Did you know nearly half of the world’s Internet users reside in Asia?
That’s right: 50.4% of the planet’s online community is in Asia. Numerous companies are increasing their investments in Asian economies, and it’s not just large corporations, but small and mid-sized businesses, too.
In fact, it is becoming much more common to see Western companies with Asian language websites.
By having an Asian language website, companies are able to market their business online in Asia via various channels, one of which is search engine marketing (SEM).
SEM is a popular, global form of online marketing that many Western companies have started utilizing as a means of reaching customers in Asia.
Search engine marketing is actually one of the best ways to market a business, so much so that I would say successfully entering Asian online markets nowadays without SEM would be nearly impossible.
Companies have realized this, and many have successfully ventured into Asia via this route.
Overall, the growing markets in Asia and the ease of penetrating them online via SEM shows that Asia is a business opportunity many shouldn’t ignore.
| Reference | ||
| Asia Population | 4,294,516,659 | InternetWorldStats 2020 |
| Internet population Asia | 2,366,213,308 | Internet World Stats 2020 |
| Internet use Worldwide | 55.1% | |
| Digital Marketing Spending | 204 billion USD | DAN 2018 |
| Asia-Pacific region’s share of world’s Internet population | 50.9% | Internet World Stats 2020 |
- 55.6% of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region are male; 41.3% are female (Statista).
- The almost 204 billion USD was spent on Internet marketing in the Asia-Pacific region in 2018, representing 39% of the world’s online advertising. For every 1 USD spent on online advertising in the Asia-Pacific region there is an average return of 1.78 USD. This makes online advertising the most cost-effective form of advertising in Asia (DAN).
- 42% of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region check product reviews before making purchases.
- 80.9% of consumers in the region consider price point as an important factor in e-commerce spending and followed by the range of products available at 65%.
As Asian economies have grown during the last decade, so too has the infrastructure of Asia’s Internet and online advertising market.
Examining Internet usage as a point of reference, China’s rate is 59.3%; Vietnam’s rate is 70.4%, and India’s rate is 40.6% (Statista).
When you compare these statistics to that of the rest of the developed world, it becomes clear that the Asian online market still has much room to grow.
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Most of the growth in Asia can be attributed to increases in Chinese Internet use, and since China’s economy keeps expanding, its online population will continue to rise.
In 2019, China topped the e-commerce market in the Asia-Pacific region with 61% consumers shopping online.
Regional Internet expansion, however, is not limited to China.
So, if you are considering promoting your business online in Asia, it is important to have an understanding of the makeup of online markets in different countries.
Only then can you expect to find success entering Asian online markets.
Though the region’s largest online market is fashion with a market value of $370,449 million in 2020, Rakuten’s marketing research shows that the spending behavior differs from country to country. In Hong Kong and Singapore, consumers spend more on travel purchases. Japan, China, and South Korea focus more on groceries while Malaysia spends most on beauty products.
Most countries find new brands through searching. However, in Malaysia, the discovery of new products is made through influencer marketing (21%) and social media (65%).
In Southeast Asia, the number of digital consumers are expected to rise to 310 million by the end of 2020, according to the latest report done by Facebook Inc and Bain & Co. That means 70% of the region’s total population will go digital.
Digital consumers in the region discover new brands and products through social media, videos, and messaging.
Consumers above 15 years old will triple their spending to US$429 and the region’s online retail spending is expected to reach $53 billion in 2025. E-wallets are also becoming popular in the country as they prefer to have their transactions online.
India, which has the second highest number of Internet users in Asia, recorded 560,000,000online participants in June 2020.
While this figure seems high, India could have an even larger Internet population as that figure represents only 40.6% of the country’s population in 2020 and is expected to reach 61.8% by 2024.
Nonetheless, the number of Internet users is growing each year in India, and its online market, like China, will certainly grow in the future. The number of users in India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach 884.7 million by 2024 and the average revenue per user is at $83.66 in 2020.
A Rakuten marketing research shows that online transactions are taking place on mobile at 21% in 2019. Most of these transactions are driven primarily by China (32%) and India (29%).
Given that India and China make up most of the Internet users in Asia and that each country is likely to add more participants well into the future, it is obvious that online business in these countries will only grow stronger.
While India and China are the true giants of the Asian online market, the region combined is already the largest in the world and keeps on growing.It has definitely become a market that’s capturing everyone’s attention.
Contact Info Cubic today for professional help with your digital marketing campaigns in Asia.
Sources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/792074/india-internet-penetration-rate/
https://marketingmagazine.com.my/asia-pacific-ad-spend-to-grow-4-0/
https://www.chinadailyhk.com/article/139264
https://blog.rakutenadvertising.com/en-au/news/2019-state-of-ecommerce-apac/
https://internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm#asia
https://www.statista.com/outlook/243/119/ecommerce/india#market-revenue
https://www.statista.com/statistics/265153/number-of-internet-users-in-the-asia-pacific-region/
