Study: App Annie’s Key Insights On Indonesian Gen Z Mobile Users

By the end of 2020, Gen Z is set to be almost a third of the world’s population, and in Indonesia, the number of active Gen Z mobile users is rising 25% faster than older active users (aged 25+), according to App Annie.

A recent report from the research company revealed that as fairly new consumers, the brand preferences of Gen Z are not yet set and stated that it’s crucial brands start to adapt their strategy to this growing generation, or risk being left behind.

“Brands must act now and prepare their mobile journey to foster brand loyalty and maximise customer lifetime value,” said Cindy Deng, managing director of App Annie, Asia Pacific.

Two areas were identified as “greenfield opportunities” for brands: finance and shopping. As no global app has become the “go-to” for Gen Z users yet, there are still opportunities for brands to occupy this terrain.

When it comes to shopping, mobile-fuelled seasonal sales campaigns held during Ramadan or 11.11 are hugely successful in shaping new shopping habits in Indonesia.

It was little wonder the top app for shopping among Indonesian Gen Z users was Shopee. Akulaku, the e-commerce platform that offers online services without the need for credit card, followed closely behind while Lazada ranked third.

As Gen Z enters the workforce and begins banking with increasing frequency, banking and finance apps must offer a seamless mobile experience to acquire this growing consumer base.

Among finance apps, local player, Dana notches the top spot in Indonesia through its all-in-one digital wallet offering that allows users to make cashless and cardless payments for everyday needs such as offline purchases, mobile top ups, and bill payments.

Key Insights into Indonesia’s Gen Z Mobile Users

1. Love for gaming and entertainment drives mobile habits

With 7.6 hours spent on gaming per month, Indonesia’s Gen Z users rank third highest after Japan (~14.8 hours per month) and South Korea (over 7.8 hours per month) worldwide. However, young Indonesians also spent less time and had fewer sessions in games than their millennial peers, with average sessions recorded at 52, compared with 123 sessions for Japan – the highest.

Borrowing the love for entertainment from their millennial peers – the early adopters of social media – Indonesia’s Gen Z have taken it a step beyond by combining a love for gaming with messaging and creating a new form of social communication which builds communities.

Social gaming app HAGO (Have A Good One) is now the top-ranked app across the country with the largest growth in downloads or consumer spend between 2018 and 2019.

HAGO users can build real-time online communities around gaming, hear music, voice chat, share emojis and text message one another.

It also functions as a social network as the users meet new gamers to play with and build a community. The app also has a built-in voice chat function – a primary method of communication for Gen Z, which will likely move away from typing to adopt voice-first methods for their communication.

2. Entertaining content that is unobtrusive and builds communities is key to engagement

Staying in touch with friends was only the third most important reason Gen Z used social media. In comparison, filling up spare time and finding entertaining content were quoted as first and second, respectively.

Merely being present on social is no longer enough. If brands want to engage Gen Z on social, the content needs to be entertaining and unobtrusive.

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to digital entertainment, Steam’s video library of games, movies and entertainment content ranked high among Indonesia’s Gen Z users. Incidentally, it also ranked second in the entertainment app category for four other markets: US, Australia, Brazil and Canada.

Video games and streaming were popularised by this demographic and Steam builds the community aspect of gaming while facilitating interaction and engagement with creators.

Indonesian Gen Z users also showed a liking for films and entertainment content through Viu, the Korean drama and variety show, with iflix, Netflix and HOOQ also ranking high.

3. Social aspect of gaming integral to Gen Z engagement

Mobile has become the platform for gaming, with Gen Z accounting for 2.1x that of PC/Mac, and 2.4x that of home consoles in 2018.

Gen Z seem to gravitate to more complex games than older generations – PUBG for Gen Z vs. Candy Crush for those 25+. Brawl Stars has come up tops for the group in Indonesia. Having a social aspect (the ability to create and join clubs) is a prerequisite to maintaining continued engagement from Gen Z. 

Gaming developers who are unafraid to update gameplay to keep Gen Z engaged, offer strong multi-player gameplay built for mobile, while being aware of the unique requirements of mobile gaming, will be clear winners.