The road to recovery: Reshaping the 2020 shopping season

Rakuten Advertising released a new report, "The Road to Recovery". COVID-19 will not stop consumers in the Asia-Pacific region from planning their holiday shopping. More than 40% of global shoppers said that household spending has decreased due to the impact of COVID-19; but most consumers (70%) have no plans to postpone major holiday shopping such as Christmas or Lunar New Year.

Chinese shoppers are looking to spend big, with 35% of respondents planning to spend more than 40% of their monthly household income this shopping season, compared to just 7% of consumers worldwide. The survey showed that Taobao is the preferred shopping platform for Chinese shoppers (77%), surpassing WeChat (65%).

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

Asian shoppers have shown a shift in preferences towards purchasing more items online, with many consumers making their first e-commerce purchase. This year, more than half of consumers in Singapore (53%), China (53%), Hong Kong (54%) and South Korea (52%) plan to change the way they shop to maximize value.

Families top the list of consumers

• Australians are most likely to spend more when shopping for their immediate family (28 per cent), while spending less for themselves (38 per cent).
• Mainland Chinese consumers are most likely to spend more when buying for their immediate family (46%), but spend less on co-workers (51%).
• Hong Kong consumers are most likely to spend more when shopping for their immediate family (31%), but spend less on friends (56%).
• New Zealand consumers are also willing to spend more when shopping for their immediate family (24%) and less when shopping for themselves (32%).
• Singaporean consumers are likely to spend more when shopping for their immediate family (35%) and less when shopping for themselves (40%).
• South Korean consumers are also willing to spend more when buying for their immediate family members (35%), but spend less on co-workers (48%).

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