theAsianparent.com survey reveals that the Asian mum has gone digital, ismobilefirst, and the new “Chief Household Officer”
BANGKOK, 25 March 2014 – theAsianparent.com, Southeast Asia’s largest online parenting magazine, with a reach of over 1.2 million mums, today announced exclusive new insights: The Asian mum has gone digital with over 80% of women in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia increasing their usage of the internet once they become mums. The “2014 Asian Digital Mum” survey found that digital channels attract more mums than traditional channels like newspapers, TV and magazines. The survey revealed that mums increasingly surf on the go with their phones to check email, visit parenting sites and use social media, and, are the primary purchase decision makers of their households.
These insights were revealed in theAsianparent.com’s“2014 Asian Digital Mum” survey which offers marketeers new insights into how mums in the region engage online from over 10,000 respondents.
When Asean mums need an expert, they turn to the internet for parenting advice over traditional ways like advice from parents, family members, or friends. About three-in-ten (31%) of Thai mums rely on parenting websites, 22% use online search engine, and 19% tap into other methods such as facebook page. Parenting websites also tops the poll for Malaysian and Singaporean with 32% of moms choose them for parenting support.
“In 85% of Thai households, mums are the main decision maker in making purchases. However most of our respondents told us that marketers still do not really understand what mums want and need - they have to reach mums at the right time and on the right platform”, said StelvinTham, VP of Operations, Tickled Media.
He added that “theAsianparents Insights was created with the goal of helping media agencies and brands understand the Asian Digital Mum better and how to reach this attractive audience segment more effectively.” Moreover, major influence on mums to buy a product is product reviews or other mums’ recommendations on parenting websites or social media, not the brands websites or brands fanpage on social media, he added.
The survey revealed that Thai mums are avid social media users. When ask "if you had an extra 1 hour, what would you do?" 34% of Thai moms would like to "spend more time with the family" while 29% prefer "spending time on social media", far higher than Malaysian and Singaporean mums with only 4% and 6% of them choosing to spend time on social media.
Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in the number of users in Asia with 99% of mums on Facebook, but a striking number of users are now diversifying onto other platforms such as Google Plus.
For Thais, Line is also the dominant player in the online messaging space. 89% of mums are now Line users, followed by WhatsApp (23%).
In addition, Thai mums prefer to chat with other mums on the internet instead of face-to-face meet up. 25% or one-fourth of Thai mums log into online sites such as facebook groups and webboard for many times on a daily basis to keep in touch with other mums. Plus, 48% of mums never meet face-to-face with other mums.
"New technologies in the hands of the Asian Digital Mums make it easier for her to surf the web on the go, chat with other mums via social media sites, get parenting advice and shop, meaning she’s actively online from morning till night," said NuttapornChanchokpong , Chief Editor of Tickled Media, the publisher behind theAsianparent.com.
Survey goals and methodology
The goal of the 2014 Asian Digital Mum survey was to offer marketers new insights into how mums engage online. Spanning four markets in Asia, the research findings include Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The survey documented the behaviour of 10,000 expectant mothers and mothers with kids up to the age of 16 and explored what media and social channels she is using, what makes her share content with other mums and what influences her purchasing behavior.
About theAsianparent.com and Tickled Media
Tickled Media is the largest digital parenting publishing house in Southeast Asia. Headquartered inSingapore since 2009, the company launched theAsianparent Thailand Edition in March 2013. The flagship brand, theAsianparent.com, is Southeast Asia’s largest digital parenting destination and reaches over 1.2 million mums in the region. The company is backed by venture capital from LionRock Capital, Tigris Capital and prominent angel investors. For more information, please visit
www.tickledmedia.com. For more information on this press release, highres photographs or a copy of the full report,