Asia's elite still spending big: Synovate

“Consumption across multiple product categories such as laptops, mobiles and champagne have increased significantly, showing that these elites are drivers of market growth,” Steve Garton, global head of media and managing director at Synovate, said.

This was particulalry true in Hong Kong where, for example, SLR digital cameras have gained popularity among affluent consumers with a 14 per cent jump in ownership, compared to the regional average of seven per cent. Meanwhile the consumption of champagne in Hong Kong but is still growing across the region by an average of two per cent.

This trend was evident in other categories, too. Car ownership softened across the region dropping by two per cent, while Hong Kong bucked the trend, increasing by six per cent.  The same went for property investments, which saw a slight dip of 0.1 per cent across the region, as Hong Kong’s market grew by 0.7 per cent.

Garton attributes these trends to a population that is more assimilated into a western lifestyle and which holds strong beliefs that ownership of modern technology is instrumental in facilitating career growth and success.

And this desire to own modern technology is changing the media landscape. So while the study showed that the elite in Asia-Pacific still have a leaning towards regional media, Garton says that marketers should take note, because this will all change as the exponential uptake of digital and “connected” gadgets continues.

“There is no such thing as traditional media anymore,” he said. “Through one product, such as tablets, we can reach all media all at once.”

Garten advises a brand that now is the time to look at their campaigns and strategies and pay attention to digital, because despite economic uncertainties, the affluent in Asia-Pacific are more or less recession proof and “they contribute to the overall success of products and services in most categories,” he said.

In fact, “they are the ones driving the growth and innovation of many products,” Clare Lui, director of Synovate Hong Kong added.

Synovate PAX is a regional media study covering 11 markets in Asia-Pacific looking at the lifestyles, habits, product ownerships, digital and media consumption habits of close to 15 million elites, business executives and top management across the region.