Nielsen’s new Southeast Asia Digital Consumer Report examined the digital media habits and attitudes of consumers in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Singaporeans led the region in online usage, spending more than a day (25 hours) online each week, while Filipinos and Malaysians came close behind, spending 21.5 hours and 19.8 hours a week online, respectively. Indonesians trailed the region, spending an average of 14 hours per week.

“The increasing availability and uptake of Internet-capable mobile devices is driving the surge in digital media usage across the region and bringing about considerable changes in the way media is consumed,” said Melanie Ingrey, APMEA Region Research Director. “More and more, consumers are accessing multiple media platforms simultaneously, such as accessing the Internet while watching TV.”

While PCs continue to be the primary way to access the Internet, smartphones are on track to supplant them: in four of the six SEA countries, ownership of mobile devices equals or exceeds owner ship of PCs, either desktop or laptop. In Indonesia, for example, more than three-quarters (78%) of consumers owned Internet-capable mobile phones compared to just 29 percent who owned notebook computers or 31 percent with desktops. Tablets are just starting to make their mark in the region, but they are likely to show rapid growth in several countries in the region in the year ahead.

Reading and sending email was the most popular activity for netizens in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand, while reading news was the favourite digital activity in Vietnam and Indonesia. Accessing social networks ranked in the top five activities for all of the countries except in Vietnam, with Facebook dominating the landscape in Indonesia, where 90 percent said that they maintained an active profile on the site, which was also popular in the Philippines and Malaysia. Facebook does not enjoy the same penetration in Thailand or Vietnam, however, with competitors such as 4Shared and Zing having significant popularity. YouTube ranked as one of the top five most popular sites in all six countries.

As in other parts of the world, social networking sites have become an increasingly important way for consumers to connect with the brands they like. In the Philippines, nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said they interacted with brands, products or companies via social media, while 60 percent of Malaysians and 56 percent of Singaporeans did the same.

Online engagement with brands is particularly important for consumers in making purchase decisions, with vast majorities of consumers in four of the six countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) indicating that they read product reviews online. Majorities in those countries also post their own reviews of products and services purchased.

“Social media platforms offer myriad opportunities for organizations to engage with consumers, and it is becoming an increasingly critical means of influencing consumer decision making,” noted Ingrey. “As Southeast Asian digital consumers are becoming more familiar and comfortable using social media, their level of participation is also increasing. A significant proportion of consumers visit online discussion forums at least monthly and many are now starting to take an active role in these online discussions.”

Online advertising is still in its infancy in the region, with Singapore leading the way in terms of proportion of total ad spend in the channel at 6.9 percent; in Malaysia and Thailand, the figure is less than one percent. Digital consumers in Vietnam indicated the highest positivity toward online ads, while those in Thailand were less receptive. As always, creating ads that are relevant to the needs and interests of individual consumers is critical to gaining their interest.

“Online activity is only going to increase in the years ahead as more consumers obtain smartphones, and 3G and broadband access become more common and affordable. Marketers would be well-advised to examine how they can fully leverage these trends through innovative, creative and most importantly, relevant ad executions,” said Ingrey.

For more information, download The Digital Media Habits and Attitudes of Southeast Asian Consumers.

Water is the essence of life. So it should be little surprise that among the top brands in Indonesia is the bottled water brand whose name is a synonym for water, according to a “top of mind recall” consumer survey conducted by Nielsen in the first quarter of 2011 in Asia Pac across several categories. From still to sparkling, from flavored to fortified, there is something for every consumer of bottled water in Asia, catering to basic hydration as well as lifestyle needs.

The many attempts by manufacturers to move consumers up the mineral water value chain beyond just basic needs have generally yielded limited results, as it looks like Asian consumers still tend to prefer their bottled water “still” and au naturel. Consumers across several markets in Asia prefer “home-grown” brands; private labels are also popular, especially where consumers view this category as a commodity like sugar. In South Korea, almost all of the mineral water retail sales are domestic brands; the same trend holds true in Taiwan. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the clear market leader is a brand produced by the local outlet of a major soft drink company.

Even as mineral water sales continue to grow, some markets are reaching the saturation point, and this has provided the impetus for manufacturers to focus their efforts in search for new growth. In Taiwan, flavored water currently accounts for just about 1 percent of total sales value. In Singapore, the market has remained stagnant between 6-8 percent over the past three years. The lackluster growth could be due to the higher price tags placed on flavored and sparkling waters, and consumers are not seeing the “pay-off” by paying extra.

The payoff for manufacturers who continue to innovate can be significant. While water with “extras” has relatively small market shares currently, the upside potential is clear. Based on Nielsen’s analysis in Singapore, flavored water only represents about 3 percent of retail sales volume, but accounts for 8 percent of sales value. In other words, one unit of sales volume will see a corresponding increase in sales value by a factor of more than 2.5 times. We found similar results when it comes to sparkling water. Imported brands command an even higher “multiplier effect.”

Manufacturers that connect with consumers by injecting marketing finesse into the equation have been rewarded with “new” growth. Take the example of a leading flavored fortified water brand that was launched in Singapore in November 2010. The brand gained almost 1 percent share of retail sales volume and a corresponding 2.5 percent share of sales value in just four months. The campaign, featuring innovative bottle packaging in a variety of flavors and catchy copy, offered to hydrate consumers while providing the nutrients they may be missing. At the same time, it provided an emotional connection with celebrities who have endorsed the product.

Going beyond the “commodity” bottled water, the sparkling and/or flavored versions can satisfy certain taste buds as well as lifestyle or emotional needs as we saw in the case of the brand in Singapore.  In addition, these “premium” waters, often accompanied by more appealing packaging and promising benefits beyond hydration, can serve to expand the category by drawing new consumers who do not currently buy bottled water.

To get a better sense of where the fast moving consumer goods industry stands – and where it’s going – in Asia Pacific Nielsen has released its comprehensive mid-year report highlighting regional trends such as total FMCG category growth, the role of hypermarkets and the changing gender profile of shoppers as well as country highlights on retail trends in 14 key nations.

FMCG Growth
Volume growth in the industry was down across many Asia Pacific countries as consumers cut back during the recession.  But there were some standouts: India and Vietnam posted value sales rises of nearly 15%.  In China, where value sales had been posting double-digit gains for much of the decade, growth slowed to just 3% in 2009.  But thus far in 2010, the segment has rebounded nicely, with 11% in the sector in the first quarter of the year.

Modern vs. traditional
The traditional retail trade, both wet markets and counter service mom & pop stores, continues to play an integral role throughout much of Asia.  Even in countries experiencing rapid growth such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, the wet market continues to be the main place for buying fresh food.  But modern grocery stores, such as hypermarkets and convenience stores are now an established presence in most urban areas, with the strongest growth for such formats seen in China and Korea.

Modern channels have continued to grow steadily and now account for 53% of all packaged grocery sales in the region, up from just 35% in 2000.  But that trend varies widely: almost all packaged grocery shopping was done in the modern market in Taiwan and Singapore (94% and 92%, respectively) while in India, just 5% went through self-service outlets.

China has been the most dynamic country over the past decade, with the modern trade growing from 34% in 2000 to 64% in 2009, the fastest retail ever seen with Korea fast on its heels, expanding from 63% in 2000 to 86%.

Format Wars
The expansion of hypermarkets has been a boon for many shoppers, especially those in urban areas.  Today, this format is the strongest modern trade channel, accounting for 28% of packaged grocery sales in China.  In Shanghai, 77% of shoppers use hypermarkets as their main store, while in Beijing, 45% do the same.  In Korea, the channel accounts for 31% of trade.  Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, Hypermarkets are strongest in Thailand with 90% of urban shoppers using them regularly, there has also been significant development in Malaysia where nearly 40% of shoppers spend most in this format.

In many of these countries, the traditional grocery store has been in slow decline as it has faced increased competition.  In Korea, the traditional channel posted a closure rate of 5% per year, accounting for more than 50,000 store closures over the course of the decade.  Although the hypermarket is making huge gains in Malaysia, most shoppers (over 70%) still visit traditional grocery stores two to three times a week. Asian shoppers now have a wide portfolio of alternative shopping channels to meet different shopping needs and occasions including both traditional and modern stores.

Any visitor to Asia will notice the surge of small format stores, both convenience stores and mini-marts, with some intersections boasting two or more such stores on the corner.  Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, Familymart and Circle K have continued to grow strongly throughout the region, with shoppers attracted by their convenient location and food service offer.

Indonesia has seen explosive growth in mini-markets, small modern grocery stores, with local chains leading this change.  With just 2,000 such stores at the start of the decade, the nation now boasts more than 11,500, and this channel’s now accounts for more than 17% of grocery sales.

Tapping the Potential of Private Label
In North America and Europe, private label goods have experienced strong growth, especially during the recession.  What’s more, consumers in those regions say that they expect to continue buying private label goods even after the recession is over.   The story is very different in Asia.  The private label concept has yet to make a significant dent in sales, and only in Hong Kong do they have above 5% share of sales.  Retailers across the region have been investing in the development of Private Labels but still have a lot of work to do to convince shoppers of the quality and value of these products compared to leading brands.

What’s Ahead
The changes shaping the retail scene in Asia Pacific go beyond store size and format.  Nielsen has identified a number of trends that will affect retailers and manufacturers in the next decade, including:

• The growing role of the male shopper – Tradition still leads the way in most countries in the region, but an increasing number of men are becoming involved in grocery shopping.  Only in India and Indonesia do housewives dominate, and Korea and Vietnam also still strongly adhere to traditional roles.  Across the region, 22% of the “main” grocery shoppers for households are now male, up from 14% a decade ago.

While there are signs of change in Korea, likely driven by the development of Hypermarkets, only 11% of men claim to be the main shopper for their families.  In Vietnam, the percentage is likely to stay low for a while as long as the traditional Wet Market channel continues to dominate packaged grocery sales.

• Hypermarket growth stalls as multi-format strategy gains – Smaller formats that offer shoppers a more convenient way to “top-up” shopping have gained in popularity, many being opened by the leading hypermarket chains themselves.
• Shopping outside the store – Shopping done via the TV or Internet is gaining traction in Asia Pacific, with Korea leading the online shopping sector.   Koreans have embraced this “format,” with 4% of shoppers saying they use the Internet for the majority of their grocery shopping and 71% saying they use it regularly to purchase groceries and personal care items.  An additional 30% say they use TV shopping.

These and other trends are discussed in the 2010 APAC shopper trends report.

• Download the Asia Pacific Social Media Trends webinar and related materials.

The survey found that three of the seven biggest global online brands are social media sites – Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube. Close to three quarters of the world’s Internet population (74%) have now visited a social networking/blogging site, and Internet users are spending an average of almost six hours per month on social media sites.

Social media is having an increasing impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions – in Asia Pacific, online product reviews are the third most trusted source of information when making purchase decisions, behind family and friends. This is particularly so for purchases of consumer electronics, cosmetics and cars – products where consumers are most likely to base their purchase decisions on online product reviews. But not ever country shares the same way.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Blogging… it’s Big in Japan

• Japanese Internet users are the most avid bloggers globally, posting more than one million blogs per month, significantly more than any other country in the region.
• Japan’s adoption of Twitter continues to grow, with unique visitor numbers increasing in the last year from less than 200,000 to more than 10 million.
• Sixteen percent of Japanese Internet users now use Twitter, which compares to 10 percent in the U.S.

Grass roots celebrities attract China’s social networkers

• Bulletin board systems underpin popular social media behavior in China – more than 80 percent of social media content is bulletin board systems.
• Social media games are used as a stimuli to drive new users and gain reach with existing users, while content sharing behaviors are more popular among the more experienced users. Virtual product placement within social networking site games is becoming one of the most profitable methods of revenue for social networking sites.
• ‘Grass roots’ celebrity tracking dominates online conversations in China, with social media celebrities such as Sister Phoenix and Mr. Yuan outperforming real life celebrities in popularity.
• Chinese Internet users are the most likely in Asia Pacific to post a negative online product review, and are the only consumers in the region more likely to share negative reviews than positive reviews – 62% of Chinese Internet users say they are more likely to share a negative review compared to 41 percent globally.

Facebook threatens Orkut’s share in India

• Although 70 percent of social media users in India identify Orkut as their preferred social media site, Facebook is gaining market share with 50 percent of social media users claiming to use Facebook most often, compared to 38 percent for Orkut, with the most common reasons for switching include friends moving sites, preferring the look and feel of the site, and offering more features.
• Twitter has enjoyed exponential growth in popularity in India, with more than half of Twitter users (57%) having signed up in the past year. Close to one third of India’s social media users (32%) use microblogging sites such as Twitter at least once a day.
• Online product reviews are increasing their influence on purchases in India, particularly for consumer electronics – 55 percent of Indians that read online product reviews have purchased products based on feedback. Consumer durables/electronics are the most common products purchased based on reviews (64% of purchases).

Koreans a-buzz about social media

• By population, Korea is one of the most social media engaged countries in the world, with the country’s leading social media site, Naver, attracting 95 percent of the Korean Internet population every month.
• While penetration of social media amongst Korea’s Internet population is already strong, it continues to grow (Twitter alone saw 1900% growth in the year to May 2009) with much of this growth coming off the back of Korea’s June election and the adoption of mobile social networking.

Australians flock to online forums

• Australia leads the world in social media engagement, with the highest global average for time spent per month engaging with social media, averaging over seven hours per month
• In contrast to many countries, Australians look to communities of interest such as parenting or sports sites as a key channel for social media discussion – 62 percent of Australian Internet users visited a message board or forum in 2009.
• LinkedIn has seen one of the fastest growth trends amongst social media sites in Australia, with unique audience numbers increasing by 99 percent from July 2009 to May 2010

“The findings highlight, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that social media is here to stay and needs to be taken seriously by the broader business community, from the CMO to the CEO,” notes Megan Clarken, Managing Director of Nielsen’s online business in Asia Pacific. “With three quarters of the global Internet population now participating in some form of social media, businesses can no longer afford to simply observe the social media phenomenon, they need to embrace it.”

Value has become a main focus for Asian shoppers, partly driven by the economic situation and partly as a result of increased retailer activity focused around price and promotions. According to Nielsen’s Asia Pacific Retail and Shopper Trends 2009 Report, more than 70 percent of shoppers claim to have become more price sensitive compared to last year. The effect: shoppers are more inclined to buy only what they need, spending their money on essentials rather than on treats or what they now consider ‘nice-to-haves’. They’re also consciously trying to cut down on the quantity purchased and are actively seeking out products on promotion.

Over the course of 2008 in Asia, grocery markets continued to show volume growth, led by India (+9%), China (+9%) and Vietnam (+18%), with only Taiwan (-7%) experiencing a decline in sales. Value sales increased by double figures in many markets on the back of high inflation for key food categories. But with inflation falling in all markets, we have seen value growth drop sharply in 2009, although overall volume growth in many markets has held up reasonably well with shoppers not cutting back significantly on grocery categories.

Traditional trade continues to lose share

As expected, the traditional counter service trade continued to lose share in Asia, with overall share of trade dropping another percentage point to 47 percent in 2008. At the same time, the absolute number of traditional grocery stores in the region grew by one percent to over 12.3 million stores. In most developed countries, traditional store numbers fell by five percentage points or more. In Korea, where traditional store numbers dropped by nine percentage points, the share of trade decreased from 15.9 to 13.9 percent, while in Taiwan the traditional trade now accounts for just over six percent of sales, having lost 1.5 percent share in the last 12 months.

The retail landscape looks very different in Southeast and South Asia, however, where traditional store numbers actually grew year on year, and even though share of total grocery sales continues to decline slowly, the majority of shoppers in all markets continue to shop at this trade channel. The traditional channel continues to meets shoppers’ needs for everyday convenience, personal service and affordability – being able to buy the smallest sizes and quantities.

Growth of small modern trade outlets

Globally, many large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour have embraced a multi-format strategy that includes the development of smaller neighborhood stores. Similar growth in small modern trade outlets is also being seen across Asia, with mini-markets/small supermarket store numbers increasing by 17 percent in 2008 to over 100,000 stores.

Indonesia has led the way over the last 10 years and in 2008 more than 1,500 new stores opened, taking the total to over 10,500. These stores now account for more than 16 percent of total packaged grocery sales. Shoppers in Indonesia are continuing to embrace the convenient location, relatively good service and acceptably low prices offered at mini-markets.

Retailers in China are also investing in this store format, with store numbers growing by 22 percent in 2008 to more than 70,000 stores, accounting for more than three-quarters of all modern self-service outlets.

In South Korea we are also seeing the leading Hypermarket operators expanding into small supermarket formats, or ‘Super Supermarkets’ as they are known in South Korea. Samsung Tesco is now operating over 150 SSM Homeplus Express stores and E-mart is planning to open 30 or 40 small, 300 square meter E-Mart Everyday stores. The expansion of these large chains into the small store arena has led to concerns regarding competition with small store owners, and the South Korean government is considering introducing a bill to regulate the opening of small supermarkets.

“In the previous Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence survey conducted in March, we were seeing the first signs that as far as the world’s consumers were concerned, the recession had bottomed out. Three months later, they’re starting to embrace the idea of recovery – which is a major turning point,” said Jonathan Banks, Business Insights Director, The Nielsen Company.

In Nielsen’s latest survey, which polled 14,029 online consumers in 28 countries late in June, 71 percent of respondents thought their country was in recession – a positive reduction of six points from a high of 77 percent when the survey ran in March 2009.

“The BRIC and Asian markets have recorded the greatest jumps in Consumer Confidence Indices in the past three months,” noted Banks. “Consumer confidence in India jumped 13 Index points, and climbed 9 points in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Consumer confidence rose 8 Index points in Taiwan and Brazil, and 7 points in Singapore, Turkey, Russia, Philippines and the UK. The only exceptions to this upswing were in the USA and New Zealand, which held flat in the second quarter, with Germany the only country to register a decline of one Index point,” said Banks.

Even in the market registering a small decline – Germany – there are encouraging signs that a recovery is imminent. According to the Nielsen survey, nearly one in three Germans (29%) said the recession would be over in the next 12 months, compared to only 22 percent three months ago. One in three Germans also thought “now is a good time to buy the things they want”, indicating a renewed willingness to spend on discretionary items. Thirty-eight percent described their personal finances as “good” for the next year.

“This is one of the strongest indicators of a global consensus among consumers that the worst is over, and that finally, there is light at the end of this long tunnel. And consumers in emerging and Asian markets are clearly of the view that they are driving in the recovery lane now,” added Banks.
The latest Nielsen Confidence numbers are a welcome return to positive, confident territory for consumers in the developed Asian markets of South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, who have been battling economic inertia and political instability for several quarters.

“Asian consumer confidence appears to have been boosted through successful government economic stimulus packages that were speedily and effectively implemented at the onset of the global recession,” noted Banks. In the world’s second largest economy, the Japanese government implemented tax breaks, introduced cash deductions and subsidies on new car purchases, as well as providing cash payment and premium gift coupon schemes to stimulate spending.

“As well as expanding credit terms to small and medium sized businesses, in Japan there are even incentives to purchase eco-friendly household appliances as part of the government’s new environmental policy, and national toll prices for motorways have been discounted to encourage domestic tourism,” observed Banks.

Stock market gains in the BRIC and Asian markets have also had a major impact on consumer confidence,” said Banks. More than any other region, stock markets in Asia have rallied and property prices are starting to regain their pre-recession values. Russia’s stock market is up 60 percent from the start of the year and Taiwan is up over 50 percent. Brazil and Singapore’s stock markets have gained around 40 percent in the past six months and the South Korea and Hong Kong stock markets are up over 30 percent. With stock market gains so intrinsically linked to consumer confidence in Asian markets, it’s no surprise that Asian consumers are most confident about a receding recession, led by Hong Kong (-14 pts), Taiwan (-13 pts), Singapore and Japan (-12 pts), India and China (-10 pts).

“Positive economic news and growing consumer optimism in the past few months have definitely led consumers in these markets to believe that economic recovery will come sooner rather than later,” said Banks. According to the Nielsen survey conducted in March this year, 28 percent of Singaporeans said they expected their recession to end within 12 months – last month this number rose to 39 percent. UAE consumers also share this sentiment. In March, 32 percent of UAE consumers thought the recession would be over within a year but in June 43 percent said they expected the recession to be over before the middle of 2010.

Latest Nielsen data also shows that consumer confidence in the UK – a country that has suffered one of the most dramatic downturns in consumer confidence in the last year – is on the rebound, climbing 7 Index points in the second quarter. “UK consumers are getting the hang of consuming less. People with jobs – still the overwhelming majority – now have more disposable income as they reduce spending on big-ticket items like cars and holidays. With mortgage interest rates at their lowest levels, savings rates are increasing quickly and this has increased financial confidence,” said Banks.
“Consumers know that recovery won’t happen overnight but there has certainly been more good news than bad in the past few months,” noted Banks.

The decline in constant bad economic news in the media has directly impacted on the topics consumers are talking and blogging about. According to Nielsen Buzzmetrics, Nielsen’s service for measuring online conversations, the number of online discussions, or” buzz”, in the UK mentioning the word “recession” dropped around 60 percent between late March and late June this year. “People’s obsession with the recession has switched to how to live and spend more moderately in a new economic era,” said Banks.

Italian consumers have also become more optimistic, showing a strong gain of 7 Index points – their highest Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index since the second half of 2007. “Our survey supports recent Italian government figures which indicate that consumer confidence is returning to the Italian economy. In the last three months, Italian consumers’ concern for job security and the economy fell by 4 percentage points respectively, while average supermarket prices fell 0.2 percent in June 2009, indicating that consumers are less concerned about rising food bills than they were two years ago,” said Banks. The rise in consumer confidence in Italy has also been positively impacted by the government’s stimulus policies and the significant decline of negative economic coverage in the media. Online discussions mentioning the word “recession” have decreased by 35 percent this year according to Nielsen.

Globally, job security and the economy remained consumers’ top two concerns in life but even the level of these concerns has abated in the last three months and recorded declines of two and four index points respectively.

But the biggest change has come from high-income households.  Prior to the crisis, about 40 percent said that they saved most of their money; now, 52 percent indicate that savings accounts are their preference, while investments lost 7 percent. 

Of those who are still investing their money in the market, stocks continue to be the popular option, with 48 percent indicating equities as their top choice, followed by mutual funds (27%) and properties/real estate (14%).

“Singapore has always been amongst the top three countries in Nielsen global surveys in terms of the number of people expressing their intention to save their spare cash.  We are definitely a cautious lot who are more comfortable putting our hard-earned money in fixed deposits and saving for a secure tomorrow,” said Joan Koh, Executive Director, The Nielsen Company Singapore.

The survey on finance management polled 921 Singaporean adults aged 18 and older to find out how they apportion their disposable funds prior to and after the onset of the global economic crisis.

Toward the end of 2008, the global downturn was adversely impacting advertising spending throughout many key markets around the world, with Europe and the Americas struggling more than others.  The exception to this was Asia Pacific (APAC), which appeared to be relatively impervious to the worst of the downturn. Beginning in late 2008, and escalating as the first quarter of 2009 unfolded, the majority of APAC markets were finally succumbing to declining economic conditions with substantial declines in advertising activity. Hand-in-hand with consumer confidence declining further in the new year, most APAC countries witnessed substantial ad spend cutbacks; although still not resembling the severity of those experienced in some other regions.

“While the flow on effect of the financial meltdown on individual countries’ advertising was beginning to bite across several markets late in 2008, it is the sobering results for the first quarter of 2009 which present a clearer picture of how advertising expenditure across the region was faltering. Main media measured across all markets, defined by Nielsen as free to air TV, newspapers and magazines, stalled at 0 percent growth compared to the first quarter of 2008. Even China, the juggernaut of advertising growth globally over recent years, was not immune to the faltering economic outlook, recording just 2 percent growth over the same period in 2008 and recording 17 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2008,” said Richard Basil-Jones, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Nielsen Media International.

“Although six markets recorded declines in the fourth quarter of 2008, overall growth was 10%; however, with nine countries now in decline in 2009, the zero growth in ad spending was not unexpected. On a slightly more positive note, all “other media” tracked by Nielsen across various countries (radio, outdoor, pay TV, cinema and other combined) posted an overall 1.3 percent increase in Q1 2009,” he added.

 Nine countries recorded declines in Q1 ‘09 ad spend versus Q1 ‘08:

• Thailand        -1% 
• Malaysia        -3%
• New Zealand  -4%
• India             -6%
• Australia        -11%
• Singapore      -14%
• South Korea   -19%
• Taiwan          -22%
• Hong Kong     -5%

Just three countries showed growth in Q1 ‘09 ad spend versus Q1 ‘08:

• Indonesia (20%)
• China (2%)
• Philippines (8%)

Other key findings:

•  Across the twelve markets monitored, a total of US$23.5 billion was spent on advertising in Q1 ‘09
• A total of US$109.16 billion was spent on “Main Media” advertising in the 12 months to March ‘09 (+9%) YOY, with television comprising 71 percent of expenditures.
• FTA Television ad spending grew 9 percent YOY; with six countries posting double-digit growth as four countries recorded declines.
• Newspaper ad spending recorded a modest 2 percent growth YOY, even though the medium experienced declines in six countries.
• Magazine ad spending, despite declines in 7 countries, increased 2 percent YOY, with high double digit growth in 4 countries.
• Radio dominated the “all other media” tracked by Nielsen, with a 51 percent share of spend and a 5 percent increase YOY.

The average household has increased overall spending in these categories by 14 percent, with fresh food spend registering an average of 15 percent growth, with the biggest increased among high-income households.  Seventy percent of Singaporeans survey said they changed the way they spend their money with a view toward increasing savings.  Almost 75 percent of shoppers said that they now “buy only the essentials” and were making fewer purchases of chocolates, carbonated soft drinks and salty snacks.  Basics such as rice, bread, cheese, butter/margarine and infant milk were some of the fastest growing categories.

“Modern day Singaporeans lead hectic lifestyles and are generally tight for time, and convenience is the key driver when deciding where to shop.  Supermarkets and hypermarkets meet their needs as shoppers are now able to get all of their fresh food, grocery and household needs under the same roof,” said Ooi Pin Pin, associate director, retailer services for Nielsen Singapore.   As a result, these outlets have seen their sales of fresh foods post solid growth, while traditional wet markets have continued to decline.

Read the full press release on how Singaporeans are changing how they shop for food here.