Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the world’s fastest-growing messaging region, recording a 51-percent surge in conversational messaging in 2024, with the Philippines as one of the major drivers.
This is based on the latest Messaging Trends Report from global cloud communications platform, Infobip,
Ivan Ostojic, Chief Business Officer, Infobip said: “The surge in business interactions across APAC reflects a broader shift toward richer, more localized, and conversational messaging experiences. Customers in the region engage best with culturally relevant and language-specific content, driving higher engagement and conversions,” said Ivan Ostojic, Chief Business Officer, Infobip.
The report is based on an analysis of over 530 billion interactions between businesses and consumers on Infobip’s platform. According to the research, APAC is spearheading global messaging growth, driven by dynamic markets like Indonesia (59 percent), the Philippines (33 percent), and China (29 percent).
Infobip Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub data highlights the surge in AI adoption, giving conversational messaging apps a major makeover and enabling richer and more meaningful connections. For instance, WhatsApp usage doubled with 100-percent growth, driven by seamless in-chat purchasing features. Indonesia led the rise at 110 percent, followed by India (27 percent), Singapore (20 percent), and Malaysia (17 percent).
RCS interactions surged 102 percent across the region with India (850 percent) leading the growth chart. Viber also gained 41-percent more traction in the region, with the Philippines seeing a significant rise in messaging interactions.
Additionally, our research shows that customers in the APAC region prefer messaging channels that are culturally and locally relevant. Notably, KakaoTalk—widely used in South Korea—accounts for 87 percent of customers interactions from Korean brands, with some engagement also seen in from brands in Singapore. In Vietnam, 63 percent of brand conversations happen on Zalo, a popular local platform.
Meanwhile, LINE dominates in Thailand, Taiwan region, and Singapore, contributing to 98 percent of messaging interactions. As a result, brands are increasingly turning to these local platforms to build stronger, more familiar connections with their end users.
Globally, Infobip recorded a 30-percent increase in the number of brands orchestrating conversational marketing interactions with their customers on its platform.
The report also reveals the rapid adoption of conversational messaging across key industries in the region. The Retail and eCommerce sector saw a 169% surge in interactions, with South Korea leading at 371 percent, followed by Singapore (133 percent) and the Philippines (16 percent). Telecom also saw explosive expansion, with China’s interactions skyrocketing by 4,200 percent and Indonesia recorded 121-percent growth.
“Brands have successfully leveraged this approach through personalized RCS, WhatsApp, and Viber campaigns or localized promotions for relevant festivities in the region such as Singles Day, to build stronger customer relationships. As conversational marketing evolves, understanding its suitability is key for businesses to enhance connections with their audiences and ensure seamless, secure, and real-time interactions,” Ostojic said.
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