A new white paper released by Mediacom and Facebook has found that marketers need to double the time they currently advertise to promote sales and commit more to prospecting.

eRetail in Southeast Asia is accelerating the way brands invest in commerce, with 10% compounding growth through to 2020 according to a forecast from Forrester. And according to Facebook research, high-value categories like Consumer Electronics are seeing Return on Advertising Spends (ROAS) of 11.6X, with 3.3X in competitive volume categories like Beauty products.

However, the rapid and successful rise of mega-sales has not allowed time for the learning required to maximise both efficiency and effectiveness in marketing investment. This is especially crucial for Southeast Asia where the popularity of sales events differs by market.

In Vietnam, data shows Black Friday as the lead tentpole shopping event, producing a 149% increase in online retail sales last year. While 11.11, on the other hand, saw internet shopping rise by just 64%. In Malaysia, 12.12 was the hit sale period with online retail sales jumping 195% for Malaysia in 2018, but only 92% for Singapore.

“The impact of COVID-19 has meant that we need to overlay an understanding of the impact it has had on consumers, channel and content choices,” the report noted.

To read the 2020 Mega-Sales: Double Trouble white paper in full, click here.

A Facebook meta analysis of 2019 APAC Mega-Sale Days of accounts across all categories found that there were clear benefits in advertising three or even four weeks out from a sale day. Inferring that more time is needed to make the biggest impact during such events compared to the typical two-week promotion period.


In addition, consumers see the end-of-year sales period as a time for exploring and experimenting with new products, categories and brands. In fact, in SEA, consumers are more likely to explore at end-of-year sales than any other time of the year.


Some of the implications for marketers outlined in the white paper include:

  • Consumers are more willing to try/buy new products during end-of-year sales and this year there will be even more consumers willing to do it online.
  • Price will always be king but there are more ways to add value.
  • Shopping has gone social for discovery and exploration.

Sourced from Facebook, Mediacom