Families valued top in Asia under recession

BANGKOK, 21 December 2009 (NNT) – A poll recently conducted among 33,000 people from 16 economic zones, including Thailand, shows that 95% of the samples give priority to the family value while 80% wish to have better ties with others in their community.

Charu Harish, Grey Group Asia Pacific’s Regional Communications Planning Director, said the Asians’ viewpoints have shifted from self-centering to a cluster’s value. Many felt unsecure about their jobs, the economy, and political situation. Although most Asians are not as much affected by the recession as the Europeans, they felt the family is the only refuge under the crisis.

According to the survey, the people in developing countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and China, tend to have closer relations with their communities compared to a developed nation like Japan. The lack of fundamental structure and government support may be the cause of such dependency.

Most of the sampling parents admit they are concerned that the modern lifestyle is making their kids grow up too fast and expose them to too much information. 2 out of 3 of the respondents say they usually seek advice from families or friends when it comes to shopping or travel destination choices despite vast amount of information available elsewhere. This indicates that the word-of-mouth strategy rules the market in the region as families and communities are influential to individual’s decision.