging with influencers. Brands that succeed in 2024 will be creatively integrating influencers into wider campaigns as a full-funnel marketing channel,” Wright added. 

Meanwhile, Kenny Yap, managing director of Havas Red Singapore, stated, “Today, we see implementing influencer marketing engagements in most clients’ communication plans. But to do it well, there are many areas to look at, from the brand affinity and fit, influencer and clout, and storytelling narrative to optimal formats. At HAVAS Red, we adopt a data- driven approach leveraging tools and technology to deliver clear influencer marketing success for our clients.” 

In order to determine the evolution of influencer marketing, HAVAS Red polled clients in ten markets: Singapore, UAE, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, United States, and the United Kingdom. These customers come from a variety of fields and industries, including health, food and drink, wellness, and technology, as well as industry, tourism, and the automobile journey.

Singapore A new survey from YouGov notes that six out of ten Singaporeans claim to have purchased things through social media sites. Facebook looks to be the most popular social media buying network, with four out of ten users admitting to using it for purchases (40%). 

As a result, a quarter of respondents (26% each) claim to have made purchases via TikTok and Instagram, while a fifth (20%) have done so via YouTube. 

Notably, a substantial 40% of consumers in Singapore state that they have not made any purchases through social media platforms.

A comparison of different age groups reveals interesting differences. Facebook appears as a preferred platform among older generations, particularly with 44% of Generation X users. In comparison, Generation Z has a lower proclivity to use Facebook for purchases, with only 22% using the platform for this reason.

Instead, Generation Z consumers have a stronger preference for TikTok, accounting for 46% of users, exceeding the usage percentages of other generational groups, such as 30% for Millennials and 23% for Generation X. Furthermore, both Generation Z (41%) and Millennials (37%) are more likely to use Instagram for purchases than Generation X (18%).

Consumers in Singapore tend to fall into distinct categories when it comes to buying frequency. The majority, 52%, are classified as occasional customers, meaning they make purchases on social media sites less than once a month. 36%, on the other hand, are classified as frequent purchasers, suggesting that they shop on social media more than once a month. A significant 11% are unsure about their shopping frequency.

Those who have engaged in such transactions may lack the commitment that leads to frequent buying behaviour, according to earlier statistics revealing that 40% of Singaporeans have refrained from making purchases through social media. Millennials are once again the most frequent purchasers, with 44% purchasing on social media more than once a month. In Singapore, however, the Generation Z population prefers occasional purchases, with 63% expressing a preference for this shopping frequency.

Within the category of frequent customers, Facebook is the most popular app for purchases, with 74% preferring it, followed by TikTok (58%), and YouTube (51%). In contrast, among occasional buyers, the distribution of usage shifts slightly, with 61% preferring Facebook, 41% preferring Instagram, and 38% preferring TikTok.

According to the study, the top reasons for prospective consumers to make purchases through social media platforms are cheap price points in comparison to other options and appealing discounts and promotions, both of which register at 52%. Other important factors influencing purchasing’ decisions include 41% convenience, 38% the capacity to analyse products in detail, and 35% the certainty of dependable customer service.

Singapore – Around 56% of Southeast Asians follow influencers on social media, but 55% remain to have a neutral impression towards them, according to a survey by Milieu Insight. 

The survey aims to unveil follower trends and consumer sentiments on influencer marketing as a major advertising tactic. 

Based on the data collected, more than 1 out of 2 Southeast Asians follow influencers on social media. This means that 56% of respondents in the Southeast Asian region follow influencers. 

A large number of respondents in the Philippines and Vietnam are following influencers at 68% and 71%, respectively, and Thailand takes the middle with 50%. However, on the other end of the spectrum, there is limited interest shown in Singapore, with only 39% of respondents shown to be following influencers.

Looking at the social media platform preference to follow influencers, the top three with the highest votes were Youtube with 72%, and Instagram and Facebook both with 60%.

Gen Z preferred Instagram (64%) and TikTok (58%) to follow influencers, whereas Facebook is more popular among Millennials (69%) and Gen X (74%).

Youtube drew the most interest for respondents in Thailand and the Philippines, while Instagram took the spot in Indonesia and Singapore. Meanwhile, Facebook ranked first in Vietnam.

When it comes to the content that influencers post, the top 5 topics that respondents were most interested in were: lifestyle (54%), entertainment and/or comedy (52%), food (48%), fashion (41%), and travel (40%).

However, gender impacts the preferred content, with men primarily following influencers with content about entertainment or comedy (52%), lifestyle (46%), and technology and gadgets (41%). While women also predominantly favour entertainment and comedy (61%), their other main interests are food (55%), and beauty (53%).

When it comes to influencer impact on consumer purchase, beauty products emerged as the top selling category, driven by influencer content across the region, with the data particularly skewing towards females at 56% and Gen Zs at 46%.

Interestingly, for Baby Boomers or those above 59 years of age, 4 in 10 are swayed by influencer content when it comes to food and beverages. Meanwhile, 32% of the Gen X demographic, or those ranging from ages 43 to 58, indicated they made purchases as a result of following influencer content on technology and gadgets.

However, the survey also revealed that consumers in the region appear to be less susceptible to influencer content that is fitness-related, travel-related products, or purchases of items for children and pets, suggesting a nuanced landscape where influencers wield varying degrees of impact across different product categories.

And with the widespread following of influencers in the region, the survey also dug into the data to unveil the trust factor among SEA consumers. From there, it reveals that user reviews and review sites carry more weight than influencer shout-outs.

Overall, neutrality (51%) is the prevailing sentiment on how much respondents in Southeast Asia trust, if at all, sponsored content from influencers in Southeast Asia. However, there is an exception to this data, with Vietnam showing a positive impression at 60%.

Across age groups, only 5% of Baby Boomers trust influencers a lot, as compared to the average of 7% for Gen Z and Gen X and 8% for Gen Y.

Furthermore, 3 out of 10 Southeast Asians find influencers’ sponsored content informative, and 1 out of 5 credit influencer tactics for introducing them to new brands and products.

With influencers, a following count also matters when it comes to measuring their reach.

The influencers followed by Southeast Asians generally have more than a million followers (36%). This data is consistent across the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. However, the rest of the population is generally impartial to the number of followers an influencer has.

Interestingly enough, there is an even spread among the number of micro, macro, and mega influencers that Southeast Asians follow.

Still, not everyone can be considered an influencer. According to the survey, Southeast Asians consider authenticity (51%), sense of humour (49%), and expertise in a specific area (42%) to be important attributes for an influencer. 

Notably, in Indonesia, consistency of recommendations is their top-valued attribute. It is also shown that more Vietnamese value engagement with followers.

Aside from the following, an influencer’s impact also differs depending on the age groups of the respondents or targets. Approximately one-third of the participants stated that influencers have expanded their knowledge about brands and products.

Among those who have bought something based on influencers’ content, the top 3 areas of purchase are beauty (41%), fashion (38%), and food and beverage (37%). For males, this is a slightly different case, with tech/gadgets (41%), food and beverages (36%), and fashion (30%) as their most common products purchased.

While 38% of Baby Boomers in Southeast Asia find that sponsored content from influencers helps them get to know more about a product or brand, they are not looking for new brands, as only 17% feel that the content helps them discover new products or brands.

Meanwhile, Gen Z finds promotion offers to be attractive, with 15% following influencer content because they offer good promotions.

In response to criticism about influencers’ role in consumerism, deinfluencers are now also making a new wave in social media.

Deinfluencers are individuals that challenge consumerist tendencies by offering alternative perspectives on products and trends. Instead of promoting the newest products, they advocate for mindful consumption. 

Looking at the data, the majority of Southeast Asians are impartial to both influencer culture and deinfluencers, despite the growing influencer landscape. Surprisingly, 40% claim to have never made a purchase based on influencer content, and 20% of Gen Z state their last influencer-based purchase was over half a year ago. As for awareness of deinfluencers, Vietnam is ahead of the game, where an astonishing 62% have heard of the term.

Despite the neutral impression of influencer content, Milieu Insight reiterates that influencers have some kind of effect on consumers. Through their content, influencers can provide valuable insights, personal experiences, and relatable narratives that resonate with their followers. They have also become trusted sources of information and recommendations for consumers across various niches that can impact consumer purchase decisions. 

Australia – Following the viral ‘See The Signs #ShareTheLoad‘ film by Ariel India that spotlights the long-term impact of unequal distribution of chores on relationships, 100 house staff has uncovered signs of equality and inequality in the household and its impact on the relationship in a first-of-its-kind event that celebrates Ariel’s ‘ShareTheLoad’ movement.

The event was facilitated by Indian actress and model Neha Dhupia who delved deeper, with the 100 house helps, into the signs of equality and inequality within the household. In the event, a live survey was conducted with the house staff in attendance to gather their observations and insights. 

The live survey showed that 95% of house helps observed that couples are happier when the husband takes interest and helps with household chores. Meanwhile, above 80% of house helps said that when husband and wife do not equally divide household chores, distance sets in a marriage. 

They further shared that equal distribution of chores between a couple removes stress and burden from one of the partners and can boost companionship and happiness. More than 85% of house helps agreed that communication between couples reduces when husbands do not help with household chores. 

“It was an insightful experience to facilitate this session with 100 domestic helps, in which they shared their observations and experience. House helps offer an outside perspective on relationships and how they change over time. The results we obtained were quiet staggering but, at the same time, they also highlighted the importance of sharing the load,” said actress Neha Dhupia.

She added, “Household duties are not dependent on gender. It is not ‘his’ or ‘her’ job, it’s our life and our shared responsibility. By sharing the load, husbands can ease the burden on their wives and strengthen their bond to create a more harmonious household. It’s time we break free from the traditional gender roles and create a culture of equal partnerships in our homes. If there is continued inequality; it may create an emotional distance in the relationship. I urge everyone to see the signs and #ShareTheLoad.”

Sharat Verma, chief marketing officer and vice president – fabric care at P&G India, also remarked, “At Ariel, we want to trigger meaningful conversations that will help drive positive change. This year, with our #ShareTheLoad movement, we want to urge everyone to see the signs of the equality and how it affects the relationship. To delve deeper into this, we invited house helps who observe relationships as an outsider to share signs of equality and inequality they see between a couple.” 

The Ariel ‘See the Signs #ShareTheLoad’ film has already garnered more than 40 million views across YouTube and social media. Leading voices and influencers have also shared the film on social media supporting the movement.

Sydney, Australia A new study by HypeAuditor, an AI analytics platform for transparent and fraud-free influencer marketing, revealed that minority of the influencers in Australia are not proactively collaborating with brands for partnerships despite the development of influencer marketing in the industry.

HypeAuditor surveyed over 500 content creators on Instagram and TikTok with over 1,000 followers. It was found that one-third of the influencers prefer to not actively participate with brands for partnerships or respond to inquiries in groups or marketplaces. However, 94% of these respondents still prefer to make partnerships with brands.

Moreover, the study also revealed that 46% of influencers had seen an increase in brand partnerships this year compared to 2022 whilst 39% noticed an increase in the amount paid by brands for sponsored posts.

Alexander Frolov, co-founder and CEO at HypeAuditor, said that content creators are confident that there are collaboration opportunities and it’s a matter of exerting efforts to find meaningful opportunities.

“Influencers, especially those who are new to the space or have a smaller reach, wanting collaborations and partnerships will need to take control and leverage the right tools to find the right partners that resonate with their content,” Frolov added.

Moreover, HypeAuditor has announced its new platform HypeAuditor for Influencers to bring both influencers and brands that seek for collaborations. The platform will give access to HypeAuditor’s solutions including Media Kit to easily generate custom media kits for influencers directly to brands, account analytics and market analysis, and updates from the most notable followers.

Mumbai, India – In response to a recent survey stating that 80% of respondents do not notice disclaimers in ads, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has tightened its ‘Guidelines for Disclaimers made in supporting, limiting or explaining claims made in advertisements’.

The ASCI survey was done with 130 consumers, which also revealed that 33% of the respondents could not understand the disclaimers clearly even after adequate exposure time while  62% of them felt that the disclaimers were excessively long.

Moreover, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) have also observed that the frame of the advertisements containing the disclaimer was ‘very crowded’ and distracted the viewer’s focus.

To address these issues, ASCI has made some amendments to the guidelines, including limiting long and complex disclaimers to two full-length lines only. The disclaimers should also be readable, in a single frame, and must remain on screen for more than four seconds for every line.

Meanwhile, for regulatory requirements where the disclaimer exceeds two lines, additional hold duration should be inculcated. The ASCI also added that all forms of text appearing on screen at any one point in time should likewise be counted calculating the hold duration of disclaimers.

The ASCI has however retained guidelines such as restricting disclaimers from attempting to correct a misleading claim made in an advertisement and attempting to suppress material information with respect to the claim, amongst others.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary-general at ASCI commented on the amendments, stating, “While ASCI has had disclaimer guidelines since 2016, it was observed that over-use of disclaimers made it difficult for consumers to understand all the information presented in the ad. This is evident from our survey where 80% of consumers did not even notice the disclaimers.”

The ASCI has also previously partnered with K&S Partners to identify unfair trademark practices used by brands.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Around 97% of Malaysians living in Peninsula Malaysia still listen to radio, averaging to 21,573,000 radio listeners every week. This was according to the latest data from data intelligence company Growth from Knowledge (GfK) in partnership with Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM).

The data reveals that there are 6,694,000 listeners in a week amongst people aged 25 to 39 years old. It indicated an increase of 123,000 listeners as compared to the previous wave.

Moreover, the data notes that the highest radio listening location is in cars with 15,104,000 weekly listeners, followed closely by 14,755,000 of home listeners in a week. Workplace listeners accounted for 2,004,000 of weekly listeners.

Among the key languages in Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia stations are the most popular with 14,047,000 listeners every week. They are trailed by the Chinese stations with 4,949,000 listeners, followed by English stations at 4,320,000 listeners and Tamil stations at 1,831,000 listeners.

In terms of scheduling, the study also showed that the weekday breakfast shows (Monday to Friday, 6 am to 10 am) continue to be a hit attracting 15,378,000 listeners every week, while the weekday drive time shows (Monday to Friday, 4 pm to 8 pm) trailing closely behind, reaching 14,954,000 listeners in a week.

Loy Ekzan, vice president at Commercial Radio Malaysia, said, “As the country opens up, radio listening has come back stronger than ever. Its accessibility to drive a mass pool of listeners to on-ground events, radio broadcasters’ websites, mobile apps and social media pages has allowed it to grow and has proven itself to be quite a resilient medium. With a wide reach and immediate delivery, it is an effective medium for advertisers to get their message in front of across to their target consumers.”

Meanwhile, June Pang, media measurement lead for Malaysia at GfK, commented, “The Radio Audience Measurement Study conducted by GfK reveals that radio remains an influential and strong medium in Malaysia. With more people listening to the radio in the morning, it is evident that people across all age groups choose radio for their daily dose of music, relaxation and news updates during their commute to school and work.”

Singapore – Due to concerns about inflation and rising costs, travel and leisure e-commerce platform Klook’s new survey results have unveiled that four out of five travellers (77%) in Asia are anxious about travelling next year.

However, despite these concerns, 81% of the respondents still plan to travel, with one-third of them wanting to make two to four trips in 2023. Meanwhile, 92% of travellers in Singapore are likewise eager to travel.

The study also revealed that 63% of travellers in Asia are worried about the increasing travel prices, with Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan travellers ranking the highest for cost as a concern. Amidst this, 80% are still planning to spend the same or more on travel. 

Moreover, Singaporeans are among the most excited to travel despite their worries, with 40% intending to spend more on travel in 2023. Meanwhile, concerns around COVID-19 still stand, with 39% worried about catching the virus while on holiday. 

It also found that despite the anxiety over the global recession, Asians are still not giving up on travel as 35% of the respondents plan to opt for a nearer destination or travel during off-peak seasons, while 34% are willing to cut back on other expenses in order to save more for travel.

Marcus Yong, vice president for global marketing at Klook, predicts travellers will remain resilient against all odds in 2023. “After two years of being grounded, travel is now an experience that people treasure more than ever before, and this is clear from our survey data.”

He added, “Although travel behavior and attitudes have evolved in the past few years, we still see that travelers are ready to adapt and determined to travel no matter what it takes in search of the joys and rewards of travel.”

Yong also mentioned that 2023 is the year of ‘Travelsilience’, which stands for travel and resilience. This means that travellers pursue travel to create new experiences despite all struggles and hindrances.

The survey was conducted in November 2022 via Stickybeak, drawing 902 respondents across nine markets including Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and Korea.

Klook has previously partnered digital travel agency Booking.com to enable travellers to access Klook attractions directly on the latter’s platform.

New Delhi, India India’s small businesses are reportedly the most innovative in the Asia-Pacific region, for the second consecutive year, according to a survey by a professional accounting body, CPA Australia. Combined with a very strong domestic economy, this is expected to make Indian small businesses one of the Asia-Pacific’s top performers in 2022. 

Sixty-two per cent of Indian small businesses reportedly started growing last year, with 46 per cent experiencing very strong growth – the highest result of the markets surveyed. As a result of this, 77 per cent of respondents said that they had hired more employees, outperforming all other markets.

India’s small businesses are likely to be strong creators of new jobs this year, with 83 per cent expecting to increase employee numbers, ranking first among all markets. Sixty-eight per cent of respondents forecast their small business will grow this year.

Leslie Leow, general manager – Emerging Markets, CPA Australia said, “The survey results confirm that Indian small businesses are very ambitious. Despite the pandemic, most undertook actions such as making substantial changes to the product or service and made investments associated with high growth businesses.

Leow mentioned that India’s small businesses take the crown as the most innovative in the region with ninety-four per cent will introduce a new product, process or service this year, surpassing all other markets surveyed for the second year in a row. 

India has a strong and competitive local economy, growing access to skilled workers and government policies such as the recently signed India-UK Global Innovation Partnership is anticipated to trigger a golden era of innovation for the sector according to Leow.

Reflecting their strong innovative culture, Indian small businesses are investing in technology with a very high success rate. Of local businesses that invested in technology last year, 80 per cent reported that such investment had already improved their profitability, well above the survey average of 54 per cent.

To support their innovations, India’s small businesses were the most likely to access external finance for business growth last year, and are the second most likely to expect accessing finance for growth this year. Financing this growth shouldn’t be difficult with 69 per cent expecting “easy” or “very easy” access to external finance this year, the highest result of the markets surveyed.

India’s small businesses are also one of the leaders in selling online, with 83 per cent generating more than 10 per cent of their revenue through that channel. Related to that, they are also one of the leaders in receiving payment through new payment technologies such as PayTM and PhonePe.

Indian small businesses were the most likely to have sought advice from IT consultants (49 per cent), business/management consultants (40 per cent) and accountants (35 per cent). Seeking external advice is a characteristic of high-growth businesses as professional advisers can guide small businesses through challenges and help them take advantage of opportunities.

Leow said, “Policy measures such as the Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme are likely to accelerate technology adoption and meet strong demand for external finance. Indian small businesses should make full use of these government initiatives to expand and innovate, however, some may wish to consider whether they are striking the right balance between short-term growth and sustainable development.”