Facebook: More Filipinos use online mobile shopping

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The Philippines is known to hold the longest Christmas celebration in the world. And Facebook knows that Christmas season can make Filipinos become fierce shoppers, even online.

“Filipinos think about Christmas as early as September and seeing products online on Facebook or Instagram is just as powerful as window-shopping – it helps make products and brands top of mind for when consumers need to start deciding on a purpose,” said Facebook Philippines’ Country Director John Rubio.

Citing data from Facebook 2018 Holiday Study, Rubio noted that shopping via mobile phones makes people well-informed shoppers of products since they are able to research about an item they want to buy as well as compare prices across brands, and thus get the best deals available.

The study, which analyzed the shopping habits of 1,504 people from ages 18 and above in the Philippines, revealed that even when people go to a physical store to shop, they still use their mobile devices to do some research.

Particularly, 64 percent of the respondents admitted they still use their smartphones even when they are already in the actual shop to research on a product before finalizing their purchase; 72 percent compare product prices while 66 percent read reviews and compare items with other brands.

More specifically, the study showed that in-store shopping mobile activities include: comparing prices (72 percent); comparing products (66 percent); reading product reviews (66 percent); reviewing shopping lists (59 percent); and taking photos (56 percent).

Informed purchase

The study also found that three in five Filipino shoppers say that using their mobile phones for holiday shopping helps them in making informed buying decisions.

“So Filipino shoppers are ‘hacking’ holiday shopping,” Rubio said. “Mobile-first shoppers does things like researching online, uses that information to then communicate to retailers and find shops and then order as well and buy online.”

Rubio also said Filipino consumers are starting to turn to their mobile phones for easier shopping especially this Christmas season.

Based on the Facebook 2018 Holiday Study, 50 percent of the respondents prefer purchasing products online because it’s more convenient than going to stores.

Mobile phone and millennials

Rubio noted that shoppers use Facebook and Instagram to find gift ideas for their loved ones this Christmas with 94 percent of the shoppers even saying that Facebook influences their holiday shopping.

“People are discovering the products and services that they want to give during Christmas. It happens primarily on mobile,” Rubio asserted.

According to the research, the kind of videos that shoppers find useful during holiday shopping include: tips on how to make the most out of shopping/store visit (61 percent), product demonstrations (48 percent), and those that show the kind of person that would benefit most from receiving a product as a gift (42 percent).

In 2018, Facebook recorded an 18 percent increase in mobile-first shoppers in the Philippines – 70 percent of which are millennials.

“It’s a trend that’s being driven by the younger generation who are more used to interacting with the world through their mobile phone,” Rubio pointed out.

Content-driven campaigns

Since consumers usually discover and purchase products and services through their mobile phones, Rubio encouraged businesses to target their consumers through content-driven campaigns. Rubio advised businesses to utilize videos since they attract consumers as they browse through their Facebook or Instagram.

Rubio said Filipino shoppers will spend an average amount of P17,000 during Christmas, and 40 percent of mobile-first shoppers will spend more than that.

“Basically, mobile-first shopping is driving not only more research and bargain-hunting behavior, inventory-behavior but it also ends up making them spend more,” Rubio said. /kga