APAC Digital Digest is a fortnightly round-up of what has been happening in APAC in just 2 minutes.
Here is what has been happening in APAC in just 2 minutes.
Cooped-up Japanese turn to ecommerce as options narrow
With schools shut down and public places the new taboo, online shopping is taking off in a Japan where it had gained only limited traction before the coronavirus outbreak. Grocery stores report a spike in web-based demand, with February online sales at one supermarket operator surging 30% on the year. Qoo10, an eBay Japan-run platform, says it sold 20 times as many indoor trampolines in the first 12 days of March than in all of March 2019.
Source: Nikkei
Year in Search 2020: Malaysia
The internet has given Malaysians living in rural areas unprecedented access to urban conveniences. When shopping for smartphones, for example, 27% of non-metro users (outside of Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley) bought their devices online, compared to 23% of metro users. And while metro users are typically 3X bigger spenders than those living in non-metros, the number of online users in Malaysia’s non-metros is expected to grow at nearly 2X the rate of bigger cities over the next five years.
Source: ThinkWithGoogle
Google reveals travel habits during the pandemic
Google is to publicly track people's movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other countries. The plan is to issue regular updates with the figures referring back to activity from two or three days prior. The company has promised that individuals' privacy will be preserved.
Source: BBC
Google pledges $800+ million to support small businesses and crisis response
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen around the world, it’s taking a devastating toll on lives and communities. To help address some of these challenges, Google has announced a new $800+ million commitment to support small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), health organizations and governments, and health workers on the frontline of this global pandemic.
Source: Google Blog
Media Consumption Across China Hits New Heights
China was the first to experience the strains of the COVID-19 outbreak, and media consumption among consumers has risen dramatically since the early part of the year. While increased TV viewing each day was expected, the degree of increase has been unprecedented, rising by 70 minutes to 7 hours and 40 minutes per day among current TV viewers. The news and drama genres have experienced the most viewership growth.
Source: Nielsen
Demand for paid Facebook ads crumples as marketing budgets hit by pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to take a stranglehold over marketing budgets worldwide, social media spending is coming into sharp focus. A new study reveals that demand for paid ads on Facebook is decreasing as brands respond to the uncertain economic situation. Overall, the study found that paid ads are decreasing, as is cost-per-click, while organic content is picking up. When comparing paid to organic across all regions, brands have been posting more organic content since the start of the year.
Source: Campaign
U.S. And China Could Face Steep Cuts To Advertising Spending In 2020
The coronavirus outbreak will take a toll on the amount companies are willing to spend on media advertising in China this year, which could portend what is in store for the advertising market in the United States. 2020 estimates for media ad spend in China was lowered from $121.1 billion to $113.7 billion. Ad spend will grow at 8.4% in 2020, the lowest rate since 2011. The virus is not the sole reason for the decline, as the Chinese economy was already showing signs of weakening. The U.S. could see a dip in ad spend as well with a potential loss of nearly $26 billion this year.
Source: Forbes
Southeast Asian consumers look for security and positive reviews when choosing online destinations, not loyalty rewards
8 in 10 SEA online shoppers said that website security and positive user reviews are among the most important considerations when deciding where to buy online. Surprisingly, only around 1 in 3 SEA consumers consider loyalty rewards to be an important factor in choosing an online shopping destination.
Source: ClickInsights
Australian Digital Advertising market hits $9.3B in 2019
The Australian online advertising market growth has slowed, but still achieved 5.6% year-on-year to reach $9.3bn expenditure for the full calendar year 2019 according to the IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) compiled by PwC.All online advertising categories showed growth through the year, while video advertising was again the growth driver in the general display category with 19.9% growth year-on-year.
Source: IAB
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