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Many have tried to follow the lead of attempting to
tap into a huge market : Asian women. Why? Because of their
SPENDING
POWER and their power, nee influence and
because of their influence on Family.
China's affluent females look online for
style
Lifestyle, fashion and female related web sites are
giving marketers access to approximately 45 million Chinese consumers, according
to new research.
Nielsen Online research shows that young people are
the most frequent visitors to these sights, particularly young women aged 20 to
30 years.
Hans Yu, managing director for Nielsen Online Greater
China described this group of internet users as the 3H group, with high incomes,
high standards and high consumption.
The study revealed online visitors to lifestyle,
fashion and female related sites tend to have higher purchasing power with
around 60% owning a computer or MP3 and 55% having a credit card.
Nielsen Online conducted research and monitors online
traffic of fashion and female related online media between April to May that
revealed weekly unique browsers exceeding seven million. -
2008 June 23 MARKETING
INTERACTIVE
During the first wave of dotcom, many including
www.RedSkirt.com , www.cwow.com and others, tried to create a community for
Asian women. But they do not have the depth or the longevity as our
beta site. However, a number of characteristics have been
established through their efforts and some even cashed out and made a lot of
money. There is no doubt though as to the viability of technology for the
benefit of Asian women.
THE FAMILY--Seeking bonds in an information
society / Keep the e-home fires burning
For some parents in this age of technology, the cell
phone represents the sometimes best, sometimes last, method of communication
with their children.
For Michiko Takeda in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, text
messages are heaven-sent, as they allow her to maintain a friendly, albeit
infrequent, relationship with her daughter.
There is one message in particular Takeda, 52,
treasures dearly. She received it from her 21-year-old daughter, Ichiko, on
Christmas night, 2004.
"I've caused you a lot of heartache," it
reads. "There are times when I feel so filled with regret, that I almost
break down and cry. You don't have to try so hard any more. Thank you for all
you've done for me."
Takeda could not hold back the tears as she read the
message from her computer screen.
Following Takeda's divorce, the two had lived together
in Tokyo. But at about the time Ichiko entered the second year of middle school,
she began to lash out, arguing with her mother whenever they saw each other.
About halfway through her first year of high school, Ichiko dropped out of
school and ran away, telling her mother, "I want to do something I
like."
At the time, the only way the two could manage to keep
in touch was by e-mail.
When she sends a message to Ichiko, the reply is often
curt, such as "Okay." But even these types of messages are a relief
for the mother. When her computer notifies her that she has a new message,
Takeda quickly scurries over to the computer, sits down and reads the e-mail.
"Back then, I couldn't hold back my emotions when
I'd see my daughter or hear her voice," she recalled. "E-mail has been
our savior."
Ichiko agrees. "We've really calmed down, because
even when it's just a short sentence we have time to think [about what we
say]."
The turning point in their relationship came when
Takeda was looking after her mother, who had been rushed to the hospital after
choking on some food. Takeda sent Ichiko a message, condemning herself for
"not having been paying enough attention." But her daughter's response
hit home. "It's not your fault," it read.
Since then, the two women have come to e-mail each
other even more, becoming more open with each other in the process.
Despite her earlier problems, Ichiko eventually passed
the university entrance qualification examination and is currently studying
welfare at a Tokyo university.
===
Electronic ties that bind
Communicating via e-mail or cell phone is typical of
family ties in the information age, according to Takuji Okuno, professor of
information anthropology at Kwansei University.
"Information comes into households from around
the world via TV or the Internet, and family members can connect to the outside
world at any time through e-mail," Okuno said. "The improved access to
information is reducing the bonds between family members, but in troubled areas,
it's keeping them together comfortably."
According to the Metropolitan Police Department's
juvenile care division, there are about 900 runaways every year in protective
custody in Tokyo. Almost all of them carry cell phones.
"Most of their parents pay the phone bill,"
the division's Kazuo Matsumura said. "It could be their last line of
communication."
Last spring, a 20-year-old Tokyoite left home after
fighting with his father upon failing a university entrance examination.
At night, his mother often went behind his father's
back and called him as he slept in a park. "Even if I didn't know where he
was, just knowing that his phone was still working made me feel a little
better," she said.
Two weeks later, her son fell sick. She asked him to
come home, and he did.
"Families who come together and can talk about
anything aren't the only ideal. It's possible to maintain a variety of family
ties by sending e-mail or talking on the cell phone," said Okuno, who
himself uses e-mail to communicate with his son, who attends university away
from home. "Plus, there are some things you can say with e-mail that would
normally be too embarrassing to say otherwise." - The
Yomiuri Shimbun 17 March 2006
Asian Families Closer with the
Internet
The Internet has radically changed
lifestyles and habits of Asians, but contrary to some fears, it has helped
strengthen rather than weaken the family bonds, survey results by credit card
issuer MasterCard International indicates.
According to The Asian Post, the survey was carried out in December and Janaury
involving nearly 5,500 mostly middle-class consumers in 13 Asia Pacific
countries polled by phone or face to face. Fifty-three percent of
those polled said they use the Internet, with 64 per cent of users saying they
still spend the same amount of time with their families and friends.
Of the Internet users in the region, eighty three percent cited e-mail as the
main reason for logging on. In Japan and India, 99 percent of the users
said e-mail was the main reason for logging on.
Asian women speed forward on Net highway
Women now represent more
than half of North America's Internet surfers, with their Asian sisters not far
behind.
A survey by Nielsen/NetRatings reveals that in the
U.S., women now make up 52 percent of the total at-home Web population.
But the Asia-Pacific region is catching up, with the
number of female surfers increasing by an average 36 per cent across the region
since January.
Fussier breed of surfer
"Globally we have found that women are a fussier
breed of surfer than their male counterparts," Hoe Chin Fee, South Asia
managing director of ACNielsen eRatings.com, said in a statement.
"Women are much more efficient in their Web usage
-- they spend less time online as they generally know what they're looking for
and leave once they achieve their goal."
Australian women are winning the Web race for their
gender in the region, according to the industry ratings agency.
In Australia, women account for 48 percent of the
Internet population, followed by New Zealand (46 percent), South Korea (45
percent), Hong Kong (44 percent), Singapore (42 percent) and Taiwan (41
percent).
Asia-Pacific women spent an average 12 hours surfing
the Internet in May, compared with 14.5 hours for men.
Women also spend more time online during the day,
while men's surfing times peak in the evening, the report added.
More than half of the region's female users are active
online between 4pm and 10pm, while men's peak time is usually between 8pm and
10pm. - By Kristie Lu Stout
CNN
4 July 2001
Chinadotcom Corporation
Invests to Enrich Women's Lives; Jump Start
Incubation Programme Embraces Chinese Women's Site
HONG KONG, March 6 2000
-- Chinadotcom corporation invested to bring new online resources to the
fingertips of Chinese women across the region. The company has taken a minority
stake in WOW Networks, which wholly-owns a website called Chinese Women On the
Web (http://www.cwow.com) , one of the first comprehensive content, community,
and e-commerce sites specifically targeted at modern and progressive global
Chinese women between the ages of 20 and 35.
chinadotcom corporation and cwow.com (pronounced
see-wow) plan to capitalise on what is one of the fastest growing Internet
consumer segments. In the United States, women already represent 48 per cent of
all Internet users, according to Media Metrix. Similarly, AC Nielsen found that
women comprise 41% of all surfers in Hong Kong and 46% in Taiwan. At the same
time, the online advertising and retail market is expected to flourish in the
next few years. In forecasts by IDC for Greater China alone, online advertising
spending is expected to reach US$905 million in 2001 and those of online retail
spending to pass US$3.8 billion in 2003.
``Work carried out by Jupiter Research suggests women
will, in time, outnumber their male counterparts on the Internet. Coupled with
the predicted explosion in online advertising and retail spending in Greater
China, we see a compelling opportunity for us to drive the development of
Web-based services for this sector,'' said chinadotcom corporation's Chief
Operating Officer, Peter Hamilton, also a Director of WOW Networks.
``Women today are highly educated and diverse in their
interests. The women's segment targeted by http://www.cwow.com/ forms an
increasingly powerful online consumer market as it is made up of women who are
financially independent and who have strong purchasing power.''
``We did extensive research and found that educated
Chinese women lacked localized, interactive advice on life events and an
organized forum for exchange of ideas,'' remarked founders and Co-CEOs of
cwow.com Angeline Chow and Patricia Tung. ``We aim to be the premiere
destination for this audience. At the same time, our platform will provide
effective online and offline advertising, market research, and
e-commerce-enabling services to businesses targeting this segment of the
market.''
WOW Networks is headquartered in Hong Kong, with a
branch office in Taiwan and will shortly be opening an office in mainland China.
- 5 Mar 2000 YAHOO!
Editor's note: Hello! Tai Tai.com
has reaches like-minded friends in London, New York, Toronto, San Francisco,
Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.
The sites mentioned above are no longer active as a matter of note.
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