POCO Partners Southeast Asia Forum 2023 explores evolving habits of region's

Gen Z mobile consumers

Industry survey reveals new insights into SE Asia’s Next-Gen mobile consumers

POCO dives into Gen Z "mobile first" habits at the recent POCO Partners Southeast Asia Forum 2023.
(L-R) Jenny Armshaw-Heak, Director at YouGov; Tony Yuan, Senior Vice President of Lazada; Kit
Chomcharn, Head of Shopee Thailand, Electronic Cluster; Angus Ng, Head of Product Marketing for
POCO Global; and Chunyan See, Country Sales Manager for Mediatek Thailand.

BANGKOK, THAILAND, Aug 21, 2023 – Industry experts from across POCO business
partnerships gathered with regional and local media in Bangkok to provide their insights
into the evolving nature of the habits and preferences of South East Asia’s Gen Z
mobile users. The POCO Partners Southeast Asia Forum 2023, provided a significant
opportunity to explore the rapidly changing consumer environment driven by both the
evolving usage and preferences of the region's "mobile first" Gen Z generation.
Mr. Quanxin Wang, the General Manager of Xiaomi Southeast Asia, Ms. Anne Wang,
Head of Marketing at POCO Global and Mr. Angus Ng, Head of Product Marketing at
POCO Global joined with top executives from Lazada, MediaTek, PUBG, Shopee and
TikTok Shop, to debate the evolving tech trends and data-driven insights in
e-commerce, gaming, chipset and smartphone markets in Southeast Asian countries.
Gen Z is "changing the game" in consumer mobile phone usage habits and
preferences, with striking changes in the last five years, the results of a new survey,
released at the Forum event, have revealed. The study of usage habits of
18-40-year-olds across Southeast Asia, conducted by global public opinion and data
company YouGov on behalf of consumer technology company POCO, has shown how
even more integral smartphones have become in their lives, with around 50% of
respondents experiencing a significant uplift in the amount of time spent across all
mobile-related activities.

POCO’s New Direction: The Perfect Balance of Price and Performance. Angus NG, POCO Head of
Global Product Marketing, announces the company’s intention to concentrate on the essential elements
of gaming to cater to the younger generation and the rising trend of mobile gaming in Southeast Asia.

Mobile the new "hub" of entertainment

The survey itself covered 2,500 consumers targeting Gen Z and Millennials in five
Southeast Asian markets, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam who
play games on their mobile devices at least once a month. The study showed, that
fueled by the recent pandemic, mobile phones have become core entertainment hubs,
and that younger Southeast Asians' mobile activities have dramatically increased over
the last three years, with surges in mobile gaming (53%), online shopping (51%) and
video streaming (48%) activities.
Entertainment drivers such as watching videos (81%) and playing online games (60%)
rank highest in daily activities, with only just over half (56%) using their phones for daily
voice calls and under half (47%) for taking photos and videos on a daily basis. When
focusing on mobile activities conducted throughout the week, almost nine in ten played
games (87%) with photo and video taking activity increasing (80%).
Mr. Angus Ng, Head of Product Marketing at POCO Global expressed enthusiasm
about the opportunities this presents for POCO, particularly in positioning the brand to
focus on specific market needs and working closely with partners to adapt their product
offerings. "POCO's intention is to steer in a new direction", he explained, "the company
aims to concentrate on the essential elements of gaming, a rising trend in Southeast
Asia. By focusing on the roots and fundamentals of mobile gaming, POCO aims to
perfect each segment between price and product, targeting the unique needs and
preferences of the younger generation in the region."

Anne Wang, POCO Global Marketing Head, leads the discussion together with other Southeast Asian
tech executives to discuss the evolving trends in e-commerce, gaming and smartphones in the region.

Gen-Z the Mobile-First Generation

As a 'mobile first' generation, Gen Z spends more hours engaged in mobile activities.
They spend more hours per week than their Millennial counterparts for all online leisure
activities, such as messaging and social media interactions, and intend to spend even
more time on their mobiles in the future.
In the immediate future, around four in every ten also say they are likely to actually
increase the amount of time spent each day on mobile-based activity, with social media
(53%), browsing the internet (56%) and, interestingly, work-related tasks registering as
the high-growth usage activities. Indeed, with changes in flexible working
post-pandemic, utilizing mobile devices for work and business use is seen as the
significant area of highest future growth (59%). The growth in entertainment activities is
set to continue, with some four in ten respondents anticipating to spend even more time
gaming, streaming video and shopping online.
Speaking at the forum, Mr. Liang Shuang, Head of Shopee Regional Electronic Cluster
said, “For smartphones that are designed for Gen Z, I'd say they're all about being
seamless. Gen Z is used to using mobile devices and they want phones that make
everything online easy. This includes things like having engaging interactions with one
another, sharing fun moments or playing exciting games within their community, or
keeping track of their health and knowing ways to improve their lifestyle.”
Mr. Tony Yuan, Senior Vice President at POCO partner Lazada, one of the largest
e-commerce operators in Southeast Asia, noted that the young generation's online
surfing habits, including increased interaction and reliance on online reviews and
comments, present exciting opportunities and intricate challenges. "While this behavior
offers new avenues for engagement, it also complicates the creation and measurement
of consumer experience," he explained. "Lazada recognizes the importance of staying
ahead in this dynamic environment, acknowledging the younger generation's
preferences and needs, and employing technology to connect with them more
effectively."

Mid-range Phones on the Rise

With these shifting usage trends, consumers are also rethinking their choice of mobile
device. An overwhelming majority agreed that, compared to five years ago, they now
have a preference for a mid-range brand phone over the bigger more established
brands. More than three-quarters (76% strongly/somewhat agree) agree, and over a
third (37%) strongly agree, they now prefer mid-range phones. This preference is being
driven by an increased confidence in mid-range brands, with 79% stating they are either
much more or somewhat more confident in mid-range phones compared to five years
ago.
This increasing confidence is centered around preference drivers including
budget-friendly affordability (57%), the balance of price and performance (57%) and
fulfilling their mobile needs without the need for excessive features (50%). With almost
half (46%) of respondents intending to replace their current mobile phone before the
end of 2024 in SEA, affordability is a top motivator dictating young consumers switch to
a mid-range brand for almost half of the respondents (42%), with enhanced
performance from faster processors, longer battery life and larger storage capacity cited
as primary considerations for both Gen Z and Millennial consumers, all strong attributes
for mid-range mobile devices.
Mr. Chunyan See, Country Sales Manager, Thailand, MediaTek, explained that
designing, studying, manufacturing, and integrating a chip takes three years, involving
extensive research, development, and collaboration. "The company ensures the
design's power efficiency and performance align with customer desire and the ongoing
commitment to innovation means MediaTek is involved in a continuous process that
requires releasing a new chip every year, reflecting modern consumers' evolving needs
and expectations," he said.
Gaming capability and performance is a key factor in this next new phone purchase
decision, with 44% of those surveyed stating it as a "very important" factor and an
additional 36% as "somewhat important" with the emphasis on long battery life,
high-performance processors and larger storage capacity largely driven by gaming
considerations.
"The overall conclusion of today's Forum is that clearly a phone's gaming capability,
balanced by affordable price-points is setting the agenda, led by the next generation of
young consumers to change the consumer game-play in widening the brand playing
field," explained Mr. Ng. "This is presenting exciting new opportunities for POCO and
the world of mid-range phone brands."

About POCO
POCO is a young independent brand born out of Xiaomi Corporation. As of now, POCO
has entered 98 global markets. The POCO philosophy – "Everything You Need, Nothing
You Don't" – drives the brand to focus its research and development efforts entirely on
POCO fans' requirements and feedback. This relentless pursuit of technology that its
fans truly need democratizes decision-making to accelerate the company's evolution
and refresh the smartphone industry.