The Whiplash Effect

It seems that consumers across Asia Pacific (based on our recent research across seven countries* in the region) are remarkably unified in their responses to the recession and the beginnings of recovery. Although a minority are ready to spend more freely, the majority of those we surveyed are not ready to let down their guard yet.

We have thus identified the ‘Whiplash Effect’ – the extent of the recession took people by surprise and like a whiplash injury, it will have a lingering effect and take time to recover from.


CONSUMERS IN INDIA & CHINA MOST WILLING TO SPEND
China and India have suffered some slowing of their economies, but the overall impact has been less severe than in some Asian countries. It is probably not surprising then that consumers in both countries are most willing to loosen their purse strings. About 39% of consumers in India and 45% of consumers in China say they will spend more freely in the next six months, compared to 26% of consumers in Malaysia, 24% in Hong Kong, 18% in Thailand and Singapore and only 8% in Australia.

Countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, China, Hong Kong and Australia

Retiring Retirement

The concept of retirement is relatively modern. A pension for workers over 65 was first introduced in Russia in the 1880s; In 1908 Britain passed a law setting up a pension for poor workers who had made it to 70. But in those days, achieving the biblical 3 score years and 10 was no mean feat; the average life expectancy for males was in the 40s in the 1880s and in the 50s at the turn of the century, although admittedly this was artificially lowered by high rates of infant mortality, poor public health and war. But even in the 1930s through the 1950s when most first world countries were setting their social security policies, life expectancy was in the 60s and the expectation was that retirement would be for the minority rather than the majority, and that most retirees would enjoy only a few years of benefits. To be blunt, retirement meant exactly that – a departure from the working world as a preparation for departure from the world in general.



These days nothing could be further from the truth. In Singapore the average life expectancy for males at birth is 78, for females, 83. The retirement age is 62. According to Singstat, if I were to turn 62 this year we could still expect, on average, to enjoy 20 more years of life, 23 if I were female. That’s a lot of golf.

The Men Don't Get It

Many have said that women are hard to understand. But most women beg to differ and have come back to say that they are very rationale creatures with their own sets of stimulus. One just needs to get to the heart of the issue...

The worst of the recession may be behind us, and the road to recovery may have begun, but most consumers are not yet ready to abandon cautious spending behavior learnt in the recession. Here's what we discovered about women's mindsets across seven countries in Asia Pacific; Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, China




NEW MINDSETS AMONGST FEMALE SHOPPERS
The research, conducted amongst 1,792 women across the seven countries in the region has also uncovered three recession mindsets; Impulse Restraint – Women who have stuck to the necessities, planned their shopping, stuck to the list, and tried to eliminate impulse purchases as much as possible, Deal Hunting – Women who actively seek the lowest price, listen to advertising that talks about cost savings, actively seek discount coupons and are prepared to buy generic or house brands and lastly; Cocooning – Women who are spending more time at home, and less time shopping or eating out than they did at the beginning of the year.

Women across the region have changed their behavior, and they are telling us that they plan to continue this purchase behavior for the foreseeable future. The end of the worst of the recession does not necessarily mean a quick return to free spending.