Over the past five years, Gen Zs—a tech-savvy generation known for its adaptability and digital fluency—have been at the forefront of a seismic shift in consumer mobile phone habits and preferences.
In a new study released at the POCO Partners Southeast Asia Forum 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, it was revealed that more than 50% of the respondents—18- to 40-year-olds across Southeast Asia—has experienced a significant uplift in the amount of time spent across all mobile-related activities.
The survey, conducted by global public opinion and data company YouGov on behalf of POCO, covered 2,500 consumers in five Southeast Asian markets (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) who play mobile games at least once a month.
It found that mobile phones have become primary entertainment hubs, especially among younger Southeast Asians, driven by the recent pandemic. Over the past three years, there has been a notable increase in mobile gaming (53%), online shopping (51%), and video streaming (48%).
Entertainment activities like watching videos (81%) and playing online games (60%) are the most popular daily activities. Daily voice calls are used by just over half (56%), and less than half (47%) use their phones for daily photo and video capture. Throughout the week, almost nine out of ten people play games (87%), and photo and video capture activities have also increased (80%).
Angus Ng, head of product marketing at POCO Global, expressed enthusiasm about the opportunities this presents for POCO, particularly in positioning the brand to focus on specific market needs and working closely with partners to adapt their product offerings.
“POCO’s intention is to steer in a new direction,” he said. “The company aims to concentrate on the essential elements of gaming, a rising trend in Southeast Asia. By focusing on the roots and fundamentals of mobile gaming, POCO aims to perfect each segment between price and product, targeting the unique needs and preferences of the younger generation in the region.”
Ng was joined by Quanxin Wang, general manager of Xiaomi Southeast Asia; Anne Wang, head of marketing at POCO Global; and top executives from Lazada, MediaTek, PUBG, Shopee, and TikTok Shop, to debate the evolving tech trends and data-driven insights in e-commerce, gaming, chipset, and smartphone markets in Southeast Asian countries.
As a ‘mobile first’ generation, Gen Z spends more hours engaged in mobile activities. They spend more hours per week than their Millennial counterparts for all online leisure activities, such as messaging and social media interactions, and intend to spend even more time on their mobiles in the future.
An overwhelming majority of the respondents—76% saying they strongly/somewhat agree, and 37% answering “strongly agree”—say that, compared to five years ago, they now have a preference for a midrange brand phone over the bigger more established brands. This preference is being driven by an increased confidence in midrange brands, with 79% stating they are either much more or somewhat more confident in midrange phones compared to five years ago.
Gaming capability and performance is a key factor in this next new phone purchase decision, with 44% of those surveyed stating it as a “very important” factor and an additional 36% as “somewhat important” with the emphasis on long battery life, high-performance processors. and larger storage capacity largely driven by gaming considerations.
“The overall conclusion…is that clearly a phone’s gaming capability, balanced by affordable price-points is setting the agenda, led by the next generation of young consumers to change the consumer game-play in widening the brand playing field,” explained Ng. “This is presenting exciting new opportunities for POCO and the world of midrange phone brands.”
.jpg)
-x-250px(H)-copy (1).png)
