The state of digital in Asia-Pacific in 2018

DIGITAL has become an essential part of everyday life for many of us, with over four million people across of the globe using the Internet for an average of six hours per day.

Whether it’s connecting with friends online, researching and purchasing products, watching movies, or even searching for a partner; people are utilizing the digital world and it’s all-encompassing connectivity in almost every aspect of their lives.

With this in mind, it is crucial for brands to follow the behavior of their audiences, by learning to adapt to and evolve with this digital world, ensuring seamless digital integration of their business strategies.

So how are users behaving on digital this year? Social media management platform, Hootsuite, and global creative agency, We Are Social, have recently released a report called Digital in 2018. The report outlines the social media and digital trends around the world.

This article will explore the reports key statistics and trends in the APAC region, and what this means for SMEs.

Growth in APAC Internet-users

According to the Digital in 2018 report, the Asia-Pacific is now home to over two billion Internet users, equating to an Internet penetration rate of 48 percent.

Both at 93 percent, Japan and South Korea lead the region in terms of overall Internet penetration.

An increase in social media users

People throughout the Asia-Pacific continue to show love for social media. The number of users on social media has grown 14 percent to roughly 1.7 billion, a 42 penetration rate.

As consumers are spending an increasing amount of time on the Internet, new types of behaviors have been seen to emerge. This includes:

Online product research: A growing trend is the use of social media as a source of information regarding products and brands. And according to Global Web Index, younger demographics are leading this trend.

End-to-end social journeys: It seems that consumers are increasingly using social platforms during every step of their digital buying journey. According to PwC, 70 percent of Chinese consumers report using social as a source of inspiration for purchasing. Furthermore, 25 percent finalize their purchases directly through a social channel.

The use of social media on mobile

According to the report, an increasing number of users show a preference for mobile platforms when using social media. The APAC region has seen 16 percent growth in this since January 2017, which equals to a whopping 231 million new active mobile social users.

South Korea is leading the region with a penetration rate of 84 percent. North Korea, on the other hand, has been shown to have the lowest penetration rate at just 0.04 percent.

To further explore the trends and statistics regarding the Internet and social media this year – in both APAC and beyond – you can view Hootsuite’s and We Are Social’s Digital in 2018 report here.

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