Asian consumers flock online

05 March 2010

Asian consumers are among the heaviest online users, according to figures from the Global Web Index.

Microsoft Advertising commissioned the study into five markets in the Greater Asia Pacific region and found that Brazil was joined by India as the biggest social media market. Around 64% of respondents had accessed at least one platform in the last month, placing both ahead of ‘mature’ online markets such as the UK (49%), US (49%) and France (35%).

It is the first time that the joint venture between Trendstream and Lightspeed Research has measured online behaviour of consumers in the region.

Results also show that 70% used the internet for more than three hours a day compared with only 38% for TV. Blogs also prove a more popular format for consumers than other markets with more pronounced differences in older age groups. For example, in China 28% of 55- to 64-year-olds write a blog compared with just 4% in the US.

Meanwhile, Koreans were found to be three times more likely to discuss food purchasing rather than celebrity gossip over the internet. Beauty products also proved a more popular topic of conversation than healthcare for Chinese consumers.

Microsoft Advertising’s Asia Pacific marketing director Kenneth Andrew said: “The survey confirms that online audiences influence one another. If brands begin a dialogue with this group, they create evangelists who will also influence their network and strengthen any word-of-mouth campaign.”

Josh Colley, London