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Understanding Singaporeans’ Social Behaviour Online

In 2011, Singapore Internet users favoured social media, online shopping and auction sites as well as Korean pop entertainment 

Singapore, 13 February 2012 – Experian® Hitwise®, a leading online competitive intelligence service, has released an analysis of web searches by Singapore Internet users in 2011, providing interesting insights into Singaporean social habits online.

“The insights that marketers can gain from local web search patterns are extremely valuable to identify trends in a local market. These are key to helping marketers create effective and forward-looking go-to-market strategies to help improve audience engagement,” said Graeme Beardsell, chief customer development and marketing officer, Experian Asia Pacific. “Businesses can use online intelligence, such as visits to popular shopping categories, to keep track of what products are interesting to consumers when developing content and forecasting product demand.”

“We see a strong increase in the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ in Singapore. Brand owners can effectively use these platforms to capture consumer attention by running digital marketing campaigns. However, before they can do that, knowledge of online behaviour is critical to developing targeted campaigns that will resonate with local audiences,” added Beardsell.

Key social insights from Experian’s inaugural one-year online analysis are as follows:

Experian Hitwise Insights:

Social Networking

• Singaporeans are notoriously frequent users of social media sites, emerging as the top Facebook users in the world in terms of time spent per session according to an Experian Hitwise report last year. In 2011, Singaporeans spent time on various social media platforms to connect with friends and keep updated on topical news such as the Singapore General Elections and SMRT crisis. Facebook continues to be popular in social networking with website traffic of almost 32 per cent. YouTube peaked at second place with almost 21 per cent share of visits followed by the increasing popularity of Google+ at almost 16 per cent, up from 1.2 per cent in August 2011, a month after its beta site was launched.
• Microblogging and community forums such as Twitter and Singapore HardwareZone Community are also gaining ground in the category with a combined website traffic of 6.67 per cent.
• Singaporeans have increasingly taken an interest in photography, either as leisure or professional users. It is no surprise that Instagram, a photo sharing application (available on Apple’s AppStore) is also listed as one of the most popular social networking apps that Singaporeans use. This application allows users to immediately edit the look and feel of photos taken and share it with their friends through social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.

Lifestyle and Fashion

• Even though Singapore is a world-class shopping haven, many still love the thrills of online shopping. In Singapore, UK fashion brand ASOS has surfaced as the top website at 13.22 per cent share of visits in the fashion and lifestyle category, outplaying Forever 21 (4.03 per cent) which has a store in Singapore. Consumers turned to technology to scour for fashion instead of going to the malls.
• ASOS was also the top search term driving traffic to these websites, followed by mid-range brands including H&M, Forever 21 and Uniqlo alongside luxury brands like Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Longchamp, Prada and Gucci (in 12 rolling weeks ending 31st December 2011).
• Singaporeans have been increasingly keen on news and updates in lifestyle as they flock to LookBook.nu to read the fashion diaries of people around the world, as well as HypeBeast, an online magazine that covers not only fashion, but also arts, design and culture. These websites came third and fourth respectively in the category.
• In the apparel and accessories category, Singaporeans are interested in luxury. BaoTime, a Chinese website featuring a variety of topics on luxury brands (7.05 per cent) topped the list at number one.  Reebonz (2.82 per cent), an online site that sells off-season luxury items at a discount is climbed to fourth place.
• Many locally grown blog shops have also sprung up over recent years. Love Bonito, which claims the title of most popular Singapore blog shop, has a visit share of 2.89 per cent in the category.

Shopping and Classifieds 

• Known to be fond of discounts, Singaporeans are embracing the new group coupon-buying craze. Groupon Singapore and Deal.com.sg are the top two deals aggregators, accounting for35.25 per cent of website traffic of sub-category rewards and directories.
• Singaporeans use the search terms groupon, groupon singapore and deal.com.sg the most to look for good local deals.

Computers & Electronics

• With a number of new devices launched in 2011, Singaporeans have flocked online to search for information, news and reviews about these gadgets. Most of them preferred reading about Apple products with 13.24 per cent share of visits for the Apple website. This is closely followed by Lenovo at almost 11 per cent in the Computers category.
• In the Electronics category Apple remains the top website Singaporeans go to with 18 per cent share of visits. Despite its 9.34per cent decrease in share of visits from 2010, the local Apple Singapore is gaining ground at 8.04per cent of website traffic from 0per cent in 2010. Other top websites in this category include Gizmodo, Sony Singapore and Samsung Singapore.
• Top five search terms driving traffic to these websites include apple, samsung, apple singapore, samsung singapore and canon.

Entertainment

• Singaporeans keep themselves updated on local, world, and sports news with Channel NewsAsia, ESPN and Bloomberg.com. These take the top three spots in the entertainment category for television accounting for a total of 50.24per cent share of visits.
• YouTube, on the other hand, is still leading the pack of multimedia channels with 61.69per cent website traffic — almost 200per cent increase from 2010. YouTube is also the top search term used under multimedia category with a search click of 6.17per cent.
• Singaporeans prove to be unwavering fans of K-Pop as clearly shown by 65.49per cent combined share of visits on the following websites within the Music Band and Artists category: Entertainment on xinmsn, AllKPOP.com and Wonderful Generation, resonating the popularity of the Korean boy and girl bands’ concerts held in Singapore last year.
• 3 Similar websites in top two and three on the list include Big Bang Updates and SONEms with a combined share of almost 12per cent. Singaporeans type soshified and sonems the most to search for updates and news on their favourite celebrities.

Beardsell adds, “With the capability to help businesses with data insights and to delve into the search patterns of millions of Singapore Internet users, Experian Hitwise is unique. We can play a vital role in helping marketers identify local opportunities in specific verticals to strategically conduct effective online marketing campaigns. This will help ensure sustained brand leadership among their target audience in an extremely online competitive environment.”

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