As people shift to purchasing items—essentials and otherwise—online, a few trends has been noticed on social media.
“There’s no doubt that shopping conversations on Twitter are increasing across Southeast Asia. While we see peaks in the lead-up to e-commerce days and for a few days after, shopping is a year-round conversation on Twitter,” said Arvinder Gujral, Twitter managing director for Southeast Asia.
Majority bought their essentials online
Since most people #StayAtHome, Filipinos have turned to the Internet to safely purchase their essentials. In the past month, 78 percent of Filipinos on Twitter have recently purchased a product online, while 93 percent have visited an online retail site or store to check out items.
Evolution of purchasing habits was also seen during the lockdown period, with Filipinos mostly stocking up on the essentials. The top five items they bought online last month were shampoo and conditioner (81 percent), cleaning products (76 percent), laundry products (72 percent), deodorant (70 percent), and snack food items (66 percent).
People think before they shop
Over 69 percent of Filipino online shoppers on Twitter always do their research first before making a purchase, so brands must ensure that their content can actually guide consumers in making the right purchasing decisions.
Connecting to interests pique their attention
Aside from creating campaigns that suit their target audience, knowing consumers’ interests gives an overview of what they will most likely search for, anticipate promos on, and eventually purchase. For starters, female shoppers are into music (82 percent), food and drink (81 percent), and cooking (80 percent); while top picks for male shoppers are technology (82 percent), gadgets (79 percent), and music (78 percent).
Purchase drivers among Filipinos
How can one campaign stand out from the rest? It lies in knowing which drives consumers to purchase. For Filipino online shoppers on Twitter, 67 percent are driven to purchase because of free delivery, 55 percent buy from brands that champion an advocacy, 52 percent check out if a store allows pay with cash, and 50 percent are enticed by discounts.
Filipinos openly express excitement on shopping moments
Though 9.9, 10.10, or 11.11 sales only happen for one day, conversations around it actually begin and last longer. For brands to successfully launch their campaigns, here’s an overview on how conversations unfold during e-commerce shopping days:
– Start of conversation (5-7 days before e-commerce shopping day) – Start publishing online content.
– Warm up (2-3 days before actual day) – Don’t waste the momentum! Tease and hype it up some more.
– E-Commerce Day – Go all out and create a conversation.
– Unboxing (2-3 days after) – Parcels are delivered; be ready to see (and re-share) reviews online.
– Aftermath (5-7 days after) – Conversations have mellowed down, but online content must continue.