4 Asian shopping mindsets that luxury marketers should be aware of

There are four shopping mindsets among the affluent Asians that luxury marketers should be aware of, said the latest study by Publicis Media and Publicis Communications. The report covered travel-spending habits of 5,800 luxury consumers in ten markets in Asia Pacific that include China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.On that, the report suggests that brands and marketers should produce a more localised "own-language" content in upping their digital game, along with multiple touch-points when it comes to targeting these rich Asian travellers on-the-go.Here are the four kinds of shoppers you should know:The HedonistsThese are luxury lovers who prioritise high-end hotels, fine dining and wine. They are mainly based in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and need to be convinced to shop while travelling as they have all the major luxury brands available at home. Brands need to lure them with the promise of a localised experience and intercept them as they gather practical information to make the most of their trip.The Sociable ExplorersThey are mostly Malaysians, Indonesian and Indians, enthusiastically embrace opportunities for active holidays, self-improvement, sports with a preference for social interaction. They rely on professional advice to plan their trip: this opens opportunities for partnerships to create and distribute content through channels perceived as reliable experts.The Zen SeekersMainly Singaporeans and Thais, who tend to reject active and socially charged holidays. These travellers tend to seek more me-time and relaxation, and rely on a very limited and proven selection of touchpoints to plan their trip – limiting the opportunities to get in touch with them. The Thais are keen to explore across richer variety of digital touchpoints – especially social media and blogs creating more room to lure into travel experiences they had not considered when initially planning their trip.The BucketlistersThese folks want to check off things from their bucket list. For the Chinese shoppers they focus on bucket-list things that can be purchased. Meanwhile, the bucket-listers for Koreans is experiential and activity-based.The study also finds that the appetite for international brands is strong with travellers from China, leading the pack with 46%. These affluent buyers are those that will place visiting global brand boutiques on their priority destinations. Indonesia and India trail closely at 32% and 31% respectively.Where do shopaholics thrive?Plus, when it comes to the much “sinful” shopaholic syndrome, Chinese travellers again came on top - with 60% wanting more shopping, while Indian and Indonesian travellers stand at 68% and 56% respectively. In addition, shopaholic travellers also exist in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.Perhaps, the good news for marketers and brands is that across all of Asia, consumers are willing to spend beyond their budgeted expense. Majority of them will fork out more than planned on long haul trips, except the Chinese, South Korean, Taiwanese and Hongkongers who tend to spend more than expected in short haul trips and shopping weekend trips. But it can be tricky when it comes down to the “real deal” or actual sales, as approximately 66% of the affluent Asian travelers actually change their mind and end up not buying those items that were listed in their shopping list.“Just because your brand made it to their shopping list, doesn’t mean the path to purchase has been cemented. Our data suggests that approximately 66% of affluent Asian travelers, change their mind and they end up not purchasing one or more brands that were in their list,” said Bertilla Teo, CEO of Publicis Media for Greater China.But interestingly, Teo added that about the same percentage of respondents - 65% - also admitted that the same consumers purchased a new brand, one they did not know before their trip. This surely opens up a new hope for marketers out there.