While the ongoing pandemic has hit the retail industry hard, new research from Rakuten Advertising suggests a clear lack of intent to curb spending during peak shopping periods.

Most consumers (70%) have no plans to defer shopping for major holidays such as Christmas or Lunar New Year despite over 40% of global peak season shoppers citing a decrease in household spend due to COVID-19.

Shoppers in China are looking to spend big, with 35% of respondents intending to spend more than 40% of their monthly household income this shopping season, compared to only 7% of global consumers. The research shows Taobao is the preferred shopping platform (77%) for Chinese shoppers, overtaking messaging app WeChat (65%).

This intent represents an opportunity for brands and retailers to drive sales in the second half of the year after a challenging start to 2020.

“With consumers spending more time in front of small screens, brands have the opportunity to utilise mobile in-app tracking and further drive mobile sales this peak shopping season,” said Stuart McLennan, Senior Vice President, APAC at Rakuten Advertising.

Asian shoppers have demonstrated a preference shift to purchasing more online, with many consumers shopping via e-commerce for the first time. This year, more than half of consumers in Singapore (53%), China (53%), Hong Kong (54%) and South Korea (52%), are planning to change the way they shop to maximise value.

While localism is on the rise in 2020, international shopping still presents an opportunity for brands. Globally, consumers are most likely to purchase from international websites that they believe offer a cheaper price point and broader range of products.

South Koreans list shipping times as the primary barrier to purchasing from international brands. This differs from the other APAC countries surveyed, where shipping cost is the primary deterrent. When shopping internationally, Chinese (46%) and Singaporean (35%) consumers are more likely to shop from brands within EMEA.

The study surveyed over 8,500 consumers across 12 markets, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

Family tops the list as spend priorities shift across APAC

There is no doubt that consumers are tightening their purse strings, and with smaller budgets for the festive season, consumers plan to reallocate spend towards their immediate family – a shift that was universal across the markets surveyed. What differed for individual markets, was whether the consumer intended to decrease spend on themselves or their co-workers.

  • Australians are most likely to increase spend when purchasing for their immediate family (28%) and decrease spend on themselves (38%).
  • Chinese consumers are most likely to increase spend when purchasing for their immediate family (46%) and decrease spend on co-workers (51%).
  • Consumers in Hong Kong are most likely to increase spend when purchasing for their immediate family (31%) and decrease spend on friends (56%).
  • New Zealanders are most likely to increase spend when purchasing for their immediate family (24%) and decrease spend on themselves (32%).
  • Singaporeans are most likely to increase spend when purchasing for their immediate family (35%) and decrease spend on themselves (40%).
  • South Koreans are most likely to increase spend when purchasing for their immediate family (35%) and decrease spend on co-workers (48%).

Sales and discounts will be the most influential factor in driving holiday purchases globally. Rakuten noted that for brands, rewarding customers for spending through cashback programmes will become an invaluable strategy for success this peak shopping season.

Interestingly, immediate need is the second-highest purchase influencer, indicating that brands will need to consider shipping times and product availability this peak season to meet the demands of last-minute shoppers.


Sourced from Rakuten Advertising