We Asians love food and social media; and combining them

By Digital News Asia May 7, 2013

About half of Chinese, Malaysians and Thais regularly post comments online following a dining experience
Food blogs playing an increasingly influential role in Asia’s food scene: MasterCard

We Asians love food and social media; and combining them ACCORDING to MasterCard’s latest survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities – Dining, more than one-third of Asia Pacific consumers regularly look for online reviews before making dining out decisions.

Asia’s most advanced tech markets lead the region with Taiwan, Japan and Singapore most reliant on online reviews when selecting where to eat out, MasterCard said in a statement.

It is worth noting though, that in the emerging markets in the region, namely Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh, consumers still prefer recommendations from family and friends.

Interestingly, after dining, Chinese, Malaysian and Thai consumers are the most likely to post reviews on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, with about one in two respondents in these markets reporting that they regularly post comments online following their dining experience.

Asia’s emerging markets are also more likely to tip in a restaurant than their more developed counterparts.

The findings were taken from research conducted across 27 markets within Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa between Nov 7 2012 and Feb 2 2013. The report for the Asia Pacific region included interviews with 7,678 respondents from 16 markets who were asked questions about their dining habits.

Consumers from Bangladesh (88%), Thailand (79%) and the Philippines (77%) are the most prevalent tippers in the region. Thailand ranked as the most generous when it came to tipping in the same survey last year, and increases were recorded in Asia’s rapidly emerging markets such as Indonesia (+10%) and India (+4%) when compared to last year.

Markets where consumers are tightening their purse strings with regard to tipping include Hong Kong (-12%), Singapore (-11%) and Malaysia (-11%).

“It is … interesting to see the convergence of the growing online connectivity of Asia Pacific consumers and their passion for food,” said Georgette Tan, group head, Communications, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard.

“Food blogs are playing an increasingly influential role in Asia’s food scene, turning both locals and tourists alike to the best eats in town and placing lesser-known eateries on the radar of the keen, tech-savvy diners.

“Going online to check for credit card promotions available also remains popular, particularly in markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and China, where about one in two respondents do so regularly.

“Across Asia Pacific, however, the frequency drops slightly to an average of one in four,” she added.