8 trends influencing consumer decisions in Asia

Editor’s note: Kaysha Yonehara is digital marketing assistant at sample and survey software firm dataSpring, Tokyo.

Consumer preferences in Asia are changing more rapidly than other areas of the world. With an expanding middle class and advances in technology, consumers in Asia are looking for ways to enhance their lives. One key way they are doing this is by seeking improved shopping experiences.

In order for brands to improve the consumer experience, it is important to consider the factors influencing the buying decisions of Asian consumers.

1. Share-worthy moments

Consumer behavior adapts right along with the evolution of social media and technology. Social media penetration has risen significantly in the past few years with no end in sight. Asian consumers want and like to share what they’re doing in real-time. Brands, end-clients such as FMCGs and retailers should focus on creating content that can be used for social media or put on social media for sharing.

For many, this means an increased focus on mobile. Why? Because consumers are watching and sharing moments via social media on their phones.

For example, the word インスタ映え(Insta-bae), meaning Insta-worthy/Insta-grammable, was voted one of the words of the year for 2017. This year, many companies in Japan have focused their marketing efforts on the keyword Insta-bae hoping to catch the attention of this growing trend. The word is expected to grow in the coming months (Figure 1).

Japanese media has similar words pertaining to Instagram meant for moments worthy of sharing, including videogenic, movie-genic and photogenic. A good example of this is New York's Dominique Ansel Bakery, which has been making big waves in Tokyo. Having made the morning news several times for offering movie-genic treats, the bakery is said to have lines with wait times of 30 minutes to four hours.

2. Playful/relatable packaging

Consumers will share something with their friends if it looks good and are more aesthetically sensitive to package designs, picking relatable or cute over normal packaging.

Brands need to focus on conducting packaging research that is location-specific when developing new designs. Coca-Cola’s work in Asia is a great example. From printed names on packaging to cute bow tie finishes, the American beverage giant has made its packaging more fun and cute for different campaigns to boost sales.

In the case of China, similar to its name bottle campaign, Coca-Cola designed the label with symbols and graphics that younger consumers use like "521" and other codes for more relatable packaging.

3. Little indulgences to reduce stress

The shift to focus on stress reduction and self-care has been growing and we expect it to get stronger this year. For many young consumers in Asia, especially in China, Japan and Korea, high-pressure situations in work and study have many consumers looking for ways to de-stress. Consumers in Asia are turning to mobile games, a growing market in Asia, and small indulgences for happiness.

In Korea, there is a growing focus on "small but certain happiness" and by extension a coined term 탕진잼(Tangjin-jam), meaning, "Wasting money is fun!" Younger consumers in Korea are more willing to spend a little if it makes them happy. Figure 2 shows how interest in this term is growing.