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In Focus Interview: Agilson Valle, Senior Sales Director, APAC & Country Manager, Singapore, Euromonitor International
Market research is much more than just data. In this issue’s interview, our Editor spoke with Agilson Valle of Euromonitor about his passion and experience in market research, its methodologies and figuring out consumer trends.
You returned to market research in 2016, after seven years working in recruitment. What made you come back to market research?
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Recruitment is all about people. It has helped me see the connections in research, whether you run panels or surveys, talk to people – both customers and consumers. It provides a lot of insight when you do recruitment. Nevertheless, after being in the industry for about seven years, I felt a calling to come back to market research due to the importance of insights. It can strongly support and bring a lot of added value for businesses. Market research is much more than data. It is making sense of data, getting insights out of it, understanding the big picture and what will happen in the next five to ten years’ time. You only understand how consumers are changing by talking to people, by understanding their daily lives and what they do, what has changed from last year, and I think that is the beauty of market research. It is something that excites me; the whole thing about being in touch with people.
I've always been involved in setting up companies. Euromonitor started here 22 years ago, when we first opened the office and Singapore was responsible for the whole of Asia Pacific. As we grew the market across Southeast Asia and Asia from Singapore, we started opening new offices. There was an opportunity to open an operation in Hong Kong, which I applied for. I did that for two years. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao are really exciting markets - the link between the East and the West. We started up with four people and when I left Hong Kong, we were at about 25 people. There was an opportunity to come here to Singapore, to manage a larger office, where we are responsible for 14 markets in Southeast Asia.
Had the methodology for research changed in that seven-year gap?
During the time I decided to take a break from market research, the companies in the industry were very specialised in different areas. Each one of us were in panels, consumer surveys, or tactical tracking data for example. Currently, Euromonitor has the advantage of using multiple methodologies to connect the dots, so the data you receive makes even more sense. It was all separate before and you had a lot of data. Now, we are bringing it all together. I think that is the main difference using those different methodologies so that they help you achieve the full picture.
How do you see the value of market research organisations and the typical product offerings in the sector shifting as a result of COVID-19?
There is a big shift of people really making more sense of the pure data, because we now have massive amounts of it. The more you do things online, the more data you gather. I think COVID-19 has accelerated what was going to happen anyway, as technology has always been a catalyst.
We have proactively suggested a refresh of data for some pre-COVID-19 projects, as companies are looking to understand what the real impact of the pandemic has been. This is not unusual in crisis periods. For example, we saw similar behaviour after the financial crisis. People want to understand what we need to go back to new normal. For that, you need data insights to help with this. Markets like China and Korea are recovering, evidenced with an almost V-shaped recovery immediately after a couple of months of going back into offices.
Purpose-Driven Corporate Response to COVID-19 Source: Euromonitor International Voice of the Industry: Sustainability Survey, fielded June 2020
Your most recent research was an annual look into consumer behaviour. What are the key highlights from this year’s findings?
One of the trends that is probably impacting and affecting most regional players here is related to sustainability, which we refer to as ‘build back better’. It is all about companies helping the local community, having clear values and a visible supply chain. We have seen that before, but it is now less of a nice-to-have and more of a must-have, which people expect to be part of your brand. We found that 42% of Vietnamese consumers say that they buy from brands who support their social values. Separately in our voice of the industry survey, 69% of industry professionals expect consumers to be more concerned about sustainability than they were prior to COVID-19.
There then is the blurred line between digital and physical experiences, which we call the ‘Phygital reality’ trend. Some markets in Southeast Asia were behind in terms of e-commerce when the pandemic started. However, many companies were forced to leverage on technology, invest and get that going quickly.
Preferred In-Store Shopping Features Source: Euromonitor International Digital Consumer Survey, fielded March to April 2020
There are different behavioural trends in Southeast Asia, with some examples of digital consumer behaviour beyond the global trend including the use of VR in Indonesia. As per Euromonitor’s digital consumer survey, 18% of people in Indonesia own a VR headset versus a global average of 11%. Such digital tools make phygital a reality. As per the same survey, 35% of people in Indonesia have used AR or VR in the past one year versus a global average of 22%, either to preview a holiday destination, tour a hotel room, shop for household items or try on makeup. We saw a lot of live streaming here in Southeast Asia, where retailers started live streaming and teaching people how to cook and prepare food, which translates into sales.
How do you integrate that digital experience back into physical experiences as societies leave lockdown? Customers are expecting the same experience, so if I go to a physical store, is there anything in terms of technology that I can still use? I think there will be more pressure on companies to be creative in these virtual experiences. That links into another big trend that we see related to convenience. People got used to the whole digital user experience, and it is directly related to working from anywhere and with flexible hours – retailers will have to offer more flexibility to consumers who no longer fit a 9-5 model. For instance, WhatsApp became an essential shopping platform in Indonesia throughout 2020. With Indonesian consumers not comfortable with e-commerce for big-ticket purchases, WhatsApp has become a solution for people to buy electronics and appliances especially with the introduction of WhatsApp shopping cart and catalogue feature upgrades available to business accounts.
Consumers are spending again yet being more cautious with their discretionary money in case another crisis is around the corner and they need to retain an emergency fund. As per Euromonitor’s Lifestyle Survey there is a significant uptick in the % of consumers visiting discount stores in Malaysia and Thailand in 2020; the two economies grappling most with the unfortunate economic realities of COVID-19.
There is also a clear trend towards safety and hygiene in products and behaviour as a result of the pandemic. Singapore’s hospitality industry introduced an audit system early last year to certify hotels, malls, restaurants and under public places as SG Clean ensuring consumers that these places are safe to visit. Several street stalls and kiosks in Singapore have enabled online ordering and contactless payments. Businesses that incorporate exceptional sanitisation features while also communicating these benefits will attract safetyobsessed consumers. Download the full Euromonitor’s Top 10 Global Consumer Trends 2021 report
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Euromonitor International is the world’s leading provider for global business intelligence, market analysis and consumer insights. From local to global and tactical to strategic, our research solutions support decisions on how, where and when to grow your business. Find the right report, database or custom solution to validate priorities, redirect assumptions and uncover new opportunities. With offices around the world, analysts in over 100 countries, the latest data science techniques and market research on every key trend and driver, we help you make sense of global markets. Our regional office for Southeast Asia is in Singapore. Visit www.euromonitor.com for more information.
