Adobe announced a new research in October 2022 that revealed the growing importance of brands understanding customers at a personal level and interacting with them as individuals, in real time. How are the consumer market sentiments, trends and styles changing in this modern era of social media and internet driven environment that we live in? How do all these trends, sentiments, trends and styles differ across different countries and regions? The key takeaway from Adobe Research reveals: Time to get personal.

Singapore Market

For the Singapore market, the majority (88%) of consumers in Singapore want to be treated as an individual with unique interests and preferences, with almost 2/3 of consumers (65%) saying they feel negatively towards brands that interact with them based on broad assumptions and labels, including age-based stereotypes such as “Millennial” and “Gen-Z”.

Asia Pacific Market

Across Asia Pacific, customers are calling on brands to demonstrate that they know them, show them, and will help them in the moments that matter – not once, but all the time,” said Duncan Egan, Vice President of Marketing, Adobe Asia Pacific and Japan. “To meet that standard, brands need to unlock preferences in real-time through customer data, and use it to deliver relevant interactions and content at the right moment. Scaling that across up to millions of customers is the next step.”

Adobe’s research shows the emergence of a new consumer that is not defined by age, that refuses to be stereotyped, and expects to be understood as the unique person they are today. For brands and organisations seeking to meet the modern consumer’s new expectations, they must ensure that they are equipped with the latest customer data platform technologies, whereby they can create a complete single view of every customer capable of delivering personalised experiences in real-time.

Time to get personal

The Adobe survey of 5,000 APAC consumers (2,000 Australians, 2,000 Indians and 1,000 Singaporeans) reveals 3x as many APAC consumers feel closer to people who share their passions and interests (62%) than those of a similar demographic (19%). The vast majority (86%) of consumers want to be seen and treated as individuals based on their unique interests and preferences.

Singaporeans feel strongly about this, with more than one-quarter (28%) rejecting the stereotypes of their generation and 88% wanting to be seen and treated as an individual.

Individuality is key

Individuality is a key factor in today’s climate. Consumers today have high expectations for the brands they are engaging with – they expect brands to see them as unique people, keep up with their changing habits and interests, and respect their privacy preferences. Almost 2/3 of Singaporeans (65%) now expect businesses to have a clear understanding of who they are as individuals, and only contact them with information relevant to what they are interested in at any given moment. 65% of Singaporean consumers, the same proportion think negatively of brands that use broad assumptions and stereotypes to engage them.

73% of Singaporean consumers, almost 3/4 say they expect personalised experiences from brands they share data with, with 65% wanting real-time offers relevant to them. However, more than 27% of Singaporeans, a quarter of them say brands are not doing this well or are inconsistent in their efforts to keep up with their personal preferences. Regular efforts to engage consumers with bespoke offers related to their current interests is of the highest importance – more than 4x as many people want frequent, thoughtful gestures (70%) over bigger one-off moments (15%).

Change is the only Constant

Change is the only Constant holds true, it’s getting faster in recent years. Adobe found out that consumer preferences and tastes are constantly evolving, reinforcing the need for brands to move away from simple groupings based on age or other fixed demographic factors. The consumers’ collective experiences over recent years and months has only added to that rate of change.

Most consumers across Asia Pacific se themselves and their peer group differently from how they were pre-pandemic , and 79% have adjusted their preferences and tastes even further in the past three months. The average person takes on a new interest or hobby 6x a year, rising to 10x a year for people under the age of 25.

To understand Singapore market better, brands need to take note on their ability to keep pace with them because this is a significant expectation for Singaporean consumers. In the survey, 60% of Singaporeans responded that they have changed their favourite brands as their tastes and financial situation has changed. Real-time visibility and delivering experiences in line with emerging preferences is vital to keeping even the most loyal customers on side.

Meeting consumers where they are

Adobe Real-Time CDP empowers brands to continually meet members of this new generation where they are. This customer data platform allows organisations view and manage customer profiles, make updates in real-time, and activate customer insights through Adobe Experience Cloud applications across the entire customer journey.

Experiencing Adobe Digital Experience at Adobe Experience Makers

My experiences with Adobe is mostly at Adobe’s Creative Suite side of things, as my photography (business and personal) and my content creation are key areas of my business services. I would be sharing about Adobe MAX on my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog.

Experiencing Adobe Digital Experience at Adobe Experience Makers, I was introduced to Adobe’s business market segments. From a technology writer, digital marketer and formerly from a local small medium business (SMB) background, I am able to relate and understand digital transformation for businesses and organisations.

Attending Adobe Experience Makers allowed me to hear first hand real life case studies of businesses from both local and regional, on their digital transformation journey and engagements with their customers. Digital transformation and SMB related topics are areas of interest in my technology and business topics coverage.

Understanding your market, consumer behaviour, sentiments, trends and styles are crucial especially in this fast paced ever changing social media and internet driven world. Businesses and organisations also need a holistic digital platform that would allow them to cater and handle digital transformation, not just for themselves, they would make the engagement with their consumers a better experience for all.

Whether you are a business owner, management staff, IT head/lead or handling digital marketing, a new age of digital transformation is ushering a new transformation and change in a constantly changing digital world that is changing faster than before. Having a solid digital experience platform and diverse suite of digital services and tools are a must have for your businesses and organisations.

The time is now for businesses and organisations to embark on your Digital Transformation 2.0  or maybe even Digital Transformation 3.0, and transform your workplace digital experiences for a new Future of Work, if you haven’t done so.

Adobe Digital Experience

For business organisations and institutions that are exploring new holistic digital experiences for your organisation and how you can go about implementing or transforming your current digital experiences, you can visit Adobe website https://www.adobe.com/sea/ and learn more about how Adobe is changing the world through its digital experiences.

* Information courtesy of Adobe and WE Communications *