- An overwhelming majority of mums in the region (91%) expect a recession.
- More insights for brands to understand effects of COVID-19 on buying/purchasing habits and the behaviour of mums within the region.
theAsianparent, Southeast Asia’s largest platform for parents with a monthly network reach of more than 33 million users, has discovered that COVID-19 has resulted in the postponement of pregnancy plans for many families. Specifically, an average of 42% of Southeast Asian mums have changed their family planning arrangements and have chosen to postpone pregnancies until the COVID-19 situation improves. This is just one of the fascinating research findings on the effects of the pandemic on consumer behaviour of Southeast Asian mums.
Based on 2,400 insights from across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, this report by theAsianparent reveals behavioural changes and insights from a mum’s perspective, including:
- More than 90% of mums in most regions except Singapore (83%) claim to stay at home as much as possible due to the fear of possibly contracting the virus and infecting their family;
- Mums in Singapore has the most pessimistic views on how long the outbreak will last (Q4 2020 or even 2021) compared to other mums in the regions (Q2 2020 to Q4 2020);
- Most mums in the region, other than Singapore, actually do not trust their country’s official COVID-19 figures;
- Majority have cancelled all travel plans for 2020;
- An overwhelming majority of mums in the region (91%) expect a recession post COVID-19, with 77% of them remaining positive that their country will recover from the recession within the next 12 months;
- The majority of mums will reduce their spending as a result of COVID-19, including switching from premium brands to more economical alternatives for items such as wet wipes, diapers and toiletries;
- Premium formula milk brands enjoy inelastic demand compared to other baby and children products;
- COVID-19 may have accelerated the move from offline to online purchases, but mums still prefer going to physical stores to buy products such as groceries and Over-the-Counter medications;
- Shopee and Lazada dominate the region as the top or amongst the top three online shopping platforms mums shop at; and
- Building a solid brand reputation through word-of-mouth and online reviews is more effective than influencer marketing in influencing mums’ purchasing decisions.
“COVID-19 has impacted all facets of life, which has many companies taking a defensive stance for business continuity. As theAsianparent helps its parenting community through the provision of critical information and tools, we likewise want to help our clients and partners through the provision of useful insights that will help shape their strategic decisions”, said Malena Gong, Regional Head of Insights.
