Singaporeans want brands to show that they know their customers at the right place and time: Adobe

Simon Dale shares research highlights at a media briefing ahead of the Adobe Experience Forum.

Adobe has announced that the understanding of customers at a personal level is growing in importance, as is interacting with them as individuals, in real-time. Research from the company has found that the majority of consumers in Singapore (88%) are rejecting age- or generation-based stereotypes, wanting to be treated as an individual with unique interests and preferences instead.

Almost two-thirds of consumers (65%) further say that they feel negatively towards brands that interact with them based on broad assumptions and labels, including being guided by age-based stereotypes such as “Millennial” and “Gen-Z”.

Adobe’s research shows the emergence of a new consumer who is not defined by age, refuses to be stereotyped, and expects to be understood as the unique person they are today. Brands seeking to meet consumer’s new expectations must ensure they are equipped with the latest customer data platform (CDP) technologies, creating a complete single view of every customer capable of delivering personalised experiences in real-time.

The survey of 5,000 Asia Pacific (APAC) consumers* reveals three times 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. 

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, VP of Marketing, Adobe Asia Pacific and Japan. 

Said Egan: “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.”

Today’s consumers have high expectations for the brands they engage with – they expect brands to see them as unique people, keep up with their changing habits and interests, and respect their privacy preferences. Almost two-thirds of Singaporeans (65%) now expect businesses to have a clear understanding of who they are as individuals, and to contact them only with information about what they are interested in at any given moment. The same proportion of Singaporean consumers (65%) think negatively of brands that use broad assumptions and stereotypes to engage them.

Almost three-quarters of Singaporean consumers (73%) say they expect personalised experiences from brands they share data with, with 65% wanting real-time offers relevant to them. However, more than a quarter (27%) of Singaporeans 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 four times as many people want frequent, thoughtful gestures (70%) over bigger one-off moments (15%).

Adobe further found 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. Consumers’ collective experience over recent years and months has only added to that rate of change. Most consumers across Asia Pacific see themselves and their peer group differently than in pre-pandemic times, 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 six times a year, rising to 10 times a year for people under the age of 25.

Brands’ ability to keep pace is also a significant expectation for Singaporean consumers. When asked, 60% of Singaporeans said they have switched from their favourite brands as their tastes and financial situation changed. Real-time visibility and delivering experiences in line with emerging preferences is vital to retain customers, even the most loyal of them.

*Some 2,000 Australians, 2,000 Indians and 1,000 Singaporeans were polled.