Singaporeans Outspend And Outsearch Neighbours In The Region During Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is one of the most important festivals in the Singapore calendar and Singaporeans take it very seriously as they look to Google and YouTube for help in planning and getting ready for the annual celebrations. As we usher in the Year of the Rat, Google’s insights provide marketeers a ring side view into what the festival means to Singaporeans and what they are searching online in preparation for the festivities.

Singaporeans love CNY more than Christmas 

Chinese New Year is a festival steeped in tradition with precious moments that bring families and friends together. It surpasses Christmas as the most searched festive moment in Singapore, with two thirds of Singaporeans turning to Google and YouTube as early as six weeks before Chinese New Year to draw inspiration and make plans in advance to celebrate the occasion with their loved ones.

The number of searches has also increased 27% year-on-year as more digitally-savvy Singaporeans go online for ideas and inspiration such as reunion dinner recipes, or fashion inspiration for visitations.  

The emphasis Singaporeans place on honouring the traditions of Chinese New Year even surpasses other markets with similar populations of ethnic Chinese. Search volume of CNY-related queries in Singapore last year is twice of Malaysia’s, and is also 40% more than Hong Kong, whose population is made up of 92% Chinese. 

Chinese New Year is a powerful commercial moment

The growing interest in Chinese New Year and the meticulous planning involved indicate that Singaporeans spare no expense to get into the festive mood. In 2019, Singaporeans spent $2.3 billion during Chinese New Year, which is 2.5 times more than the popular 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. 

Google survey findings show that Singaporeans are 44% more likely to try out new products and brands during Chinese New Year than the rest of the year, making it a powerful commercial moment that businesses can leverage. The three key areas that are driving a big part of the spending are:

• Food. Reunion dinners are a central tradition of Chinese New Year as it is a time to reestablish familial ties around a good meal. While most meals are prepared at home with lavish ingredients that represent wishes for the new year, there is an upward trend of people who are now looking for restaurants to eat out at and are also open to non-traditional meals such as Japanese and Thai cuisines. 

• Decorations and lighting. Decorating is an important part of celebration for many Singaporeans as it is believed to invite luck and wealth into their homes. Lanterns and other decorations in red and gold are placed around to help lend a festive air to the home when relatives and friends arrive for a visit. 

• Clothing. People are encouraged to wear new clothes during Chinese New Year visiting as it marks a new start to the year. Interestingly, searches for apparel and make-up only pick up closer to the start of Chinese New Year, indicating that Singaporeans tend to make the purchases more last minute, possibly to leverage the festive promotions during this period.

Entertaining Singaporeans on YouTube

Apart from finding things to buy on Search, Singaporeans are increasingly looking to YouTube to find CNY content, as watchtime for prime Chinese-language content grew by 91% year-on-year.

Singaporeans turn to YouTube to be entertained and inspired. To date, the platform has more than 104 million minutes of CNY-content offering a plethora of videos from festive songs, skits, and tutorials that Singaporeans can choose from to help them get into the festive mood. 

In 2019, we have also seen brands leveraging this behaviour by creating videos that capture the spirit of togetherness and tutorials which introduce new products and recipes. Some of the top feel good videos from 2019 include Singtel’s poignant short film, titled “From Ma, With Love”, or Yeo’s CNY’s video. NTUC Fairprice also invited Chef Eric to teach a unique dish for customers and the audience to try their hands at during the festive season.

Melissa Lee, Sector Lead for Finance, Government and Retail, Google Singapore said, “Chinese New Year continues to be an important festival in Singapore where loved ones bond and spend quality time with each other. With many Singaporeans turning to the internet to prepare for the festivity, brands should ensure that they have a strong online presence like being on Google My Business, and also evolve in the way they tell their brand story. We’ve seen many marketers adopt a digital-first mindset and successfully use YouTube to stand out by developing creatives that tap on emotions and key moments that matter during Chinese New Year.”  

Tips for marketers to maximise this festive season: 

• Develop creatives that are digital-first which tap into the emotions of the consumers. With an 84.5% internet penetration in Singapore and 70% of internet users watching videos daily, brands can make use of a larger canvas such as on YouTube to develop more engaging and creative ads. Chinese New Year is all about emotions, with Singaporeans mostly associating the popular festive season with Joy, People and Fun.

  It is a key moment for brand building in Singaporeand looking at the top CNY YouTube ads in 2019, brands who were able to customise their creatives to tap into these emotions enjoyed stronger brand connections, including a 90% increase in brand recall, 40% increase in favorability and 4% increase in purchase intent.

• Personalise to drive conversion. Google survey shows that 7 in 10 consumers prefer advertising that is tailored to their personal interests and shopping habits. Tailoring ads to the customer also makes them 40% more likely to engage with your ad and make a purchase. To ensure you reap maximum benefits from your ad, experiment with creating different ads for different groups of customers. This can be as simple as changing the copy of the ad, which is a powerful way of personalizing your messages. Brands can also use YouTube Director Mix to create customised videos at scale.

• Be online-friendly. As e-Commerce becomes a regular shopping experience in the region, with over 5 million orders submitted on an average day, it is important for brands to optimise their site’s experience for consumers. Brands can use Test My Site to reduce loading times, and Google Analytics to track and measure their site’s performance. 

• Support offline purchases with an online presence. While Singaporeans primarily turn to Search for shopping, they don’t only look online to make purchases. Searches for stores and store locations doubled in the week leading up to CNY in preparation for the festivities which makes it important for brands to ensure that their store information is readily available online. Brands should list themselves on Google My Business to ensure that their businesses are easily searchable online, and that customers can easily connect with them using the most updated information such as operational hours and on-going promotions.