Social Media Drives 32% Food Purchases, Doubling Among Millennials

Social commerce is rapidly growing, with 32% of shoppers purchasing food via social media, doubling to 67% among millennials, highlighting the importance for brands to strategically engage with social platforms and influencers to drive impulse and convenience-led sales. While traditional grocery shopping remains dominant, consumers increasingly prefer seamless discovery-to-purchase experiences within a single app, though brands should temper expectations as social sales often serve to build brand awareness rather than immediate high-margin returns. Trust in traditional media is declining sharply across the Asia-Pacific region, with many consumers turning to personalized, personality-driven content and creators for authentic engagement, as seen in the rise of comedians like Malaysia's Nigel Ng gaining global prominence. Meanwhile, the evolving digital landscape sees AI fundamentally reshaping consumer-brand interactions, diminishing the effectiveness of traditional search marketing and elevating brand trust as a quantifiable, algorithm-driven asset critical for performance in the AI era. Brands must therefore invest thoughtfully in building and maintaining trust, leveraging AI to measure and optimize their brand equity in this new customer engagement paradigm. This shift underscores the need for brands to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and technological advances to stay relevant and competitive in 2025.