Facebook: Pinoy shoppers getting mobile-savvy

As the “ber months”—considered the start of the Christmas season in the Philippines—approach, social media giant Facebook sends this message to businesses looking to make the most of the holidays: Harness the power of mobile.

In a recent press briefing, Facebook Southeast Asia managing director Kenneth Bishop reported some of the company’s new insights on Filipinos as “mobile-first” shoppers as well as ways on how businesses can reach them better via Facebook’s mobile platform.

Citing data from the Facebook 2016 Holiday Study, Bishop said three in five Filipino consumers use their mobile devices in their “shopping journey” during the holidays, turning to their phones and feeds for the best presents that would suit their loved ones.

Gift-hunting

The same study found that two in three Filipinos use Facebook to find inspiration in their gift-hunting, with 91 percent admitting that browsing the platform has influenced their holiday shopping, said Bishop.

The study also showed that one in two Filipino consumers (a figure that’s almost twice as high as the global average) surveyed said they still use their smartphones even when they  are already physically in a store to do some form of research before finalizing their purchases.

Some of these in-store shopping mobile activities include: comparing prices (70 percent); comparing products (61 percent); reading product reviews (60 percent); taking photos (53 percent); and reviewing their shopping lists (53 percent).

The study also found, however, that 42 percent of Filipinos use mobile mainly to avoid long lines inside stores.

‘Second shopfront’

Given these significant numbers, Bishop encouraged businesses to use Facebook as their “second shopfront” while creating campaigns that complement mobile-viewing behavior, both online and in -store.

Bishop added that businesses can also use to their advantage Filipinos’ “multiscreening” culture, as 70 percent of those on Facebook view multiple screens while watching TV.

He cited a 2016 holiday campaign by Nestle for its All-Purpose Cream, wherein the brand repurposed its 60-second TV ads into six-second Facebook videos, and also experimented with other ad formats on the platform such as slideshows and photos to accommodate even the low-bandwidth users.

The campaign, which ran from October to December, resulted in a 19-percent sales value growth compared to the same period in 2015, or a penetration of 500,000 new households.

Impressive results

Another mobile business success story, said Bishop, is Magnolia’s Avocado Macchiato TV campaign that they extended to Facebook in November-December 2016. Targeted at   millennials (who make up 60 percent of shoppers on Facebook), the campaign featuring the popular “AlDub” love team made use of both mobile video and photo ads, which also achieved impressive results in major brand metrics.

“Mobile is influencing the shopping behavior of Filipino consumers during the busy holiday season where people are discovering brands and products,” Bishop said. “We are committed to helping businesses win consumers during this season by connecting them with more than 63 million mobile-first Filipinos on Facebook.”