CASE: Survey: Growing religious observance reshaping consumer landscape in Malaysia, SE Asia The report said that Muslim-influenced consumerism has now expanded to include fashion, banks, travel, education, as well as personal spending, investment and donations. Picture by Firdaus Latif By Ashman Adam Thursday, 22 Sep 2022 7:00 AM MYT KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 Growing religious observance fuelled by government policies implemented to promote sectors such as halal foods and Islamic banking, as well as political parties courting Muslim votes has reshaped the Muslim consumer landscape in Malaysia and its neighbouring countries in merely a single generation, a report has indicated. Because of this, the report, penned by Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, in collaboration with VMLY&R Malaysias Muslim Intel Lab titled The New Muslim Consumer: How Rising Observance is Reshaping the Consumer Landscape in South-east Asia and Beyond, showed that 33 per cent of its respondents say they are more observant of their faith compared to their parents at their age. The report said that prior to this, Muslim-influenced consumerism would only encompass food primarily the avoidance of pork and alcohol but has now expanded to include fashion, banks, travel, education, as well as personal spending, investment and donations, leading to the MKT201 (January 2023 Semester, Take Home Examination) Page 5 emergence of modest fashion brands, Shariah-compliant banks, hijabi-only hair salons, as well as halal dim sum restaurants. It also noted that this urbanisation of Islam has prompted the growth of Islamic stamps of approval, such as halal certification for products or services.

ADVERTISING Hew Wai Weng, a research fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) who studies the Muslim middle class in Malaysia and Indonesia, dubbed this liquid Islamism, a riff on the concept of liquid modernity which describes constant change within contemporary society. Urbanisation is one of the reasons halal certification has become so important in Malaysia and Indonesia. This (certification) is especially important for those who leave the familiarity of close-knit small towns and villages for cities, as they look for a network they can trust, he was quoted as saying in the report. Based on this, the report found that Islam has become a significant part of daily life, with 91 per cent of respondents saying that having a strong relationship with Allah is very important, on par with health care and followed closely by family, at 89 per cent. On the other end of the spectrum, only 34 per cent of the respondents view wealth as important, only 28 per cent say following their passions is important, and only 12 per cent cite fame

The report also stated that men are significantly more likely than women to prioritise marriage, children and career, while women are significantly more likely to place importance on having new experiences and experiences that are different from their parents, as well as travel. In terms of gender roles and responsibilities, the report found that a majority of respondents indicated that men provide the most financial support for their households. However, a significant minority two out of five of women say they provide the most financial support for their household. Of that number, 17 per cent of women consider themselves to be heads of their households as they provide the most financial support within it. The urbanisation of the Muslim consumer has also led to an agreement that young women should have more access to education. However, fewer than one-third strongly feel that young women should have more freedoms than they do now, or more of a voice in their mosque community or government

In terms of travel, the availability of halal restaurants and hotel options are just as important as the cost of travelling for Muslim consumers and have become top drivers of destination choice when considering international travel. Muslim consumers will also now take note of the friendliness of the destinations governments and citizens towards Muslims when deciding. The survey also showed that Muslims are adopting technology to further their halal lifestyle, including using mobile apps, with 42 per cent and 39 per cent of men shopping online at least once a week. It said that consumers are most likely to turn to online shopping for clothing, household products, beauty products, tech products and groceries, while men are more likely to purchase tech products online, but otherwise women are more likely to make online purchase. The survey covered 1,000 consumers in Indonesia and Malaysia, conducted in May 2022 by SONAR, Wunderman Thompsons proprietary online research tool

Base on the case above: Answer Questions 1 and 2.

Question 1 Based on the case above. With the information gained from the survey. Explain 5 ways, how the market can be segmented by businesses locally and/or abroad. (25 marks)

Question 2 Describe what businesses can and must do if they wish to target the consumers in the article. Be specific in your answer

Please writte 500 words for each question or at east try to reach this number.

Halal consumer Importance when making purchase decisions (\% very important) Meaning of halal (\%) Q. When shopping for products, how important or unimportant are the Q. Although you may have just mentioned some of these, which of the following things to you, personally? following, if any, come to your mind when you hear the word "halal"? Whether or not an item is halal is the most important factor to Being halal means being certified by an Islamic body, and free from pork consumers when making a purchase decision. Consumers also prioritize and alcohol. Consumers also associate halal with being pure and clean. value and quality. Muslims in Malaysia are significantly more likely than Indonesians to associate halal with cleanliness. Religious observance Prayer frequency (%) Religious observance compared to parents at same age Q. How often, if at all, do you usually pray? Q. Overall, how much more or less religiously observant would you say you are when compared to your parents when they were your age? The vast majority of Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia pray five times a One-third of respondents say they are more religiously observant than day. Women and older adults are more likely to do so. their parents were at their age. The sentiment is stronger in Indonesia than Malaysia and also among women and younger adults. Q. How important or unimportant are each of the following things to you__ Men are significantly more likely than women to prioritize marriage, Importance of issues (\% very important)-by gender children, and a career while women are significantly more likely to place personally, in your life? importance on having new experiences and experiences that are different from their parents, as well as travel. Halal consumer Importance when making purchase decisions (\% very important) Meaning of halal (\%) Q. When shopping for products, how important or unimportant are the Q. Although you may have just mentioned some of these, which of the following things to you, personally? following, if any, come to your mind when you hear the word "halal"? Whether or not an item is halal is the most important factor to Being halal means being certified by an Islamic body, and free from pork consumers when making a purchase decision. Consumers also prioritize and alcohol. Consumers also associate halal with being pure and clean. value and quality. Muslims in Malaysia are significantly more likely than Indonesians to associate halal with cleanliness. Religious observance Prayer frequency (%) Religious observance compared to parents at same age Q. How often, if at all, do you usually pray? Q. Overall, how much more or less religiously observant would you say you are when compared to your parents when they were your age? The vast majority of Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia pray five times a One-third of respondents say they are more religiously observant than day. Women and older adults are more likely to do so. their parents were at their age. The sentiment is stronger in Indonesia than Malaysia and also among women and younger adults. Q. How important or unimportant are each of the following things to you__ Men are significantly more likely than women to prioritize marriage, Importance of issues (\% very important)-by gender children, and a career while women are significantly more likely to place personally, in your life? importance on having new experiences and experiences that are different from their parents, as well as travel