Profiting From Consumer Mega-Trends in Asia Pacific: Convenience

Published by: Datamonitor

Published: Dec. 24, 2009

Table of Contents

Overview

Catalyst

Summary

INTRODUCTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF TREND-TRACKING

Tracking consumer mega-trends is fundamental to long-term success

THE FUTURE DECODED: DECIPHERING THE CONVENIENCE MEGA-TREND

MEGA-TREND SYNOPSIS: Consumers feel the need to manage a plethora of competing demands on their time

TREND: Lifestyle Claustrophobia: time scarcity and time compression increasingly characterize the lives of Asia Pacific consumers and influence the consumption choices they make

TREND: Practical Personal and Household Aesthetics: Asia Pacific consumers value the opportunity to adopt simplified, less time intensive personal and household care routines

TREND: Mealtime Stress and Simplification: simplifying meal preparation and consumption remains a lifestyle reality for many time-poor consumers in the Asia Pacific region

TREND: Mealtime Fragmentation, Informality and Expediency: Asia Pacific consumers are adopting a more flexible and informal approach to food preparation consumption

TREND: Efficient Shopping: convenience needs impact upon store selection and in-store behaviors in Asia Pacific

APPENDIX

Definitions

Methodology

Further reading and references

Ask the analyst

Datamonitor consulting

Disclaimer

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Datamonitor’s mega-trends are having a long-term and substantive impact on the marketing landscape and can be grouped into two categories

Figure 2: Consumer behavior and the innovations targeting it inevitably fit into a ‘trend hierarchy’

Figure 3: Datamonitor’s mega-trend framework helps set the agenda for the specific topics covered in the New Consumer Insight (NCI) research stream

Figure 4: Trend tracking can be a source of (comparative) competitive analysis

Figure 5: Trend development is dictated by both ‘consumer pull’ and ‘manufacturer push’ and Datamonitor offers the intelligence tools to capitalize on this reality

Figure 6: In a consumerist global culture, the broad consumption spheres/segments transcend geographical borders which is another reason why adopting a broader approach is necessary

Figure 7: Several factors distinguish a trend from a fad

Figure 8: Convenience is driven by the need to create more time for oneself

Figure 9: There are more than 15 major convenience-orientated trends influencing FMCG consumers

Figure 10: There are at least two broad dimensions of convenience

Figure 11: Variable holiday entitlement and a failure to utilize the full entitlement is prevalent across the globe and reflects the ongoing struggle to be ‘leisure time maximizers’

Figure 12: Datamonitor has identified five major categories for individuals’ time-spend which vary in influence across different countries and regions

Figure 13: Less than a third of Korean parents believe they are spending enough time with their children which is considerably lower than the global average

Figure 14: The overwhelming majority of Chinese and Indian consumers rely heavily on products and services that can save them time

Figure 15: Indian consumers in particular have come to value convenience as a priority for their CPG choices

Figure 16: Australians are particularly skeptical about anti-aging claims made by beauty brands

Figure 17: Indian consumers express more trust in the performance claims of FMCG brands

Figure 18: A general dislike of carrying out household chores is driving the market for convenient products

Figure 19: Portable beauty products continue to emerge across the range of personal care categories

Figure 20: In Asia, convenient personal care products are easy to use and lightweight

Figure 21: Indians far surpass the global average for the stated growing propensity to spend more time on their personal appearance in 2008

Figure 22: With widespread agreement that they do not have the desired time to spend doing housework, consumers across the Asia Pacific region consider it highly important to minimize the amount of time spent doing it

Figure 23: Only a third of Japanese consumers are highly influenced by the time-saving benefits of household cleaning and laundry products

Figure 24: Products that streamline and simplify household chores are gaining popularity in the region

Figure 25: Indian and Chinese consumers both still wash clothes more regularly by hand than by machine

Figure 26: Attitudinally, Indians and Koreans prefer to outsource their household chores to other people

Figure 27: Improvements in the quality and healthfulness of convenience foods and beverages are making consumers more likely to consider them as viable options

Figure 28: According to the US Potato Board, the market for microwaveable potato products in Japan has grown 60-70% since Heinz introduced its microwaveable fries called “Range Potatoes” in December 2006

Figure 29: Nearly a third of Indian and Australian consumers microwave meals at least five times a week, but Koreans still prefer a more traditional method of preparation

Figure 30: Easy-to-make meals for consumers in Asia Pacific are becoming highly prevalent

Figure 31: In November 2008, the first microwaveable Halal frozen ready-to-eat Malaysian meals were launched under the Sri Kulai brand

Figure 32: Consumption of pre-prepared meals is particularly prominent in Korea, although the economic crisis has sparked a resurgence in scratch cooking recently

Figure 33: Given the tendency of Koreans to consume a lot of convenience foods, it is little surprise that their habits are most impacted by the global economic crisis

Figure 34: Mother’s tailor-made shopping and ingredient delivery service in Singapore makes home cooking easier and more convenient

Figure 35: Take-away meals eaten at home are far more popular in India than anywhere else globally

Figure 36: Many consumers do not feel that they have the time to prepare and eat ‘three square meals a day’

Figure 37: Indians are particularly prone to skipping meals in the evening

Figure 38: On-the-go consumption occurs when consumers are engaged in other activities or in environments not particularly suited to food or drink consumption

Figure 39: In the Asia Pacific region, Koreans are the most prevalent consumers of meals when on-the-go

Figure 40: A growing number of products cater to time-starved office workers who consume meals at their desks

Figure 41: Indian and Chinese consumers are highly interested in healthier convenience foods and drinks

Figure 42: Chinese, Japanese and Korean consumers appear generally satisfied with the size of portions that they consume so are not making concerted efforts to eat and drink smaller portions

Figure 43: Indian consumers feel a considerable amount of guilt about their snacking habits

Figure 44: Indian consumers express the most guilt about snacking of any consumers in Asia Pacific

Figure 45: Top-up shopping has made buying groceries a more efficient experience for some consumers

Figure 46: Palengkenito is a mobile mini-market in the Philippines that converts minivans into grocery stores, literally delivering the convenience store concept to consumers

Figure 47: Consumers in Asia Pacific generally want grocery stores to be close to their homes

Figure 48: Two thirds of Indian consumers have become more reliant on grocery shopping since the beginning of 2008

Figure 49: Only Indians prefer to top-up shop at small local grocers compared to larger supermarkets

Figure 50: Australian and Japanese consumers overwhelmingly prefer to perform large grocery shopping trips at supermarkets or hypermarkets

Figure 51: Consumers in Asia Pacific are more attentive to new products than in both Europe and the Americas although a passive mentality still characterizes ‘auto pilot’ shoppers in the region too

Figure 52: Consumers in China, India and Japan are comparably more prone to wandering around the grocery store in no particular order

Figure 53: Indian and South Korean consumers believe that there is not enough time when shopping to read and understand food labels

Figure 54: With the exception of Australians, consumers in Asia Pacific have utilized the internet with increasing regularity to facilitate shopping in different product sectors

Figure 55: There are differences between consumer values and attitudes

Abstract

• Detailed trend analysis outlining what constitutes 'value' for consumers (trends are, after all, a reflection of what's important to consumers)
• Offers Asia Pacific focused insights, benchmarked against global sentiment, to cater for contextualized regional-specific information needs
• Covers all major FMCG sectors, but also with applicability to wider consumer goods audiences
• Part of Datamonitor's Asia Pacific mega-trend report series which outline the most important issues shaping current and future buying behavior

• Understand the significance of the different Convenience-aligned trends across FMCG sectors to help support market diversification
• Gain region specific consumer insight, including a clear and up-to-date framework for understanding Asia Pacific consumers
• Access data from two waves of primary research to increase the likelihood of being 'on-trend' with NPD and marketing in the Asia Pacific region

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