The digital/ mobile revolution: Malaysian marketers are laggards: Page 2 of 2

Other key findings
 
According to the Creating Brand Connections across Devices study, the Top 5 needs from Malaysian users that are fulfilled by mobile devices are:
 
a) Staying in touch: 68%
b) As a morning ritual: 68%
c) Leisure activity: 66%
d) Catch up on news: 63%
e) Information on the go: 57%
 
The top daily activities for Malaysian smartphone and tablet users are Communication and Content Consumption, followed by Entertainment and Gaming.
 
Users in Malaysia are also avid readers of Breaking News followed by Local/ National and International News, and while there is some overlap, there is also a difference between male and female users.

On average, the Malaysian smartphone user reads or watches over six different content genres daily, according to the study.
 
No surprises, video consumption is popular on mobile devices – but contrary to popular perception, long-form videos are also in. Short and snappy bite-sized 3-5min videos are popular in the morning, while long-form video content is preferred later in the day.

Women users prefer to watch health and beauty videos while men consume more sports and automotive videos.
 
When it comes to apps, gaming, chatting/ IM and video calls are the most popular smartphone activities.
 
Meanwhile, 90% of the surveyed users in Malaysia did pre-purchase research on their mobile devices on Consumer Electronic products; followed by Fashion (clothes and shoes) and Financial services (both 84%); and 76% on Food & Beverage.
 
Mobile devices are increasingly being used in the entire consumer journey of the brand, especially in the path to purchase – that is, from pre-purchase to in-store and post-purchase.
 
For example, when it comes to Consumer Electronics, as stated above, 90% of users did pre-purchase research; 87% did in-store research such as comparing prices and checking the availability of products; and 64% continued to engage with a brand after purchase, with activities like sharing photos or videos of the product they bought, making recommendations, writing a review, and so on.

“Malaysians also stand out for the amount of sharing they do after they purchase something,” said Deepika, adding that this was another challenge for marketers who had to ensure this sharing was positive for their brands, or how to respond if it was not.
 
M-commerce also seems on the rise, with 83% having done some kind of banking activity, and 84% having made some form of online purchase.
 
However, Deepika stressed the caveats. “The banking activity, unlike in more developed economies like Hong Kong and Singapore, usually involved checking their accounts and very seldom involved funds transfers or transactions – which is an opportunity for banks if they can get their security right.
 
“And when it comes to purchases via mobile, while most have done it before, this is not a frequent activity in Malaysia,” she added.
 
Mobile advertising
 
Finally, Malaysians are not averse to mobile advertising, with 84% having intentionally clicked on mobile display or banner ads, which do not include native ads or more subtle forms of advertising.
 
“The challenge is to make these ads relevant and interesting to the consumer, and as you can see [refer to chart below], this is very much a nation of bargain-hunters,” Deepika chuckled.

Related Stories:
 
Media fragmentation an opportunity for advertisers: TNS
 
SEA businesses still lagging on mobile-first strategies: Google
 
About 35% of A&P budget at MAS goes to digital
 
 
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