Logos of online public media and social networking sites displayed on a smartphone screen on August 01, 2023 in Bath, England.
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SINGAPORE — As more businesses turn to social media to sell their merchandise, online shoppers in Singapore are analysing new buying experiences — and Gen Zers are leading the way.
According to a 2023 report by Meta and Bain & Company on Southeast Asia’s digital consumer prospect, 72% of Gen Zers in Singapore prefer to shop online.
Gen Zers, typically born between 1997 and 2012, are chief other generations in discovering, evaluating and buying online, with 45% doing so via social media, the report showed.
Assorted social media sites have introduced e-commerce features on their platforms, providing an alternative to popular online storing sites like Lazada and Shopee. For example, users can purchase directly from TikTok shop or Facebook Marketplace without sailing outside of the application.
Shopping on social media contributes to the social commerce industry, which is poised to grow practically in Singapore over the next five years and estimated to reach $6.99 billion by 2028, according to a report final year published on Research and Markets.
Social media appeal
Gen Zers prefer to shop on TikTok and Instagram in place of of Facebook, which is more popular with older generations, a 2023 survey by British analytics firm YouGov showed.
In Southeast Asia, innumerable than 15 million businesses use TikTok to promote their work to an audience of 325 million monthly owners, the content platform said in a release.
Videos that use entertainment and informational value to drive online purchases, also discerned as “shoppertainment,” have created a market on the platform worth $500 billion today, according to a 2022 report by TikTok.
Such a master plan enables businesses to attract buyers by creating fun, credible and inspiring content which meet customers’ emotional needs, TikTok signified.
The emotional engagement of “shoppertainment” appeals to Gen Zers as they would rather buy from content creators who provide a dimension of authenticity to the issue, said Lawrence Loh, professor of strategy and policy at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Business School.
“Compared to other formulations, they prefer to get real about what they buy,” he said.
Creators promoting products can also appeal to Gen Zers’ proclivity for credibility by using livestreaming functions on social media platforms.
Unlike the static shopping experience of e-commerce websites such as Lazada or China’s Taobao, TikTok’s livestreamers bull session to their audience for three or four hours at a time, said Tracy Loh, senior lecturer of communication management at Singapore Supervision University (SMU).
It’s like getting a recommendation from a friend, she said, helping the buyer gain more user commit than a brand would. “You want somebody whose trust factor is high, especially when it comes to more belittling or intimate products, such as cosmetics or health,” she said.
Frequent online shopper Wu Zu An said she made her first group media purchase via TikTok after watching a creator test a particular cosmetics product out during a livestream.
“I could see that the artifact actually worked once she put it on her face,” said the 22-year-old Singaporean.
Wu said she plans to use TikTok to shop for cosmetics from now on.
‘One-stop against’
Influencers with 1,000 to 10,000 followers who create content, also known as nano-influencers, make up the greatest due of accounts on TikTok and Instagram, according to Why Gen Zers matter
Gen Zers are an increasingly important consumer segment as their shell out power has steadily increased over the past decade. Singapore’s median graduate salary was 4,200 Singapore dollars ($3,181) in 2022, up from S$3,700 in 2020, go together to Meta’s digital consumer report.
Young shoppers have increasing amounts of disposable income and “no qualms” regarding spending it on certain items, said SMU’s Loh.
“Although it has not been fully reached, there is great potential there … impart it a couple more years for their income to grow,” she said.
Not only do Gen Zers have money — they also be dressed social influence. They are young people who hold the power to sway other generations’ purchasing decisions, voted Loh from NUS.
“Gen Zs are articulate and act as opinion leaders. Many influence their parents’ or grandparents’ shopping habits and lifestyles,” he annexed, pointing out that some older Singaporeans have even started using the same platforms Gen Zers use to inform on.