[Infographic] Online consumer statistics that businesses in Singapore need to know

It all starts with your  customers. Any advice falls flat if it doesn’t center around your customers.

Do you know how customers discover you ?  What information they need ? Who is online ?

The insights gathered by Google in a survey will tell us the actions we need to take to achieve business results in the online space.

By now, you would have heard the phrase all your customers are online umpteen times. This studies , however reveals some striking insights about the specific online behavior of consumers in today’s world. Whether you are a business executive or marketer, understanding the trends and adapting to it will ensure you stay ahead in the lightning-fast digital landscape.

For one, mobile is huge. We actually have more people in Singapore using their smartphone than desktop as the default mean of online access. That also explains why businesses such as Caurosell that are app-based are flourishing. Businesses have to continuously appear where their consumers are. While we do not recommend you that you build a mobile app, having a mobile-responsive website is a must. 65% of mobile users are looking for your product information.

And its not just your website that has to be mobile-friendly, your presence on search engine and social network has to consider the mobile users too, since 74% of them are on those platforms.

That said, surprisingly, survey shows that most people (72%) still use desktop to conduct online research. That bodes well for businesses because desktop users are ready to consume more information. With a higher level of education, it is not hard to understand consumers’ need to know more.  Apart from feeding them with more content, businesses also have to make sure that they have a way for online users to take action immediately, since 41% actually prefer to research and purchase online. This is because the impulse to buy usually dies off after a while and is unlikely to transfer across channels.

In regards to the type of information to put up, 55% of people are looking for prices. 38% prioritize price when choosing a business. We do have alot of bargain hunters in Singapore, it seems. There has been ongoing debate on whether prices on websites may turn off potential customers, but something to bear in mind is that few things are hush-hush in today’s connected environment. It is not that hard to find prices on forum and review sites.

Using search engine or Googling remains a common mean for users to find information on local businesses, which makes Search engine marketing in Singapore a highly lucrative channel for SMEs. In case you are wondering, Facebook, with 4million users in Singapore is no less popular as a platform , just not as a search tool. It is more of a discovery tool where users stumble upon businesses. Therefore, one must be prepared to put up content very different on social network as compared to on search engine.

When it comes to content, users today want more. Apart from reading words and  looking at images, video is an increasingly popular way to engage users. 48% of people surveyed watches them daily. With short attention span though, users prefer watching short videos. In capturing the attention of people today, businesses can also explore putting up video content. With the explosion of information online however, it is recommended that businesses take the effort to understand their audiences and put out something that is value-adding. Otherwise, it will just be one of the tons of content floating around that gets ignored.

One might argue that the survey results may be scaled since it is an initiative of Google. However, it is unlikely to be the case given administration has been carried out by a respectable market research company, TNS with formal methodology outlined.

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