(And for more stats, subscribers can search the Internet Statistics Compendium).

62% of smartphone users across APAC have used voice-activated tech in last six months

This stat comes from iProspect’s The Future is Voice Activated report, which surveyed more than 1,800 smartphone owners aged 18 to 50 years old in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore earlier this year.

Fifty four percent of the sample had used the tech in the last month.

voice adoption in apac

India has greatest voice adoption (82% in last six months), with Japan lagging way behind (40%)

The same iProspect study shows India (82%) and China (77%) are the leaders in voice adoption amongst field markets with Indonesia (62%) close behind.

voice usage by apac market

The trend isn’t all upwards though

Amongst current users of voice-activated tech, it’s interesting to say that two fifths have not changed their level of activity over the past six months.

Though well over half (56%) of voice tech users have used said tech more in this time, the sample nevertheless shows that voice tech isn’t a runaway train at the moment. Indeed, 5% of the sampel reduced their usage over the past six months.

active voice users in apac

Inaccuracy, embarrassment and inconvenience were amongst the reasons given by lapsed users for their decision not to go back to voice-activated tech.

voice in apac reasons for lapsed users

75% of Chinese CMOs expect rising budgets in the next year (but only 35% in Japan)

The Dentsu Aegis CMO Survey, reported in Mumbrella, quizzed 1,000 marketing leaders from around the world, with Chinese respondents confident of incresing marketing budgets in the next 12 months (75%) and Japanese respondents less bullish (35%). The global figure expecting budgets to rise was 60%.

Marketers in Asia Pacific generally agreed that data protection legislation will make it harder to forge relationships with consumers – 63% said so in Australia, 53% in China and 47% in Japan. believe. Other concerns included competition (56% of global sample) consumer distaste for advertising (46% of global sample).

Interestingly, more than half (52%) of CMOs surveyed said they will bring more marketing capabilities in-house, with a third saying they will reduce the number of agencies they work with.

Lastly, again from the global survey, it’s interesting to see how the marketers defined their primary role. Fully 64% said it was to deliver business growth, with only around half (52%) pointing to their role developing the customer experience.

marketing responsibility

53% of Asia Pacific consumers want security over convenience in their apps

An F5 study with YouGov has found 53% of APAC consumers prioritise security features over the functionality and convenience of an app.

The survey of 3,700 people from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore also revealed that 46% say a more secured experience would be the biggest factor in enhancing their digital experience in the next five years.

Of course, there was variance between countries in the region – people in Indonesia, India and Philippines are 14% more likely to prioritize convenience and not security.

Conversely, more mature markets such as Australia and Singapore saw 63% and 67%, respectively, emphasize security over convenience.

Interestingly, there as also a difference in opinion betwee generations. Millennials were less likely to prioritise security (44%) than Gen X (53%) or baby boomers (69%).

Marketers weigh in on the mobile trends they expect to disrupt the industry

A Warc report with the Mobile Marketing Association reveals results of a survey of 445 marketing professionals in APAC, determining significant trends in mobile.

93% of respodnents said mobile was having or would have a significant disruptive impact (changing industries and connections with consumers). It’s mobile payments that was chosen as the specific area with most disruptive potential (by 50%).

Lesser concerns include showrooming (20% thought it would be disruptive), mobile loyalty (14%) and webrooming (14%).

More than half of brands (58%) have formal mobile strategies, with 86% of respondents expecting their mobile budgets will increase over the next year.

Indian digital marketing

This Times Internet and DMAasia survey of more than over 150 CMOs and CDOs in India threw up some interesting findings:

  • Content marketing displaced social media marketing as the top strategy for marketers in 2017 (57% of respondents)
  • Social media marketing declined 30%, with 36% of respondents citing it as a successful strategy in 2017
  • Over 42% of the surveyed marketers allocated more than a quarter of total marketing spends on digital tactics in 2017
  • Almost 30% of the marketers said consolidating their content marketing strategy would be their key focus for 2018, closely followed by measuring ROI at 27%

Uniqlo to double store numbers in Southeast Asia and Oceania to 400 by 2022

The news, reported by Nikkei, sees Uniqlo focus on stand-alone suburban stores beyond shopping malls, a senior executive said. The Japanese retailer wants to triple revenue to $2.71 billion in the region.

 

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