A report into spending habits in South East Asia suggests that internet shopping numbers will see a huge surge in the next few years. Overall, it is expected that the amount of money spent online here will triple by the year 2025.
The facts and figures
This data comes from a report called Riding the Digital Wave: Southeast Asia’s Discovery Generation. It was produced by Facebook, together with the global management consultancy firm Bain & Company.
They suggest that by 2025, there will be 310 million people in the region who buy online. The estimated average spend of these digital consumers has been calculated as being US$390. These numbers were compiled following a survey of almost 13,000 consumers from the following countries: Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They also interviewed over 30 of the region’s CEOs and venture capitalists.
The rate of growth in this part of Asia is reflected in the number of digital consumers that have been active in recent years. From 90 million people buying online in 2015 to 250 million in 2018, the number has been rapidly increasing. In terms of the average spend on internet purchases, in 2018 it was noted as being $125. This means that the amount spent is expected to increase at an even faster rate than the number of consumers.
What other online industries are growing?
Other areas of online activity are also booming in this part of the world. For example, the growing number of cryptocurrency users makes this one of the regions where Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are most popular. This has led to national authorities issuing regulations in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in recent months.
The CoinDesk Invest event in Asia also revealed that an increasing number of fundraising campaigns for new cryptocurrencies now take place in this region. In the second quarter of 2019, 26% of these campaigns were carried out in Asia, compared to 41% in Europe.
Online gambling is another subject that has captured the imagination of many residents of South East Asia. Casino sites like the popular Manekichi casino give players in Asia easy access to stylish slots games such as Jammin’ Jars, Book of Wild and Starburst. With this sector showing growth worldwide, it’ll be interesting to see how South East Asia will make it their own.
What else can we learn from this?
This interesting report also covered some other important areas. For example, it showed that 67% of the region’s online consumers don’t know what exactly they are looking for when they start searching on the internet. Around half of them look to discover new products and brands on social media.
Sandhya Devanathan is the country managing director for Facebook in Singapore. She said that 75% of the survey respondents from the country were open to the idea of exploring new brands or buying online from a number of different brands. Devanathan pointed out that “nobody shops the same way twice”. This means that online businesses need to think about designing with consumer discovery more in mind.
The report also mentioned the need to focus on loyalty programmes. Consumers who are signed up to a programme like this are reported to be 45% more likely to act as a champion in recommending the brand to friends and family, as well as being 20% more likely to spend more money.
Another intriguing statistic was that 40% of respondents say that in the last year they had tried an internet shop that they never heard of before. The main reasons for doing this include seeing good reviews, discovering interesting deals and finding attractive products.
These facts and figures suggest that there is a bright future ahead for online retailers who understand how to attract and retain new consumers.