Advertising and marketing in the Philippines

Marketing opportunities

Consumer Profile: The Philippines has a population of around 109,180,000 (July 2020 est.) and a population growth rate of 1.52% (CIA, 2020 est.). The dominant religion is the Roman Catholic one, with 80.6%, followed with the Protestant one 8.2% (includes Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches 2.7%, National Council of Churches in the Philippines 1.2%, other Protestant 4.3%). Muslims represent 5.6% of the population. There are 1.01 men per woman.

The median age is 24.1 years. 32.4% of the population is aged 14 years or under, 19.1% of the population is between 15 and 24 years old, 37.3% of the population is between 25 and 54 years old, 6.1% of the population is between 55 and 64 years old and 4.9% of the population is 65 years or older.
47.4% of the population lives in urban areas; the rate of urbanisation is 1.99% annually. The population is concentrated near good farmlands; highest concentrations are northwest and south-central Luzon, the south-eastern extension of Luzon and the islands of the Visayan Sea, particularly Cebu and Negros; Manila is home to one-eighth of the entire national population.

The average household size is 4.7 people, 5% of the household count only one person, 26% of the household count 2 or 3 people, 37 % of the household count 4 or 5 people and 32% of the household count 6 people or more.
The major urban areas are Manila with 13,482 million inhabitants, Davao, with 1,745 million inhabitants, Zamboanga, with 894,000 inhabitants and Antipolo with 837,000 inhabitants.
98.2% of the population can read and write. Recent education reforms have sought to boost enrolment levels, graduation rates and mean years of schooling in elementary and secondary education, and to improve the quality of higher education. Many of these reforms were adopted against a backdrop of declining educational standards in the Philippine education system during the first decade of the 21st century.
23% of the population work in agriculture, 20% in industry and 57% in services (World Bank, 2020 est.).

Purchasing Power: The GDP per capita (PPP) is estimated at USD 9,277 (World Bank, 2019) growing from USD 7,180 five years earlier. The Gini index in the Philippines is 44.4 (World Bank, 2015 est.), placing the country on the 45th spot worldwide. The average salary in the Philippines is estimated at PHP 15,200, whereas the country has daily minimum wage rates that vary from region to region, ranging from PHP 290 to PHP 537 a day. The wages are set by tripartite regional wage boards located in every region.

According to the latest edition of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey published by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the average annual family income of Filipino families is approximately PHP 267,000 in 2018. In comparison, the average annual family expenditure is PHP 215,000; hence, Filipino families have savings of around 52,000 in a year, on average.

The Philippines ranked 16th out of 153 countries in terms of gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2020, ranking as the first Asian country. However, the country ranked 8th in the previous edition, and has been losing ground on gender pay equality in recent years.

Consumer Behaviour: The Philippines is a youthful and vibrant consumer market with strong growth potential. The shopping experience is important to Filipino consumers, who visit malls not only to make purchases but also as a family or social activity. Aspiring Filipino middle-class consumers see shopping in modern retail as a representation of urban lifestyle. But at the same time the Filipino consumer does not like ostentatious expenditure, gives priority to his family life and is rather conformist and spontaneous. Advertising has helped increase consumer culture by portraying physical attractiveness and material goods as a gateway to happiness and success.

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular among young Filipinos, Philippine consumers enjoy visits to retail stores in which they are able to touch and feel the product, and value the services throughout the shopping process. Filipinos are among the most socially conscious consumers in the world. 86% of them are willing to pay extra for products and services that come from companies committed to positive social and environmental impact.

Younger consumers have also helped drive considerable growth of internet and mobile internet retailing. The increasing number of single-person and smaller households is boosting demand for compact household items. Low-income households tend to buy products in lower volumes or weights, even though these are more expensive than larger packs. Use of collaborative platforms such as Airbnb and Uber is trending in the country over the past few years.