Technology moves at a staggering pace throughout the world. Technological growth and acceleration are at an all-time high and only continue to grow faster and further. While this growth is happening the world over, Asian markets are growing incredibly rapidly, but the question is why? What is pushing and driving their growth to such levels?
The simple answer is the emphasis on consumer culture in Asian markets, but what does that mean in the context of technological growth? In this article, we’ll delve into the specifics and look at some of the more detailed reasons why an emphasis on consumer culture acts as an incubator for rapid technological growth.
Constant Innovation is a Must
When a market has high consumer demand, people are always looking to purchase the latest and greatest technology. Consumers quickly tire of the same old technologies simply repackaged each year. Also while demand is high, so is supply, creating a need to find a way to persuade consumers to return to year-on-year for their purchase. If competitors are offering a slightly better product, then consumers will move there, making constant innovation an absolute must.
Constant innovation, however incremental, gives companies the edge over the competitors, forcing rapid growth and development. Every new release something new has to be added to keep consumers interested.
Massive Market
Asia is one of the largest markets in the world. In 2019, Asian markets, with China at the forefront, outpaced the United States of America for the first time in terms of consumer demand. It’s no surprise, with a population of 4.64 billion—over 13 times bigger than the United States—the Asian market is truly a huge and diverse area.
While the size of the market is a factor in driving consumer demand, innovation, and growth, the real drive comes from diversity. 4.64 billion people spread across a large area are going to have vastly different lifestyles, wants, and requirements from their technological solutions. That diversity means that companies need to be constantly innovating and growing their technologies in order to fulfil the demands of their consumers.
Enclosed Ecosystem
A rather unique trait about the Asian market is that while the rest of the world has pushed forward with globalisation, Asia remains a relatively closed ecosystem. Companies like Amazon and Google dominate technological innovation and growth around the world but have almost no presence in Asia. Companies such as Alibaba and Baidu, are the Asian online shopping and search giants respectively—the equivalent of Amazon and Google.
This closed ecosystem means that all technological growth and develops demanded by consumers, have to come from within Asian markets and companies rather than relying on large global entities.
Online Marketplaces Dominate
Online marketplaces and services dominate the consumer industry in Asia. With the geographical size and population, it’s little wonder that companies push for online trading and consumers are happy to embrace it. Online marketplaces are powered by technology from the hardware and software used to run the marketplaces themselves, to the apps and devices consumers use to access them. A marketplace dominated and driven by online interactions is sure to push rapid technological growth as companies are constantly looking for new and better ways to interact and connect with the consumers, and consumers are happy to embrace the changes.
Consumer Acceptance of New Technology
Technological innovation and growth are worthless if consumers aren’t willing to buy into it. Companies are often happy to pursue new technologies that will increase efficiency and engagement, but if consumers are unwilling to make use of them they are all but worthless. Consumer acceptance of new technology is, consequently, another driving force in rapid growth. Asian markets, in general, have a consumer base that is always interested in the latest and greatest technologies and is therefore very accepting of new developments and innovations.
As you can see, a number of factors lead to Asia’s consumer culture pushing their technological growth forward at a rapid pace. The question is how does this knowledge and insight benefit you?
Understanding the market, and what drives both development and consumer demand, is of great value to you and your business. Armed with that information, you can develop deeper insights into the industry, allowing you to devise more detailed, and precise marketing strategies, as well as keep your finger on the pulse of where the latest development and innovations are coming from.
