Rongyun's overseas insights, overseas social market regions

RCGI (RongCloud Global Insight) is an analysis and insight column specially launched by RongCloud Industry Research Institute. Follow [Rongyun Global Internet Communication Cloud] to learn more

Through the regional chapter of overseas social market research last week, we have sorted out an overview of the major regions in the world. Today, focusing on developed regions and developing regions, we provide you with key reference information for social going overseas such as the characteristics of social markets in different regions, user payment habits, and preferred gameplay through the method of classified research.

---

developed area

The notable features of developed regions in the social market are: the social hardware and software construction is complete, people's payment habits and abilities are better, but the population structure is often accompanied by a certain degree of aging.

According to GSMA data, the proportion of 4G/5G equipment in high-income countries will reach 73% in 2020, providing good network conditions and equipment conditions for audio and video social networking.

Most of the countries in developed regions have entered the stage of population aging, and the proportion of the young population is not high. However, due to the high per capita GDP, users have strong social entertainment payment ability and payment habits . These are the developers who go out to socialize. favorable factors.

The disadvantage is that the cost of purchasing volume in developed markets is relatively high , which is not conducive to the entry of emerging software into the market. According to the data from Beluga, the purchasing cost of Facebook channel social applications in developed markets is several times higher than the global average. On a global average, CPM (cost per thousand people) is less than $4, CPC (cost per click) is less than $0.5, and CTR (click-through rate) is about 2%.

The cost of purchasing in developed markets is high
*Data source: Beluga Going to the Sea, Rongyun Industry Research Institute

European region

Sensor Tower statistics show that European mobile users will spend more than $780 million on dating and social apps in 2021, up 30% year-on-year. This figure is expected to exceed $200 million in 2022Q1.

In other words, in Q1 2022, European users will spend $1,600 per minute on dating apps .

And, although Social Discovery (matching based on user interests) apps have made great strides, they have not been able to shake the dominance of traditional dating apps, which contribute more than 80% of user revenue. Among them, Tinder, Badoo and Bumble are the top players in traditional platforms.

Among social discovery apps, Azar, LivU, and Bermuda are the most popular among users. The category has the most competition in the Turkish market, followed by Russia and France.

In addition, the European social e-commerce market may also usher in explosive growth . Recent research by Research And Markets shows that the social e-commerce market will reach $67.2 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 36.0% from 2022 to 2028.

North America

Different from the concept of North America, the "North America region" we often refer to usually refers to regions such as the United States, Canada and Greenland. It is one of the fifteen major regions in the world and one of the most economically developed regions in the world.

basic situation

The total population of North America is approximately 368 million, accounting for 5% of the world's total population. However, the population distribution is uneven, most of which are in the southeast, with the highest population density near New York and around Lake Erie, with more than 200 people per square kilometer; m less than 1 person.

Most of the residents of North America are descendants of European immigrants, the languages are English and Spanish, and the religions are mainly Protestant and Catholic.

social market

①Social platforms : According to GlobalWebIndex's February 2022 US social media report, there are 270 million social media users in the US , and Facebook is the most popular social platform in North America, followed by Instagram.

According to the survey, more than 40% of social media users have more than 5 social media accounts . In addition to the traditional social giants, Americans are also increasing their use of other social apps, such as Reddit, as the platform allows consumers to create community- or topic-based content while maintaining a certain level of privacy.

② Usage : According to the Pew Research Center, more than 70% of Americans use social media, and this trend has remained stable for the past 5 years. Americans spend an average of 2 hours and 7 minutes a day on social media, ranking 25th globally, while Canadians rank 38th with 1 hour and 46 minutes.

According to the GlobalWebIndex survey, US Internet users have many motivations for using social media, and news still plays a leading role . 48% of U.S. adults say they regularly get news from social media. Nearly 70 percent of Twitter users say the platform is where they get their news, and it's concentrated in three areas: entertainment, politics, and sports . For now, Facebook remains the primary news source for Americans.

③Social e-commerce <br>According to new data from SproutSocial, TikTok is currently the most popular social platform in the United States to find products to buy . More than 68% of consumers have had the experience of buying directly from a social platform, and 98% plan to make at least one purchase through a social platform this year. Americans are expected to spend $1.2 trillion in the social commerce market by 2025 .

---

development area

Although the total economic volume and per capita GDP of these regions are not as good as those of developed regions, the larger population base and younger population structure also contain more social entertainment needs, injecting great potential for future social development.

This article selects the three most representative regions of the development region for research, which is also the region where China's social market developers focus on going overseas - MENA region, Southeast Asia and Latin America .

MENA area

MENA region is the abbreviation of Middle East and North Africa (Middle East and North Africa) region, including 24 countries and regions in West Asia and North Africa, of which 22 are Muslim countries.

The total population of the MENA region exceeds 500 million. Among them, the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are all important oil-producing countries, and these countries also constitute the richer areas in the MENA market. This area has a population of 34 million, a very young population structure and a high degree of urbanization. The per capita GDP is also very high – in the UAE, for example, the per capita GDP in 2021 will reach $42,884, which is higher than Japan and more than three times the per capita GDP of China.

Per capita GDP of major developed countries and some countries in the MENA region in 2021
*The Rongyun Industry Research Institute is organized according to public information

basic situation

According to statistics, people aged 15-25 in MENA account for over 40% , and each family has an average of more than 4 children. The trend of population rejuvenation is expected to continue for many years. There is a huge demographic dividend here. This has triggered high demand in some industries.

The economy of the Middle East countries is growing rapidly, and the penetration rate of science and technology is also very prominent. Its Internet penetration rate reaches 92%, and the mobile phone penetration rate reaches 78%, which can compete with the two major economies of North America and Japan.

The acceptance rate of smartphones is above 50%, and the Internet penetration rate is much higher than that of China. In the Middle East and North Africa, the Internet penetration rates of the six Gulf countries are all above 90%; among the three North African countries, Tunisia and Morocco also have Internet penetration rates above 60%.

According to data from Frost & Sullivan, in 2019, the number of social and entertainment app downloads in a single active user mobile phone in the MENA market was only 3.4, compared with 6.2 and 13.8 in the United States and China during the same period.

The offline entertainment supply in the MENA region is still lacking, and the per capita area of cinemas and shopping venues is lower than that of Europe, America and Southeast Asia. With the increase in the penetration rate of smartphones in the MENA region, the number of users using audio and video social software is expected to grow rapidly .

Venture capital trend

The venture capital boom in the Middle East and North Africa began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the growth of the digital industry caused by the pandemic has highlighted the importance of start-ups: a technology company with technology accumulation and growth potential , in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, will outperform real estate Traditional industries such as fintech , e-commerce, social gaming, food logistics , etc. are more attractive, especially those industries that have benefited the most from the new crown epidemic.

The superior economic strength and population base give this market natural market potential and advantages. SoftBank and Sequoia Capital entered the region in 2021 with a combined investment of over $2.8 billion (nearly half of which went to UAE-based startups), a figure nearly four times the amount raised in 2020.

paid market

According to research by Niko Partners, there will be 65.32 million players in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt alone in 2021, and the total gaming market revenue will be about $1.76 billion, of which the Saudi market alone will reach $1 billion.

In the five-year period from 2021 to 2025, the compound annual growth rate of the game market in these three countries is expected to reach nearly 13.8%.

Southeast Asia

basic situation

Looking at the world, the Southeast Asian market has the largest number of young users in the world, and the average age of nearly 700 million people is only about 30 years old . At the same time, Southeast Asia is also the region with the highest proportion of Chinese population, and the penetration rate of the Internet population has reached 75%, especially with the development of social media, such as TikTok, Youtube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other overseas mainstream platforms have loyal users here .

According to Bain Information, the number of netizens in six Southeast Asian countries will increase from 360 million in 2019 to 440 million in 2021, with a network penetration rate of over 75%. Taking Indonesia as an example, the number of social media users will reach 173 million in 2020, and the social media used is still mainly graphic and text.

social pain points

The Southeast Asian market has a common pain point for software developers - the delivery rate of SMS verification codes has been around 80% and cannot be improved, and even the delivery rate of some merchants is less than 50%.

In response to this problem, developers can improve through SMS service providers with direct communication channels, and at the same time use WhatsApp business numbers to convert verification codes, which can improve the conversion rate while optimizing costs.

Paid performance

The payment ratio of Chinese social apps in Southeast Asia is only 0.94%, compared with 1.74% and 3% for entertainment apps and game apps, respectively. There is still much room for improvement in the payment rate of social app users.

Data shows that more than 60% of users of Southeast Asian entertainment products have paid within the first 48 hours, so the first two days are very critical for entertainment developers in Southeast Asia.

Comparison of the payment situation of users in the United States and Southeast Asia
*Data source: Beluga whales go to sea

At present, the competition for purchase volume in Southeast Asia is not very fierce , especially for entertainment products. The proportion of unnatural installations of Chinese applications and local applications is about 50%, which means that the proportion of users who are guided to download and install by advertisements is relatively low. In contrast, the proportion of Chinese entertainment products in India, the United States, and Latin America has reached 60%, which is also one of the attractiveness of the Southeast Asian market.

Buying competition in Southeast Asia is not yet fierce
*Data source: Beluga go to sea, Rongyun

In view of the characteristics of the Southeast Asian social market, when developers build platforms in Southeast Asia, they should pay attention to different indicators in the life cycle of different platforms. For example, in the initial stage, they should focus on user volume, conversion rate, retention rate, and number of active users, etc. , in the middle and late stages, you should pay more attention to details, such as improving user experience and reducing platform operating costs.

Latin America

Latin America, referred to as Latin America, refers to the Americas south of the United States. With a total population of approximately 650 million people, Latin America is unevenly distributed, with the most densely populated areas in the West Indies, eastern Brazil and the coast of Argentina.

Most of Latin America was historically colonized by Spain and Portugal, and the languages were mostly Latin. The ethnic composition of Latin America is relatively complex, including Indians, whites, blacks and various mixed blood types. Indo-European mixed blood is the most, followed by whites, Indians, and blacks the least. Most of the residents of Latin America believe in Catholicism, and a small number of them are Catholics. Believe in Christianity.

basic situation

According to a study of Latin America by Comscore and the Shareablee Association, the average Latin American user visits social media 15 times a month. Each person spends 180 minutes per month on social media, with an average visit time of 11 minutes.

Across Latin America, consumption via mobile devices is prevalent on desktops and tablets, with an average of 405 million minutes of monthly visits. Video posts on social media have an 8% higher share rate than regular posts.

According to a social commerce data on Latin America published by Forbes, 59% of sellers avoid calling customers as much as possible, preferring to use additional channels for service communication with customers.

By 2025, the percentage of Latin America's population using a smartphone will increase to about 75 percent, according to App Annie (now rebranded as data.ai). In the first half of 2021, the daily use of Android phones in Latin American countries surpassed the United States, with users spending an average of 4.2 hours on their mobile devices.

Android phone usage time per day
*Data source: App Annie

Competitive Landscape

The current digital landscape in Latin America is developing rapidly, and the market potential is huge.

According to Zendesk's State of Messaging 2020 study, WhatsApp has emerged as the preferred communication channel in the Latin American social commerce market , with 32% of sellers using the tool.

Meanwhile, during the pandemic, Latin American sellers saw a 231% increase in SMS usage, a 175% increase in WhatsApp usage, and a 99% increase in social media usage.

According to data from App Annie (now renamed data.ai), Kwai, a subsidiary of Kuaishou, has a penetration rate of over 20% in Latin America.

According to the survey, more than 50% of Brazilian consumers have made online purchases through social media platforms in the past year due to the increasing penetration of the Internet and smartphones among consumers.

In addition, the shift from in-store consumption to online consumption has also led to an increase in the penetration of social media buyers in Brazil. According to industry insiders, Brazil has the highest shopper penetration rate of social media platforms among Latin American countries, at 40%. Research analysis shows that Brazil's social e-commerce GMV is expected to grow by 44.9% in 2022 to reach $2,218.6 million .

payment habits

The payment habits of Latin American users can be divided into two categories, one is digital payment and the other is mobile pos.

Digital payment is to jump to the payment webpage or payment product to complete the payment after placing an order. Mobile pos is to use mobile devices to complete the payment at the point of sale, which can be understood as mobile scan code payment.

Currently, 90%-95% of the payment scenarios in Latin America are digital payment, and only 5%-10% are mobile POS, which is far behind the world average.

According to data, about 40% of online payments in China are mobile scan code payments, and 60% are redirected to traditional payment pages. Latin American mobile pos still has a broad room for growth in the future.

Digital payment can be divided into two payment methods, one is bank card payment and the other is cash payment. For different scenarios, payment habits are not the same. For example, in games and other scenarios, the paying group is relatively young and does not have a bank card, so there are more cash payments, while e-commerce companies pay a higher proportion of credit cards.

In addition, Latin American users have several notable payment habits. First, if you pay by card, you are used to paying in installments; second, when using interactive entertainment products, Latin American users like to subscribe and pay, and Latin American users can adopt a small monthly payment strategy; third, in the future, online and offline The combination of consumption scenarios will become a trend, so it is very important to support scan code payment.

---

RCGI's overseas social market research regional articles have been shared. Next, the Rongyun Industry Research Institute will also share chapters on applications, industries, and compliance. The in-depth series of articles are worth watching 😉