ASIA PACIFIC — In a new research by MasterCard, it was found that across Asia Pacific, women are more likely to buy gifts for other people while men are more likely to to shop for themselves. Many of these presents are bought by mothers for Birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s Day and other festivities.
In 12 of the 14 Asia Pacific markets surveyed, women were more likely to buy presents for others than men. In Malaysia, women bought the same proportion of gifts as men, and only in Singapore were men more likely than women to buy presents for others.
This Mother’s day, take the chance to turn this around.
In April, MasterCard launched a Mother’s Day campaign in which people from Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia and China shared the Priceless moment they would like to create for their mums and why, in the form of comments, photos or videos on MasterCard’s Facebook, Weibo and WeChat accounts. The most engaging story in each location will be rewarded with the Priceless Moment courtesy of MasterCard.
From these competition entries, MasterCard found that many people want to surprise their mother with something they have personally created, such as a home-cooked meal. Another common theme was wishing to provide mothers with a chance to take a break from their hectic lives so that they can relax with a getaway or a spa treatment.
“It is clear that there is a gender imbalance when it comes to the buying of presents. It is often thought that women shop more for themselves than men but actually men are more likely to be spending money on themselves. This is despite the common expectation that men will make the bigger purchases for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day and anniversaries. Much of women’s shopping is on presents bought for family and friends, for birthdays, New Year’s Day, Christmas and other festivities. Mother’s Day provides the perfect opportunity to address this imbalance and think of the perfect present for the most important woman in our lives,” said Georgette Tan, Group Head, Communications, Asia/Pacific.
