MasterCard Media Monitoring & Analysis MasterCard Retail Social Listening Study Social Media Insights July 2014 June 2015 Prepared for: MasterCard Europe Date: September 2nd, 2015
Retail Social Listening Study About the Study Study summary The MasterCard Retail Social Listening study uncovered more than 1.6 million social media posts from July 2014 to June 2015 on the subject of shopping and retail, in the context of MasterCard and its industry peers. The social media channels included within the study were Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Forums, Weibo (CN), Google+ and YouTube. The study covers unique consumer opinion from 61 markets in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim. Using PRIME Research s dynamic global insights and engagement engine the research firm identified trends on convenience, safety & security, acceptance and declines, and other aspects related to shopping and retail. What is social listening? Social listening is a new type of study or report, based on real-life social media. Publically available social media are mined for information to provide powerful insights on what topics are responsible for driving. How is the study conducted? By using PRIME Research s dynamic global insights and engagement engine the research firm can identify trends a various type of topics. In this case, we looked into convenience, safety & security, acceptance and declines, and other aspects related to shopping and retail. How do you filter out what is shopping and retail? PRIME Research and MasterCard continuously monitor and analyse content in the context of MasterCard and its industry peers. For this study, we pulled out shopping and retail /media posts from within the aforementioned pool of content by using key terminology associated with shopping and retail. How to you define a media post? A media post is a single piece of public content posted by a user of a social media network. How can you tell from what geographic region posts are published? PRIME Research collects geo-data from social media posts where this data is available. This means that we can identify where users are posting from, as long as they are sharing their location when they post. Around 1/5 of the social are geo-tagged. How does this research differentiate from traditional survey data? Using publically available social media provides a unique and relatively new angle of analysis. Consumer opinion on social media tends to reflect more of an in the moment conversation, and additionally consumers are often speaking without filters. Whereas in a typical survey, they are answering a set list of questions, and are trying to remember their experiences, or to form opinions based on questions that they are asked. So a social listening study allows analysis of consumer opinions that occur at the precise moment.
Retail Social Listening Study Topline findings Convenience Rewards & Benefits Acceptance 21% 2% Convenience 77% of all Convenience were positive in tone. All 38% of all Shopping and Retail Conversations were on the topic of Rewards & Benefits, the most discussed topic of the study. All 21% of all Shopping and Retail Conversations were on the topic of Acceptance, the second most discussed topic of the study.
Retail Social Listening Study Industry Convenience Conversations Convenience through technology innovations: New payment innovations and launches into the payments market stirred up the most conversation, the study found. The emergence of new digital payments lead to the most positive around convenience (77%) with the travel sector leading the way in terms of the highest share of coverage. Consumers specifically highlighted their preference for not necessarily needing to take their wallet on every trip and being able to use mobile payments when they travel. 21% 2% Convenience 77% of all Convenience positive in tone. 16% of Travel Convenience. 12% of Food Convenience. 11% of Consumer Tech were Convenience. 9% of Entertainment Convenience. 7% of Fashion Convenience. Travel Food Consumer Tech Entertainment Fashion
Retail Social Listening Study Industry Rewards & Benefits Conversations Being rewarded: Rewards and benefits for the consumer was the most vociferously and positively discussed topic across social media when it came to shopping and retail (38% share of coverage of the six aspects measured). Entertainment was the sector leading the way, where rewards & benefits was most discussed. Consumers expressed eagerness for further acceptance of NFC payments allowing them to receive rewards for using them regularly, such as with MasterCard s Fare Free Friday s in London. All 38% of all Shopping and Retail Conversations were Rewards & Benefits. 41% of Entertainment on the topic of Rewards & Benefits. 36% of Fashion Rewards & Benefits. 34% of Food Rewards & Benefits. 26% of Travel Rewards & Benefits. 25% of Consumer Tech were Rewards & Benefits. Entertainment Fashion Food Travel Consumer Tech.
Retail Social Listening Study Industry Acceptance Conversations Demand for increased acceptance: After rewards and benefits, consumer discussion of which retailers do and do not accept newer forms of payment was the second most discussed topic according to the study (21% share of coverage of the six aspects measured). Consumers discussed extensively their desire for retailers to integrate new payment systems, with about fashion being most prominent in terms of sector. Fashion focussed shoppers were the most keen to shout about retailers who accept new methods of payment, such as contactless acceptance and mobile payment capabilities. All 21% of all Shopping and Retail Conversations were Acceptance, the second highest aspect discussed. 37% of Fashion Acceptance. 16% of Entertainment Acceptance. 15% of Consumer Tech were Acceptance. 10% of Food Acceptance. 7% of Travel were on the topic of Acceptance. Fashion Entertainment Consumer Tech Food Travel
Retail Social Listening Study Industry Aspects Coverage by Region Rewards & Benefits aspect was responsible for 60% of Shopping & Retail conversation in MEA. Launch of MasterCard competition to win tickets to the Rugby World Cup generated sharing of content on social media. Other payment providers offers also widely shared in the region, such as Visa offering buy one get one free on cinema tickets. MEA consumers also keen for rollout of Apple Pay, and to use it to buy pins on Pinterest. In LAC, Acceptance & Declines took the highest share of any region, with 40% of coverage for the aspects included. Extensive consumer on the news that Microsoft will accept Bitcoin for mobile, apps and Xbox shopping. Europe had the greatest share of Costs & Fees coverage compared to the other sectors, with 19% for the aspects included. Users discuss fees of using certain ATM s to withdraw cash for shopping, of confusion over possible fees from overdrafts when shopping, and consumers frustrated with fees attached to gift cards, particularly with AmEx. Convenience Safety & Security Customer Service Acceptance & Declines Costs & Fees Rewards & Benefits AP 9% 9% 4% 28% 9% 40% LAC 8% 22% 8% 40% 7% 15% N. America 8% 4% 11% 19% 12% 47% Europe 13% 6% 16% 22% 19% 24% MEA 5% 10% 7% 12% 7% 60% 0% 50% Share of aspect coverage [volume] 100% Volume
Retail Social Listening Study Industry Favourable Tone by Sectors and Regions MEA had the equal highest favourable tone travel. MasterCard MEA offer a chance to win cashback when using a card when travelling for retail use, causing sharing amongst consumers. Travel packages are available as Rewards & Benefits to consumers when shopping with various products, also causing consumer sharing on social media. AP had the highest favourable tone in three of five sectors measured. For food, consumers discuss and share available discounts when using new payment technology such as contactless. For Travel, consumers note how taking a credit card abroad makes shopping easier and more convenient. LAC had the highest favourable tone on Entertainment, helped by theatre discounts from MasterCard in Colombia, Qkr! launch in Chile enabling consumers to buy food without leaving their seat, and consumers discussing various presales that are available from various different card issuers. LAC also has the highest favourable tone for the Consumer Technology sector, helped by Microsoft s decision to accept Bitcoins for app payments and computer games. Travel Food Entertainment Fashion Consumer Technology AP 97% 99% 96% 99% 92% LAC 93% 96% 97% 96% 96% N. America 86% 93% 94% 96% 90% Europe 86% 94% 95% 95% 90% MEA 97% 94% 92% 95% 94% *Values shown are favourable tone
Retail Social Listening Study Industry Most Positive Aspects by Safety & Security Positive Conversations [%] Convenience Positive Conversations [%] Spain Nigeria India Australia Mexico Australia USA France Germany UK 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Rewards & Benefits Positive Conversations [%] Acceptance & Declines Positive Conversations [%] USA Japan Australia Germany UK Japan Canada Netherlands India USA 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
PRIME Contact Offices and Team Leads PRIME RESEARCH CENTER NORTH AMERICA Ann Arbor, USA PRIME USA New York, USA PRIME RESEARCH CENTER EUROPE Mainz, Germany PRIME UK Oxford, Great Britain PRIME SWITZERLAND Zurich, Switzerland PRIME RESEARCH CENTER ASIA Shanghai, China PRIME INDIA New Delhi, India PRIME SOUTH AMERICA Montevideo, Uruguay PRIME BRAZIL Sao Paulo, Brazil PRIME RESEARCH CENTRE U.K. 58, St. Aldates Oxford, OX1 1ST UK Chi-Chi Millaway Project Director Operations Phone: +1.212.981.1172 Email: millaway@prime-research.com Dave Reynolds Project Manager Phone: 01865 324 910 Email: reynolds@prime-research.com