Industry Trends: Will 5G Create a New Wave of Consumption during the Pandemic?

Taiwan has been way ahead of other parts of the world in terms of pandemic control, yet the people are still pessimistic about the future. Will this affect the soon-to-be launched products with 5G technology? We asked Taiwanese respondents aged 18 to 60 years old during September 1st to 4th this year, their overall thoughts about the whole environment. We hope our analysis of their consumption behavioral changes and expectations will provide brands, retailers, and the public a better idea of what to expect next.

Taiwanese don’t expect life will go back to normal, at least for now

Compared to May and July results,Taiwanese feel like the pandemic might be getting worse. As a digital media highly penetrated country, this pessimistic view of the future might have came from the global sad news about the pandemic. Taiwanese are already used to travelling in Asia, and consider it as a normal part of their lives.

Therefore, the expectation of life going back to “normal” has been delayed from the end of year 2020 or Spring 2021 till May 2021.

What are people buying anyways?

The overall budget hasn’t changed much, but perhaps summer vacation has come to an end, young respondents are now more conservative about spendings. However, 30 to 49 year olds has slightly increased their buying budget. Now that the annual department store year-end sale is just around the corner, businesses should leverage digital tools and presale events to secure consumer budgets as soon as possible. For the next 3 months, consumers will still be allocating their budgets towards medical/health foods, household items, and packaged foods. As expected, Taiwanese will be decreasing their spending on restaurant and entertainment. Luckily, consumer electronics despite being marginal, still showed a slight increase in terms of spending.

5G related products finally launching but do consumers even care?

Since 2015, 5G has been a hot topic in technology. Finally products leveraging 5G technology will be launching in 2021. Every telecom brand has started their marketing communication and already doing tech & price comparisons for their own interests. 5G isn’t just about speed but it will change the way retailers operate and build a new scene of IoT (Internet of Things) connected home appliances as well. New products backed by 5G technology may sound fancy, but are consumers hyped about it? Our respondents have shown that not only does 5G sounds distant to average consumers, they also don’t feel a strong relevance as to how much such products will improve their lives.

Over 50% of respondents are confused about how 5G application and IoT connected home appliances would affect them. We suggest brands could use user-scenario based communication style to build strong relevance and emotional triggers. Rather than emphasizing buying the “latest tech item” as a luxury fad, it is probably better to talk about what unmet needs can be satisfied with 5G products and turn it into a necessity.

Knowing your consumers is the only way to get a head start

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