HONG KONG: Asia's most affluent consumers increased their spending across most categories since 2012, according to a new survey that also recorded significant sales growth for smart technology devices and luxury goods.
The latest Ipsos PAX survey, which covers 11 markets and is now in its 17th year, also found that international air trips are on the rise, although the affluent remain cautious about their financial investments.
Rates of smartphone ownership across the markets measured rose from 49.5% in 2012 to 67.9%, while tablet ownership increased from 19.5% to 32.3%, the survey found.
Over the same period, internet TV ownership rose from 11.1% to 16.3% while 3D TVs almost doubled its share from 5.2% to 9.8%, prompting Clare Lui, executive director of Ipsos Hong Kong, to observe that a trend is emerging whereby smart devices are concentrating the market by taking over the functions of other devices.
"As TVs themselves become smarter, it will be interesting to see how they interact with smartphones and tablets in the future," she added.
The survey questioned 19,890 affluent consumers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and Japan and found that luxury consumption also increased in 2013.
Jewellery saw the biggest increase year-on-year, with ownership of jewellery worth over $1,000 increasing to 28.6%, followed by footwear, watches and apparel.
One third of respondents said they owned fine jewellery or watches, Campaign Asia reported, while 68% own a private car and 17% intend to buy one over the next year.
Elsewhere, air travel in the region was found to be booming, with 16.1% saying they went on a business trip, up from 14.5% last year. Leisure trips also rose from 36.1% to 37.8%.
"This is by far the best year in a long time for affluent travel," Lui noted. "The best indicator remains the rise not only of the proportion of travellers, but also their volume."
The affluent respondents, however, were less upbeat about their financial investments with overall financial product ownership growing only slightly from 78.1% to 82.2%.
Property investment also decreased from 18.2% to 16.6% although residence ownership rose modestly to 52.3%.
The latest Ipsos PAX survey, which covers 11 markets and is now in its 17th year, also found that international air trips are on the rise, although the affluent remain cautious about their financial investments.
Rates of smartphone ownership across the markets measured rose from 49.5% in 2012 to 67.9%, while tablet ownership increased from 19.5% to 32.3%, the survey found.
Over the same period, internet TV ownership rose from 11.1% to 16.3% while 3D TVs almost doubled its share from 5.2% to 9.8%, prompting Clare Lui, executive director of Ipsos Hong Kong, to observe that a trend is emerging whereby smart devices are concentrating the market by taking over the functions of other devices.
"As TVs themselves become smarter, it will be interesting to see how they interact with smartphones and tablets in the future," she added.
The survey questioned 19,890 affluent consumers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and Japan and found that luxury consumption also increased in 2013.
Jewellery saw the biggest increase year-on-year, with ownership of jewellery worth over $1,000 increasing to 28.6%, followed by footwear, watches and apparel.
One third of respondents said they owned fine jewellery or watches, Campaign Asia reported, while 68% own a private car and 17% intend to buy one over the next year.
Elsewhere, air travel in the region was found to be booming, with 16.1% saying they went on a business trip, up from 14.5% last year. Leisure trips also rose from 36.1% to 37.8%.
"This is by far the best year in a long time for affluent travel," Lui noted. "The best indicator remains the rise not only of the proportion of travellers, but also their volume."
The affluent respondents, however, were less upbeat about their financial investments with overall financial product ownership growing only slightly from 78.1% to 82.2%.
Property investment also decreased from 18.2% to 16.6% although residence ownership rose modestly to 52.3%.
Data sourced from Ipsos, Campaign Asia; additional content by Warc staff
