During the recent Top Trends in APAC webinar, we discussed the emergence of a new type of consumption behaviour in Asia Pacific, where time-saving, labour-saving, and convenient products and services are increasingly in demand—in fact, now more than ever before.
With lifestyles becoming a lot busier and fast-paced, consumers have grown more reluctant to do things that require them to expend the extra time or energy. Mintel has coined four terms to identify the different consumer groups that have emerged in light of this lazy economy: the ‘Aspiring Environmentalist’; the ‘Sleeping Beauty Queen’; the ‘Reluctant Cook’; and the ‘Fast & Furious’.
In this final installment of a two-part blog series, we discuss the ‘Reluctant Cook’ and ‘Fast & Furious’ consumer groups, as well as explore how companies and brands are catering to them.
The Reluctant Cook
Healthy eating and cooking, in general, are aspirations for the Reluctant Cook. Busy lifestyles mean that they lack the time to cook or even grocery shop; instead, they rely on quick fixes like fast food or takeout.
Southeast Asian consumers today prefer ordering from online food delivery services such as GrabFood, Deliveroo and Go-Food. In fact, Mintel research reveals that over half of metro Indonesian consumers pre-order food on their smartphones. In South Korea, Mogo is a niche food delivery provider that focuses on convenient, easy-to-cook, plant-based meal kits that are delivered straight to consumers’ doorsteps. Mogo provides instructions and videos that teach users the steps to cooking their meals.
The Fast & Furious
This consumer is absolutely time-pressed, always rushing, and a known multitasker. Speed is everything to this consumer, and if there is a shortcut available, the Fast & Furious will have no qualms about taking it. Indeed, almost half of metro Thai consumers say that convenience is the key factor that is most likely to influence their decision when purchasing everyday products.
Source: Go-Jek.com
As consumer lifestyles become more fast-paced, so too must brands. All over Southeast Asia, consumers are relying on their ride-hailing apps (like Grab and GOJEK), which double up as super apps, to help them achieve tasks faster.
In South Korea, ride hailing app Kakao Taxi has introduced a faster pick-up option that comes with an additional fee. And in Indonesia, GOJEK, in partnership with oil giant Pertamina, has introduced an on-demand fuel delivery service called Go-Pertamina. The service delivers fuel to users from the nearest Pertamina gas station, allowing them to save time by skipping the drive and queues at petrol stations.
