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20 November 2006
Bangkok
Thailand’s Internet consumers are happy to turn back the hands of time, with 63 percent of Thais agreeing that their 40s is the new 30s, and the same percentage also consider their 30s as the new 20s. About half of them believe their 60s is the new middle age, according to a survey by ACNielsen, the world’s leading market research company.
In the largest Internet survey of its kind conducted in 41 markets globally, ACNielsen asked consumers about their attitudes towards age, living in the parental home into your late 20s, and cosmetic surgery.
Thai consumers ranked among the top ten in “turn back the clock”
The rush to ‘turn back the clock’ is most keenly felt by consumers across Europe and Asia Pacific. Consumers in Thailand ranked among the top 10 markets that agreed their 40s was the new 30s, and top 10 agreeing their 30s was the new 20s, Similarly, about 51 percent of Thai consumers agreeing their 60s was the new middle age. Japan and Korea lead the region with most people agreeing to these statements. People in Indonesia appear to be least receptive to any of these ideas in the meantime. (Table 1-2).
In general, women are quicker to embrace the idea of ‘turning back the clock’ than their male counterparts. Globally, 57 percent of women agreed that the 30s is the new 20s, compared to 51 percent of men; 64 percent of women thought 40s the new 30s, compared to 58 percent of men; and 60 percent of women thought 60s the new middle a ge, versus 52 percent of men.
Thais say “It is perfectly ok to remain in the parental home until their late 20s”
When it comes to remaining in the parental home until your late 20s, opinion was divided. Thai respondents (70%) agreed that it was perfectly ok to remain in the parental home, similar to consumers in Asia Pacific where the extended family is still very much part of the cultural landscape. Nine out of the top 10 markets agreeing that it was perfectly ok to remain in the parental home hailed from Asia Pacific, led by Singapore (88%), Indonesia (83%) and Taiwan (79%). At the other end of the spectrum, of the 10 markets most in disagreement that it was ok to stay home until your late twenties, eight were European, lead by Norwegians (83%), Russians, French (79%) and Swiss (77%)
“In Asia, it is culturally more acceptable for children to remain in the family home into their twenties, while in Europe there is greater expectation that children will leave for university or secondary education, and not return”.
“We are living much longer than previous generations, significantly increasing the number of years we are old relative to the years we are young. Or it may just be that we are - at least in our minds if not our bodies - staying young for longer. It could be argued that we are taking longer to ‘grow up’, staying on longer in further education and often remaining in the parental home into our mid twenties,” said Chantira Luesakul, Managing Director, ACNielsen ( Thailand ) Co.Ltd.
Cosmetic Surgery is not an option
While people these days are happy to turn back the clock in terms of their attitude to their age, are they as likely to 'enhance their appearance' to look younger? Overwhelmingly NOT! 84 percent of Thai respondents said they would not consider cosmetic surgery when they're older compared with 86 percent of consumers in Asia Pacific and 80 percent of global average. (Table 3)
Among the top 10 markets most likely to consider cosmetic surgery, Russia ranked number one, with just under half saying they would, followed by Greeks and people in the Baltics. Korea (28%) was the only non-European market making the top 10 list. (Table 6) At the other end of the scale, 94 percent of people in Hong Kong would not consider surgery, followed by Indonesians (92%), Malaysians and Japanese (91%).
“The goalposts have moved. Our perspective on what constitutes a ‘young adult’, ‘old’ or ‘middle-aged’ and the lifestyle and behavior appropriate to each of these phases in our lives has changed accordingly. Stereotypes are being broken, requiring marketers to find new ways to communicate and connect with their target consumers.” said Chantira Luesakul,
The ACNielsen Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey is the largest half-yearly survey of its kind aiming at gauging current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and current major concerns of consumers across the globe. The ACNielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumer’s confidence in the job market, status of their personal finance and their readiness to spend. The latest survey, conducted in late May/early June, polled about 22,780 internet users in 41 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America to the Baltics.
Markets Covered:
Australia (Aus), Austria (AT), Belgium (Bel), Canada (Can), China (Cn), Denmark (Den), Finland (Fin), France (Fra), Germany (Ger), Greece (Gre), Hong Kong (HK), India (Ind), Indonesia (Indo), Ireland (Ire), Italy (Ita), Japan (Jpn), Korea (Kor), Malaysia (Mal), Netherlands (NL), New Zealand (NZ), Norway (Nor), Philippines (PH), Poland (Pol), Portugal (Por), Russia (Rus), Singapore (SG), South Africa (SA), Spain (Spa), Sweden (Swe), Switzerland (Swi), Taiwan (TW), Thailand (TH), Turkey (TR), United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Czech Republic (Cze), Hungary (Hun), Vietnam (Vnm) and the Baltics (Bal) which covers Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com
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