For Immediate Release
ONE IN FOUR HONG KONG CONSUMERS PLAN TO PURCHASE A LOCAL PROPERTY IN THE COMING SIX MONTHS
Experian reveals Hong Kong consumer attitudes and behaviours using market-leading geo-demographic segmentation techniques
Hong Kong, April 18, 2007 – About one-quarter of Hong Kong consumers intend to purchase a local property in the coming six months, according to the first study of its kind into Hong Kong consumers' attitudes and behaviours, released by Experian®, the global information solutions company.
The study was performed to provide local and international businesses with new customer insights into the demographics, lifestyles and purchasing preferences across Hong Kong' s consumer segments. The study enables businesses to understand their target customers and market opportunities, and implement effective marketing strategies.
"Our consumer segmentation and analytical tool delivers unprecedented details on consumers in each geo-demographic segment," said Dr. Sam Chiu, Director, Business Strategies division, Experian Hong Kong Limited. "Businesses are able to identify, differentiate and locate their target customer groups and, most importantly, apply actionable target marketing effectively."
"The goal of consumer segmentation is to identify the subgroups within the market in a way that optimises businesses' interaction with their customers. Applications range from communication messaging, acquisition and cross-selling tactics to new product development and market planning."
The study is underpinned by Mosaic Hong Kong – Experian' s award-winning geo-demographic segmentation system which classifies consumer segments at the finest level of geography available in the market. Mosaic Hong Kong classifies approximately 2.3 million households and seven million individuals in Hong Kong into 29 unique Mosaic Types and 10 Groups that share similar demographic and lifestyle characteristics, including personal income, occupation and type of housing etc..
The 10 consumer groups under Mosaic Hong Kong include: Upper Echelons, Well-to-Do, Emerging Middle Class, Suburban Locals, Compact City Life, Comfy Subsidised Homes, Grass Roots Living, Community Challenge, Grey Perspectives and Communal Homes.
Based on Mosaic segmentation, Experian' s online consumer panel surveyed over 2,000 consumers in Hong Kong in April and focused on the purchasing intentions of local property.
Key Findings of the Study:
24 per cent of Hong Kong
residents aged 15 – 64 expressed an intention of purchasing a local
residential property within the coming six months. In particular, the Upper
Echelons and Compact City Life show the highest intent (29 per cent and 32
per cent, respectively).
63 per cent of potential buyers
rank "improving the living conditions" as the key reason for buying the
property. Overall 20 per cent of them purchase for the reason of "getting
married" – this is especially evident among Comfy Subsidised Homes (27 per
cent) and Community Challenge (22 per cent).
8 per cent of potential buyers
buy for investment – and they mainly come from the most affluent segments –
the Upper Echelons, Well-to-do, and Emerging Middle Class, together account
for about 30 per cent of Hong Kong households.
Most potential buyers are
looking for apartments smaller than 750 sq. ft. (55 per cent) and priced
below HK$3M (84 per cent). The exceptions are found in the most affluent
segments – Upper Echelons, Well-to-do, and Emerging Middle Class.
61 per cent of Hong Kong
residents aged 15 – 64 expect residential property price to rise by 7 to 10
per cent in the coming 6 months.
"The results indicate that people are generally optimistic about the property market in Hong Kong. There is a genuine demand from 'users' desiring to improve living conditions, and the demand is strong for small to medium-sized apartments," Dr. Chiu commented.
Dr. Chiu explains that these findings are specific to the property market. More generally, Mosaic segmentation may be applied to many sectors.
"Experian has a track record of providing detailed understanding of consumer insights and foresights for any industry seeking actionable target marketing," Dr. Chiu said. "Apart from the banking, finance and property sectors, many other consumer-focused sectors can benefit from deeper consumer understanding. We are pleased to announce that Octopus has become one of our newest clients to benefit from Mosaic segmentation."
Octopus Uses Mosaic Consumer Segmentation to Provide Actionable Customer Insights for Internal Operations and Partners' Marketing Campaign
Octopus Connect Ltd. has access to the group' s vast amount of customer data, including 1.3 million subscribers for Octopus Rewards programme - a rewards programme running with different retail merchants in Hong Kong.
"Our business goal is to provide our partner merchants more effective and targeted marketing campaigns," said Mr Richard Warland, Managing Director, Octopus Connect Ltd. "Mosaic Hong Kong serves this purpose by enabling target marketing in various retail context, in particular customer acquisition modelling, campaign analysis, site selection, market analysis and geographical mapping, as well as new product development. The system also enhances our own database to provide a more accurate and comprehensive view of current and potential customers."
"We are proud to help Octopus and its business partners achieve marketing success," said Dr. Chiu. "Octopus' adoption of our Mosaic consumer segmentation is an excellent example of our endeavours to meet the growing demands for strategic customer analysis and marketing implementation."
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Notes to the editor
Experian' s Financial Services Panel Research Methodology:
Population |
Hong Kong Residents |
|
Sample Size |
2,080 |
|
Sampling Method |
Random Sampling with Booster |
|
Fieldwork Period |
April 2007 |
|
Methodology |
E-mail survey via Cimigo Connect online panel (Octopus Reward members opt in for contact via e-mail to participate in marketing activities and surveys as a way to collect reward points) |