Industry experts across POCO business partnerships have gathered with regional and local media in Bangkok, Thailand for the POCO Partners Southeast Asia Forum 2023 to provide insights into the evolving habits and preferences of Southeast Asia’s Gen Z mobile users.
Mr. Quanxin Wang, General Manager of Xiaomi Southeast Asia; Ms. Anne Wang, Head of Marketing at POCO Global; and Mr. Angus Ng, Head of Product Marketing at POCO Global were joined by top executives from Lazada, MediaTek, PUBG, Shopee, and TikTok, to discuss the evolving tech trends and data-driven insights in e-commerce, gaming, chipset, and smartphone markets in Southeast Asian countries.
Mobile the New Hub of Entertainment
Gen Z is “changing the game” ins consumer mobile phone usage habits and preferences in the last five years. A new survey revealed that usage habits of 18 – 40-year-olds across Southeast Asia from YouGov on behalf of POCO say how smartphones have become integral in life. Around 50% of the respondents have experienced a significant uplift in the amount of time spent across all mobile-related activities.
The survey covered 2,500 consumers targeting Gen Z and Millennials in five Southeast Asia markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Philippines, who play games on their mobile devices at least once a month. The study shows that with the recent pandemic, smartphones have become core entertainment hubs and younger generations mobile activities have increased over the last three years with surges in mobile gaming (53%), online shopping (51%), and video streaming (48%) activities.
Entertainment drivers such as watching videos (81%) and playing online games (60%) rank highest in daily activities, with just over half (56%) use their phones daily for voice calls and under half (47%) for taking photos and videos on a daily basis. Focusing on mobile activities throughout the week, almost nine in ten played games (87%) with photo and video taking activity increasing (80%).
Mr. Angus Ng, Head of Product Marketing at POCO Global, expressed his enthusiasm this study presents to the brand. “POCO’s intention is to steer in a new direction“, he explained, “the company aims to concentrate on the essential elements of gaming, a rising trend in Southeast Asia. By focusing on the roots and fundamentals of mobile gaming, POCO aims to perfect each segment between price and product, targeting the unique needs and preferences of the younger generation in the region.”
Gen-Z – the Mobile-First Generation
Gen Z spends more hours engaged in mobile activities as the “mobile-first” generation. They spend more hours per week than their Millennial counterparts for all online leisure activities and intend to spend even more time on their mobiles in the future.
In the immediate future, four in every ten say they are likely to increase the amount of time spent on mobile-based activities like social media (53%) and browsing the Internet (56%). With changes in flexible working post-pandemic, utilizing mobile devices for work and business use is seen as the significant area of highest future growth (59%).
Mr. Liang Shuang, Head of Shopee Regional Electronic Cluster, says “For smartphones that are designed for Gen Z, I’d say they’re all about being seamless. Gen Z is used to using mobile devices and they want phones that make everything online easy. This includes things like having engaging interactions with one another, sharing fun moments or playing exciting games within their community, or keeping track of their health and knowing ways to improve their lifestyle.”
Mr. Tony Yuan, Senior Vice President at POCO partner Lazada, noted that young generation’s online surfing habits, including increased interaction and reliance on online reviews and comments, present opportunities and challenges. “While this behavior offers new avenues for engagement, it also complicates the creation and measurement of consumer experience,” he explained. “Lazada recognizes the importance of staying ahead in this dynamic environment, acknowledging the younger generation’s preferences and needs, and employing technology to connect with them more effectively.”
Midrange Phones on the Rise
With shifting usage trends, consumers are also rethinking their choice of mobile device. An overwhelming majority agreed that compared to five years ago, they now have a preference for a midrange brand phone over bigger and more established brands.
76% of the respondents say that they strongly/somewhat agree and 37% strongly agree that they now prefer midrange smartphones. This preference is being driven by an increased confidence in midrange brands compared to five years ago.
This increasing confidence is centered around preference drivers including affordability (57%), the balance of price and performance (57%) and fulfilling mobile needs without the need for excessive features (50%). 46% of the respondents intend to replace their current smartphone before the end of 2024 in SEA. Affordability is a top motivator dictating young consumers to switch to a midrange brand for 42% of the respondents, with enanced performance from faster processors, longer battery life, and larger storage capacity cited as primary consideration.
Mr. Chunyan See, Country Sales Manager, Thailand, MediaTek, explained that designing, studying, manufacturing, and integrating a chip takes three years, involving extensive research, development, and collaboration. “The company ensures the design’s power efficiency and performance align with customer desire and the ongoing commitment to innovation means MediaTek is involved in a continuous process that requires releasing a new chip every year, reflecting modern consumers’ evolving needs and expectations,” he said.
Gaming capability and performance is also a key factor in their next smartphone purchase decision, with 44% of those surveyed saying that it is a “very important” factor and an additional 36% citing it as “somewhat important.” There is also an emphasis on long battery life, high-performance, and larger storage capacity driven by gaming considerations.
“The overall conclusion of today’s Forum is that clearly a phone’s gaming capability, balanced by affordable price-points is setting the agenda, led by the next generation of young consumers to change the consumer game-play in widening the brand playing field,” explained Mr. Ng. “This is presenting exciting new opportunities for POCO and the world of mid-range phone brands.”
