Mobile is redefining the festive experience: Facebook

People in Southeast Asia* are sharing more during the festive year-end season on Facebook, the social media platform and on their preferred device - and that device is mobile, says Facebook, the company. Compared to the rest of the year, people share 30% more mobile content during the festive period** and 75% of posts created were on mobile, the company said in a blog post.

"...People share more mobile posts on New Year’s Eve (68% more) and Christmas Eve (36% more) compared to the rest of the season," stated Facebook in the blog post.

Facebook also found that people across demographics are sharing more on Facebook during the season, including youths*** (19% more), Millennials**** (23% more), parents (17% more) and mums (19% more).

"Across Southeast Asia, Facebook conversations during the period are centred on greetings and festive activities in the Philippines (84% of Facebook chatter), Indonesia (90%) and Singapore (52%)," Facebook said.

Shopping peaks in December, the company observed. Retail store check-ins on Facebook spike by 14% compared to the rest of the season, with 39% of check-ins taking place on Saturdays and Sundays. "Over 50% of people in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand said they are intending to shop online more this season, according to Facebook-commissioned polls*****... Over four out of five people in the Philippines (91%), Indonesia (83%) and Thailand (84%) said Facebook is influential to their shopping during the season. More than one in two people in the Philippines (63%), Indonesia (56%) and Thailand (52%) also said that Facebook is the preferred platform to seek advice about what to buy from others," said Facebook in the blog post.

There are geographic differences in shopping days of choice however. Mondays are most popular for online shopping in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, Facebook said, whilst Vietnamese prefer Thursdays and Singaporeans prefer Sundays. When it comes to shopping on mobile, Fridays are the most popular day across the region.

Facebook has observed that the shopping frenzy continues into the New Year. While the company attributes the upswing - it notes that in January 2015, users shopped online 19% more compared to the festive season on average - to good post-Christmas deals, Chinese New Year could also be a big reason. Chinese New Year, when new clothes must be worn and home interiors refreshed before relatives and friends visit, is celebrated in Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam (as Tet), as well as anywhere there is a sizeable ethnic Chinese community. It always falls on January or February; it was on February 19 in 2015, and will start on February 8 in 2016.

The breakdown across countries:

Indonesia

• 80% of festive season posts were created on mobile
• Indonesians share 87% more video content and 24% more photo content than the rest of the year
• Shopping peaks on New Year’s Eve with 57% more retail store check-ins, and continues into the New Year with 30% more online shopping in January

The Philippines

• 70% of festive season posts were created on mobile
• Filipinos share 50% more video content and 37% more photo content than the rest of the year
• Shopping peaks on Christmas Day with 59% more retail store check-ins, and continues into the New Year with 16% more online shopping in January

Thailand

• 80% of festive season posts were created on mobile
• Thais share 20% more video content and 30% more photo content than the rest of the year
• Shopping peaks on New Year’s Eve with 98% more retail store check-ins, and continues into the New Year with 7% more online shopping in January

Vietnam

• 70% of festive season posts were created on mobile
• Vietnamese share 100% more video and photo content than the rest of the year
• Shopping peaks on Christmas Eve with 82% more retail store check-ins, and continues into the New Year with 38% more online shopping in January

Singapore

• 79% of festive season posts were created on mobile
• Singaporeans share 22% more video content and 13% more photo content than the rest of the year
• Shopping peaks on Christmas Day with 85% more retail store check-ins, and continues into the new year with 7% more online shopping in January

Source: Facebook. Sourced from Facebook internal data based on inferred and reported data, January 2014 – January 2015 (accessed June 2015).

Interested?

View a regional infographic and link to other country-specific infographics

Facebook recommends that marketers reach out first on mobile with "eye-catching ads with concise copy for the small screen". Read tips for Facebook ads. Facebook also suggests using the Custom Audiences feature to reach potential customers, as well as to reach new audiences similar to current customers with the Lookalike Audiences feature.

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts about the 2015 festive season, including:

Singapore Gift Guide 2015, the pleasure edition
Singapore Gift Guide 2015, the tech edition

Who in APAC will be spending the most online, according to the Adobe Digital Index

Hong Kong's Winter Wonderland experience
The City of Sydney's Christmas programme

Sofitel So Singapore's French fusion Christmas menu
The launch of Casa Ferrero, Ferrero Rocher's popup store
House of Sillage launches the Holiday by House of Sillage fragrance

*Includes the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore
**October 2014 to January 2015
***Aged 18 to 24
****Aged 18 to 34
*****Separate polls in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, each with 500 respondents ages 18+, selected as a representative sample of the online population, July 2015.

Exclusive Ferrero Rocher pralines available at the Pasticceria Ferrero, in Singapore for the festive season

Launch headliners Qi Yu Wu and Joanne Peh pose for pictures.

Ferrero Rocher has launched its first Southeast Asia boutique, Pasticceria Ferrero, the only store of its kind in the world this festive season, at Wisma Atria along Orchard Road in Singapore. 

Before the official launch.

The boutique allows visitors to assemble customised boxes of chocolates with new and exclusive variants of the Ferrero pralines that are only available during this time of year.

Visitors can create their own customised gift boxes with pralines only available at the boutique during this festive season.

Leonardo Perrone de Almeida, Marketing Director, South East Asia, Ferrero Asia, spoke of the brand's long tradition in the fine art of gifting. "As the number one chocolate brand in Singapore, Ferrero certainly has a special place in the heart of Singaporeans. This year we wanted to offer Singaporeans.. a piece of our tradition and heritage to South East Asia," he said. 

Guests at the launch of the Pasticceria Ferrero were shown how each Ferrero Rocher praline is made by Luca Dellapiana, a Ferrero Chef from Italy. The seven-step process begins with filling the two halves of the wafer sphere with a creamy chocolate filling. A handpicked premium hazelnut is then popped in, and the two wafer halves are joined into the familiar spherical shape. The wafer sphere is then dipped in chocolate, which is tempered at 45 degrees Celsius, then cooled to 29 degrees to give it the crunch and the shine. The praline is then rolled in crushed hazelnuts, after which the whole is dipped in tempered chocolate again, and then chilled for a few minutes before it is ready to eat. 

The Rocherones are available in 'giant' (left) and 'mini' (right) sizes. Both Rocherones and the Christmas pyramids (below) are Christmas Limited Edition offerings. 

Live demonstrations by Chef Dellapiana and Chef Alessandria Davide, also in Singapore only for a limited time, will be conducted for the next four weekends, till 1 December, at the Pasticceria Ferrero. Chef Dellapiana's original creations are also on show at the boutique: look out for the Christmas Limited Edition Rocherones, which are shaped like a giant-sized classic praline and filled with smaller pralines. The Christmas Pyramids are also only available during this time. 

Some of the exclusive pralines available only during the festive season at the Pasticceria Ferrero. 

The special pralines only available for Christmas include: 

• Ferrero Tenderly White, a white chocolate praline with a hazelnut filling.
• Ferrero Capuccino, crispy wafer specialty with a smooth coffee filling
• Ferrero Tenderly Nougat, milk chocolate praline, creamy nougat and a whole hazelnut.
• Ferrero Manderly, a crisp hazelnut-covered specialty, with a smooth hazelnut filling and almond centre.
• Mon Chéri: Launched in 1956, this praline marked the beginning of Ferrero history in the world of boxed chocolates. The recipe combines dark chocolate, liqueur, and cherry. 
• Pocket Coffee, available from 1968, a dark chocolate praline filled with liquid espresso.
• Kusschen White: 'küsschen' means 'little kiss'; a white chocolate praline with hazelnut filling.
• Kusschen Milk, a milk chocolate praline with hazelnut filling.
• Kusschen Dark, a milk and dark chocolate praline with hazelnut filling.
• Raffaello: Introduced in 1989, Raffaello consists of a whole almond in a creamy filling enclosed in a crispy shell, covered in flakes of coconut.
• Ferrero Rondnoir: a crisp dark chocolate covered specialty, with a smooth filling and a dark chocolate and hazelnut centre.

Ferrero is also the company behind Nutella, Kinder and Tic Tac. Read about Peh and Qi's thoughts on Ferrero Rocher and chocolate here.