Exploring the priorities of APAC’s business decision-makers —past, present, and future
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The global business community was hit hard in 2020, with COVID-19 creating unprecedented challenges for organisations worldwide.
Supported by Kadence International, Bloomberg Media embarked on a research program with 3800 executive business decision-makers in six markets across APAC —Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia in waves 1 – 4 and India and Vietnam in wave 5.
Wave 1: 22nd April – 3rd May 2020 (n=714)
Wave 2: 16th – 22nd June 2020 (n=700)
Wave 3: 17th – 25th August 2020 (n=700)
Wave 4: 2nd – 9th November 2020 (n=729)
Wave 5: 5th – 23rd February 2021 (n=969)
Spanning five waves – from April 2020 to February 2021, we’ve stayed with business decision-makers at every step of the way —from the immediate aftermath of the outbreak to the economic reopening and beyond.
Not only does this research provide unparalleled insight into how organizations adapt during uncertain times, but it also helps us anticipate the key trends, challenges, and strategic focus areas for the future, which we will explore in this report.
Overall Business Outlook
The sustained roll-out of vaccines in major economies and more informed knowledge of controlling the virus has led to a positive outlook amongst decision-makers. More than half of the decision-makers (55%) anticipate a recovery period following the uncertainty of 2020.
The pandemic has spurred the speed with which organisations embraced specific ideas and priorities, most notably in the areas of new technology, flexible work, commitment to staff wellbeing, and businesses’ roles in contributing towards a more sustainable and equitable world.
Get more insights into how business decision-makers perceive the overall business landscape here by downloading our free report.
Critical concerns for business decision-makers
For decision-makers, there has been a shift in areas of focus. During the first wave of this research conducted in April 2020, their top three concerns centred around the protection and safety of their employees, guarding against disruptions to business operations, and working capital and funding.
Concerns around protecting employees against disease have remained consistent throughout the five waves; however, other focus areas have shifted. The fear of disruptions to business operations is far less prevalent today as organisations have innovated and painstakingly adapted to continue operating despite challenging conditions.
Focus has shifted to facing the unknown, data security, and overcoming work visas and international travel issues. Compared to the pandemic’s start, more business decision-makers cite facing the unknown as a critical concern. Data security has come into sharper focus as a result of working conditions in the new normal.
For 68% of the decision-makers, overseas business travel is either very or of utmost importance for meeting new and prospective clients and for training and development. This has brought the importance of mitigating work visas and international travel challenges posed by the pandemic.
As decision-makers actively follow COVID news coverage to navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic, news organizations have played a significant role in supporting businesses. With 77% of business decision-makers telling us they use their smartphone more often to follow the news, we see smartphones playing an increasingly important role in accessing information.
Get more in-depth analysis of the most significant business concerns for decision-makers. Download our free report here.
Priorities for the future —Harnessing technology is a top priority.
In the final research wave, we asked decision-makers to reflect on how their priorities have changed now compared to before the pandemic. Digital transformation was the predominant theme as businesses have had to make rapid changes to ride the pandemic and survive it. In fact, 82% attribute their company’s increased prioritisation of digital investment to COVID-19. This is not a short-term trend, and decision-makers will continue to harness technology for their companies in the future.
According to the report, 77% expect their company’s overall technology budget to increase in the next 1 to 3 years.
So, where do companies expect to be investing their digital spending? IT support tops the list as organisations recognize the importance of securing and installing new tools.
Download our full report to find out what other areas are envisioned for increased tech budgets in 2021 and beyond.
Attitudes towards foreign investment
In the near future, business decision-makers are most confident that Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan are the markets they would like to invest in.
This is because these top five countries are perceived to prosper across four critical pillars of market confidence: political stability, economic reopening, virus containment, and society’s resilience.
Discover how APAC business decision-makers rate the factors that will play a critical role in informing which foreign countries to invest in the future by downloading our free report.
The role of the office
The pandemic caused a significant shift in the office’s role, with many companies moving fully remote and others offering the flexibility of a hybrid work model.
Read the full report to learn what percentage of companies allowed the flexibility to work from home or office over the three waves.
Flexibility is not limited to where people work from, but also the hours they work. Working from home during the pandemic meant juggling household responsibilities, like childcare while schools were closed. Again, this trend is not short-term as many companies have made flexible work a part of their long-term strategy.
Flexible work has not been without its share of challenges. Therefore, decision-makers are adopting new tools and methodologies.
Find out which areas companies are focused on developing and how they are planning to overcome post-pandemic human resource challenges by downloading our full free report.
People Management
There has been an emphasis on physical and mental health both in their personal and business lives. Throughout the research, decision-makers have placed health and wellbeing on top of their list, considering it more important than their career and business, financial stability, and even relationships with family and friends.
According to the research, 79% of business decision-makers say that their company has become more aware of safety, personal values, and their employees’ wellbeing.
Read the full report to find out how decision-makers are translating this awareness of the health and wellbeing of their employees and how they plan on continuing to increase investments in their company’s healthcare and wellness programs.
Decision-makers have also made helping employees manage their mental health a priority.
Companies are increasingly engaging with an expert or vendor to provide healthcare/wellbeing training or services for their staff. According to the research, this percentage has jumped from 55% in wave 4 (November 2020) to 66% in wave 5 (February 2021).
Businesses are considering several options to support staff, but mental health and stress management are on top of their list, with almost half (49%) of firms considering this.
Discover the other top areas considered to enhance the company’s corporate wellness program by downloading our free report here.
Aligning personal and business values
The pandemic experience has caused many people to re-evaluate what’s important to them, extending to the world of business.
According to the research in wave 5 (February 2021), 75% of business decision-makers say they have placed greater emphasis on giving back to society.
Not only is an increasing focus on altruism informing business strategy, but it’s also influencing brand choice.
Read the full report to discover the two most prominent social causes that are the focus of decision-makers.
After witnessing what might be the most challenging year in recent history, there’s a sense of optimism from APAC’s business decision-makers.
With new shifts in the way we work and feel, there are evolving challenges. However, flexibility, wellbeing, and altruism are here to stay long-term, allowing business decision-makers to align their values with their commercial goals.
In this research, we take a deep dive into major focus areas within each trend and discover what decision-makers consider their top priorities in the near future. If you need more detailed information to help make decisions for your organization or brand, download the full report here.
Download the summary of our latest report
The automotive industry has a clear, shared vision of a dramatically transformed future with electronic vehicles, autonomous vehicles, connected cars, shared ownership, and subscriptions. But are consumers ready to transition just yet? The pandemic has changed how much people travel, and this leaves us with the big question: how will the economic damage caused by COVID impact the car industry?
To further understand where consumers stand and what economic recovery looks like for the automotive industry —one of the hardest hit by the pandemic —we looked at five significant trends. We explored what’s at stake for each of these five trends, evaluated the rate of progress, and put the spotlight on innovative brands and solutions leading the way.
- Post-COVID caution: A battered industry navigates massive uncertainty.
- Plugged In: The electronic vehicle revolution is happening but still powered by subsidies.
- In Control: Artificial Intelligence is enhancing, not replacing, human driving abilities.
- Connected Vehicles
- Older Drivers, Younger Drivers
Ｄownload the full report and read the summary of the top 5 trends shaping the future of the automotive industry, with a spotlight on the brands that are capitalising on these trends with their cutting-edge innovative solutions.
#1 Post-COVID caution: A battered industry navigates massive uncertainty.
According to analysts, Jato Dynamics, global new car sales fell by over 12% in 2020, that’s around twice the drop recorded in IEA figures for the worst year of the last financial crisis (2007-2008).
While this drop was only 2% in China, the automotive industry felt a heavy blow globally. France, Germany, the UK, and Brazil saw declines of over 20%.
Consumer behaviour changed dramatically, and while new car sales declined due to the pandemic, the automobile aftermarket flourished as people tried to preserve their existing vehicles. Consumers started putting off purchases of luxury cars, hybrids, and EVs.
The early COVID-19 spread brought with it a new innovative trend —virtual showrooms, whereby consumers could move all or at least some part of their car buying experience online. In many parts of the world, COVID restrictions will become a part of life indefinitely, and therefore, this trend is here to stay.
Learn more about how the pandemic has reshaped the automotive industry here by downloading our free report.
#2 Plugged In: The electronic vehicle revolution is happening but still powered by subsidies.
As with much of the electronic vehicle (EV) revolution, subsidies and regulation may be needed for mass EV adoption.
In Norway, subsidies and tax breaks make the cost of an EV virtually identical to that of a non-electric car. 74% of the new cars sold in Norway are EVs, whereas it’s just 2% in the US. In the USA and China, EV sales plateaued when subsidies were reduced or phased out.
In 2021, US President Joe Biden took a step toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions signing an executive order aimed at making half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 electric, a move made with backing from the biggest US automakers.
Amazon is started testing electric delivery vans in 2021. The vehicles were developed in partnership with start-up Rivian, which raised $8 billion from investors, including Amazon through its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund. The fund includes an agreement to purchase 100,000 electric vehicles from the start-up as part of its ambitious push to make Amazon’s fleet run entirely on renewable energy. Each van has a range of 150 miles per charge.
Before consumers join the EV revolution, they want to know there is a plan for infrastructure for charging stations.
A Deloitte study showed that consumers were putting off plans to buy EVs due to price and driving range. With ranges for EVs now often well over 400km, that is taken care of, but there needs to be a visible EV infrastructure in terms of charging stations. Therefore, at the moment, innovators need to tackle the two most critical factors —price and infrastructure.
Wireless charging stations are an essential solution. Although the technology exists, firms don’t want to build the infrastructure without enough cars; and manufacturers don’t want to create more expensive wireless options without that infrastructure.
Learn more about how Electronic Vehicles or EVs are perceived and the challenges ahead here by downloading our free report.
#3 In Control: Artificial Intelligence is enhancing, not replacing, human driving abilities.
Even though Tesla has made huge strides with its self-driving cars, the adoption is still slow due to consumer trust issues.
Moreover, driverless cars pose problems —of AI, of laws and ethics, and public perception.
In this scenario, autonomous vehicles with Driver Assistance Systems are becoming the norm in many markets.
The ultra-high-end Cadillac Escalade Platinum, launched in Summer 2021, is the first vehicle to boast GM’s Super Cruise technology. The vehicle handles your highway driving for you on major mapped roads. However, your car monitors you and will warn you if you stop paying attention to the road for more than five seconds before switching back to manual.
AI is set to become more prevalent in vehicles, learn more about the challenges for these enhancements here.
#4 Connected Vehicles
So far, automotive and infrastructure innovation has happened chiefly at the individual car level. However, traffic jams and rush hours occur at a network level when all those individual cars interact.
We see a change in this direction as businesses and transportation planners recognize the idea of the “mobility ecosystem” —where software platforms can connect, manage and mitigate network-level inefficiencies between transport services and their users.
Navigation apps showing real-time traffic data are already being used widely. We also see more adoption of smart speed limits and smart traffic light systems.
The next generation of connected vehicles goes deeper and broader with tools that allow bikes or mobility scooters to connect to the same systems cars use. Connected vehicles also make fleet management —of buses or utility vehicles, more efficient.
What are the implications for individual drivers? For the mobility ecosystem to work, each car requires a digital identity. They do, however, present the issue of privacy.
Your car’s digital identity can also be linked to your own distinct identity as a driver, which makes the car more secure with keyless entry using facial or voice recognition and biometric sensors.
Our innovation spotlight is on Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturing giant which makes the iPhone. Foxconn is developing an EV platform that any brand can use to bring vehicles to market —in the same way as the Android phone platform. Foxconn bets that the real differentiator in the future EV market won’t be looks or performance; it’ll be the array of connected features and AI capabilities they possess.
A connected mobility ecosystem is one of the trends emerging in the transportation and automotive industry. Download our report to discover more about this emerging trend.
#5 Older Drivers, Younger Drivers
The automotive trends influenced by the ageing population and the changing expectations of Gen Z are creating significant changes. For older people, AI can help extend their driving lifetime. For the young, the big question is whether ownership will decline in favour of sharing and subscription mobility.
Late Millennial and Gen Z consumers are a post-ownership generation —they prefer renting to buying houses or vehicles. Car manufacturers have been trying to introduce the idea of Mobility-as-a-Service solutions, which replaces car ownership with car-sharing or subscription-based offers at a lower cost.
However, while Mobility-as-a-Service has had some successes in the bikes and e-Scooter sectors, especially in busy cities, it’s been tougher ask for cars.
Overall, we see a shift away from the brand to features and capabilities.
If you need more detailed information to help make decisions for your organisation or brand, download the full report here.
To learn more, download the full report: Automotive Trends For 2022
To learn more about how these trends, download the full report. Alternatively if you’d like to speak to us to understand more about how these trends are playing out in your market, get in touch.
Our lifestyle is still undergoing significant transformation in response to Covid. The overseas trend is getting blurred even more. Our Introduction to Overseas Trend’s seminars series is for getting rid of such a problem when considering overseas marketing research.
This time, our local team members from across our Southeast Asia offices introduced the lifestyle changes during the pandemic as well as provided anecdotes and case studies of the products and services that are rapidly growing in the region. Let’s catch up by watching the recordings below.
Watch the session in English
Watch the session in Japanese
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The global health and wellness industry is booming. Already a top priority for many consumers pre-Covid, health and wellness has come into even sharper focus as a result of the pandemic. Research from McKinsey estimates that the global wellness market is worth $1.5 trillion and is growing fast – at a rate of 5-10% per year. But what are the big health and wellness trends for 2021 that brands need to watch?
Four key health and wellness trends for 2021
This blog post summarises 4 key trends from our latest report: Health and wellness trends for 2021. These are:
- My health on my terms. Advances in tracking and testing are facilitating personalized health and nutrition recommendations on demand
- Mental fitness. Consumers will take a more proactive and preventative approach to mental health
- The science of sleep. The global sleep economy shows no signs of slowing down, but innovation in the category will be driven by a new focus on circadian health.
- Function at the fore. No longer limited to just physical health, brands are focusing on products to better the body and the mind.
Read the summary below or download the full report to learn more about these trends and how brands can respond. It contains inspiring cases studies of companies across the world who are innovating to capitalize on these trends.
My health on my terms
One of the most significant developments in health and wellness has been the rapid advances in tracking and testing, which are facilitating personalised health and wellness recommendations on demand.
Wearables are becoming ever more sophisticated. The models on the market now allow consumers to track more granular metrics than ever before, with Mind Body Green hailing this a new era of “micro-tracking”. Not only are wearables collecting a wider range of data, they’re using this to better empower their users. Oura, for instance, the world’s first wearable ring, provides a “readiness score” to help users understand when they are at their best – both mentally and physically – as well as when they should focus on recovery.
Similar developments are happening in the world of testing, with companies springing up that allow users to complete a series of tests at home, and then personalise their recommendations based on this. We profile the best of these in the full report but the really interesting thing about these examples is that, for the first time, they have real potential to enter the mainstream. In the past, in-home testing has been a barrier to personalised health and nutrition, but now, greater familiarity with the concept as a result of the pandemic could open the door to new services which combine tracking with testing to create hyper personalised recommendations at speed.
There’s certainly interest in these kinds of services, with 88% of consumers in the US, UK and Germany prioritising personalisation in health and wellness as much as, or more than, they did in the past two to three years, according to the McKinsey study.
Mental fitness
Over the last decade, mental health has become an increasingly important part of the conversation when it comes to health and wellness. This has come into even sharper focus as a result of the pandemic. The impact of the virus and the resulting lockdowns have seen anxiety and depression skyrocket and, in line with this, mental health has become a key focus. In China, for instance, 87% of consumers are focused on taking care of their mental health, according to research by PWC conducted after the onset of the pandemic.
This isn’t a short- term trend. Research we conducted to determine which of the behaviours adopted during the pandemic will persist in the long-term found that undertaking activities to support mental health is one of the areas with greatest sticking power. Businesses are increasingly prioritising mental health too. Recent research we conducted in partnership with Bloomberg found that 66% of companies are engaging an external vendor to provide healthcare / wellbeing training for their employees and half are looking to support employees with mental health and stress management.
In line with this growing recognition of the importance of mental health, we see the concept of mental fitness coming to the fore. What do we mean by this? This a move towards taking a more proactive and preventative approach to mental health, where consumers manage their mental health in the same way that they manage their physical health. The US is a market that’s really leading the way here. We’ve already seen a whole host of brands gaining traction but one of the most interesting is a company called Coa, which bills itself as the country’s first “mental health gym”. We profile Coa and other brands leading the way in our full report.
Free report
Health and wellness trends for 2021
The global health and wellness industry is going from strength to strength. Already important to consumers before the pandemic, health and wellness have come into even sharper focus, with the industry undergoing significant transformation in response to Covid.
To help brands navigate these changes, we’ve developed a new report exploring 4 key trends that will shape health and wellness in 2021, profiling the brands and innovations leading the way.
Download the reportThe science of sleep
Sleep is big business – with the industry set to be worth a massive $585 billion by 2024 according to Statistica. The impact of the pandemic is fuelling growth in this sector – with consumers placing an increasing emphasis on quality sleep against a backdrop of anxiety and stress.
This is leading to a more scientific approach to sleep. The Global Wellness Summit predicts that a new focus on circadian health will shape the products and services we see in the category. (A number of these – from a smart mattress to connected lighting – are profiled in our report.) Circadian health relates to aligning behaviors with our natural circadian rhythms – 24 hour cycles such as the sleep-wake cycle, which are influenced by external factors like natural light and temperature.
Shifting the way we think about sleep to place greater emphasis on circadian rhythms could have broader implications when it comes to other behaviours, for instance, disconnecting from devices before bed or the way we care for our skin, making this an interesting space to watch.
Function at the fore
The fourth and final big trend we see is a growing interest in functional food and beverages that support better physical and mental health. The most evident application of this is in the field of immunity boosting food and drink. According to research from Innova Market Insights, 60% of consumers globally are seeking out food and beverage products that support immune health and we’ve seen a seen a slew of product launches in this space as brands seek to capitalise on this trend. Increasingly, we’re seeing innovation extending beyond this to food and beverage products that support the mind. We feature the best of these in the full report. For brands looking to tap into this trend, this is a relatively nascent category so there’s real potential here, as well as for cross-over products to improve both physical and mental health.
To learn more, download the full report: Health and wellness trends for 2021
To learn more about how these trends, how they are evolving and the brands leading the way, download the full report. Alternatively if you’d like to speak to us to understand more about how these trends are playing out in your market, get in touch.
Concept and pack testing is an area that’s ripe for innovation – a need made ever more pressing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch this 15 minute video to hear how we worked with Asahi UK to pilot the use of augmented reality for this purpose, testing pack designs for Fuller’s London Pride.
We’ll share our key findings, focusing specifically on what we discovered about the value of using AR versus static 2D images. These insights will have value to any researcher looking to broaden their toolkit and harness new technologies in the “new normal”.
This is is the first of Kadence International’s Micro Masterclasses, 15 minute videos designed to provide fresh thinking and a new perspective on research methodologies.
According to research from Dentsu, understanding what represents a permanent shift in behaviour versus a temporary change is the top challenge facing marketers right now. Our latest research study sought to answer this question and separate the long-term trends from the short-term fads. In this blog post, we’ll summarize the key trends from the full report: Which behaviours will stick and which will subside in a world without restrictions?
The report identified 4 key behaviours that will stick in a world without restrictions, as well outlining areas that represent opportunity for innovation and those behaviours that are less likely to become lasting changes.
The 4 key behaviours from the report are:
- Cooking from scratch
- Creating special occasions at home with food and drink
- Learning new skills online
- Online shopping.
Read the summary below or download the full report to learn where behaviours across a range of categories placed. The report also explores how the key behaviours and areas of innovation explored in this blog post will develop in future, pinpointing trends for brands to capitalize on.
Our approach to understanding sticking power
The research was carried out with 3,400 consumers across 10 markets (US, UK, Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). The approach combined consumer views about the future, with metrics to assess long-term sticking power, namely how well different activities deliver against a range of attributes that are important to consumers when adopting and sustaining new behaviours.
Key behaviours for the future
1) Cooking from scratch
In the food and drink space, the existing trend towards cooking from scratch has been further accelerated and should be considered a key behaviour for the future. When asked what activities they planned to continue doing as a result of doing them more during the pandemic, 85% of consumers said cooking from scratch.
2) Creating special occasions at home with food and drink
Interestingly, the research also found that creating special occasions at home with food is another behaviour that is set to last, suggesting an opportunity for indulgent supermarket dine-in deals and DIY restaurant meal kits well beyond the pandemic. These behaviours have clear implications for hospitality. 57% of consumers say that in a world without restrictions, they expect to be going out for drinks less than before the pandemic and we see a similar picture when it comes to eating out (53%).
3) Learning new skills online
Lockdowns saw consumers learning new skills online as a way to keep themselves entertained. Interestingly, this is key behaviour for the future, although this is a trend that has most potential in Asia. In APAC and South East Asia, online behaviours such as learning new skills digitally and gaming increased to a greater extent than in the US and the UK, despite living under restrictions for a shorter period of time.
4) Online shopping
Unsurprisingly, online shopping for products other than groceries is another key behaviour for the future. The impact of this on bricks and mortar stores will be significant, with over half of consumers (51%) telling us that in a world without restrictions, they expect to be physically browsing stores less frequently than before the pandemic. There are other challenges for retailers to navigate. With 22% of consumers across the 10 markets we surveyed having moved further away from work since the start of the pandemic (with the exception of Singapore) and 52% saying they intend to use public transport less than before COVID, companies will have to reconsider their retail footprint.
Opportunities for innovation
The research also revealed opportunities for innovation. These include better supporting consumers with:
- Their mental health
- Eating healthily
- Online video streaming.
These are areas where there is a strong desire amongst consumers to continue the activity, but it doesn’t deliver as strongly against the key attributes that matter to consumers when adopting and sustaining new behaviours. As such, improvement with the existing products and services is needed to see sustained behavioural change, representing an opportunity for brands.
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Which behaviours will stick and which will subside in a world without restrictions?
Download the full report to see where behaviours across a range of categories placed and to learn more about how key behaviours will develop in future.
Download nowShort-term solutions for Covid-only
Activities such as domestic holidays and working from home are likely to be short-term solutions for Covid-only. In some cases, working from home was an enforced behavior and is not feasible in the long term. Only 62% of consumers say that they are likely to continue working from home in future. Whilst working from home is perceived to be time saving and convenient, some consumers don’t find it very rewarding or enjoyable, reflecting much of the current discourse in the media about workers being zoomed out and missing social interaction. As such, flexible, rather than fully remote working is likely to have a more lasting impact.
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Low potential for lasting behavioural change
There’s also low potential for lasting behavioral change in the areas of socializing online, drinking alcohol at home and ordering takeout, which consumers are less likely to want to continue versus other behaviours in the study, and don’t deliver as strongly against the key attributes for adopting and sustaining behaviours.
Download the full report
To read the full findings, download the full report.
Senior Marketing Executive
Sales & Marketing
Vital Strategies
Customer Intelligence Director