Climate change fears, conscientious health, and brand purpose among top SEA trends: Study

As global values shift, the top trends across Southeast Asia in 2021 were: the view that businesses should fight climate change, conscientious personal health, and aligning with brands that reflect consumers’ personal values, according to the Ipsos Global Trends Study 2021.

Why it matters

The survey reveals a world where public attitudes and values have changed less than might be expected under pressure from the pandemic, with the changes in the data tending to be driven by long-running trends in public opinion that pre-date COVID-19.

Key insights

• Concern about the climate was identified as the strongest global value in the Global Trends 2019 survey and its position has strengthened during the pandemic.
• Southeast Asian countries said that they were heading for environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly, with 96% of Indonesians agreeing with this statement.
• Indonesia (96%) and Thailand (93%) ranked in the top two of the 25 countries surveyed about the environment, followed by Singapore (91%) and the Philippines (89%).
• Most people across 25 countries believe it is more important that businesses fight climate change than pay the right amount of tax.
• Seven in ten (70%) globally now say they tend to buy brands that reflect their personal values and that business leaders have a responsibility to speak out on social issues.
• More than 9 in 10 Singaporeans (94%) say they need to do more to look after themselves physically, compared to the global average of 89%.

Quote

“The 2021 Ipsos Global Trends study shows Southeast Asians’ concerns are more pronounced than other parts of the world about the rising threat of climate change, the need to look after themselves physically, and for brands to align with good causes.” – Katharine Zhou, managing director, Ipsos in Singapore.

Background

The Ipsos Global Trends Study 2021 polled the public in 25 countries around the world from August to September 2021, including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines in Southeast Asia.