Everyone Should Know How to Use Google Ads for High-Frequency Small-Amount Consumption
The "e-Conomy SEA 2025" report recently released jointly by Google and Temasek reveals a key trend: Southeast Asia's digital economy GMV (gross merchandise volume) will exceed US$263 billion in 2025, with an annual growth rate of up to 15%. Among them, the "high-frequency small-amount consumption" model is rapidly rising - consumers place orders 27-32 times a year on average, but the single amount has dropped to less than US$20. For example, the Ramadan event launched by Indonesia's Aqua mineral water through YouTube Shorts created 33 million views with the "small package + social challenge" strategy.
This change in consumption patterns means that the traditional "big sales promotion" strategy is no longer applicable. Brands need to use Google Ads’ AI tools and visual search technology to seize business opportunities in every “micro-decision” moment of consumers. This article will analyze three key strategies in depth to help you seize this wave of digital dividends.
I. Digital consumption trends and opportunities in Southeast Asian markets
1. Market status and potential
Southeast Asia's digital economy has entered a stage of "qualitative change". According to the report, the region's digital economy profits will grow by 24% in 2024, exceeding US$11 billion, while e-commerce, online travel and other fields will achieve full profitability for the first time. There are two main driving factors behind this:
- Consumption frequency revolution: Compared with 2012, the average annual number of orders placed by Southeast Asian consumers has increased by 8-9 times, but the average order amount has dropped to US$15-20. For example, Vietnam’s GrowPlus+ milk brand found that consumers prefer to buy small quantities of products every week rather than stock up on a monthly basis.
- Non-brand driven exploration behavior: More than 80% of Google advertisements search ad spending comes from “non-brand keywords” (such as “affordable casual shoes recommendations”), and local language searches have grown 1.4 times. This shows that consumers are moving beyond brand loyalty and actively comparing new options.
Response strategy: Brands need to make up for the "unit price gap" through "frequency economy". For example, a Thai fast fashion brand used Google advertisements Demand Gen ads to launch a 7-day short series targeting the "daily wear of office workers" scenario, combined with dynamic remarketing ads, which increased the repurchase rate by 3 times.
2. Key consumption scenarios
Southeast Asian consumers’ decision-making paths are characterized by “fragmentation” and “visualization”:
- Search behavior evolution: 25% of Google Lens queries have commercial intent. For example, consumers can simply take a photo of a passerby's backpack and use the Circle to Search function to compare prices and check reviews, skipping the traditional keyword search step.
- The rise of video shopping guides: 20% of e-commerce GMV comes from video content, especially the "see now, buy now" model of YouTube Shorts. During the fasting month of Ramadan in Indonesia, brands collaborated with creators on the #YukTebarBukBerCheck challenge, inserting products into 15-second short videos, which had a conversion rate 2 times higher than traditional advertising.
Case: Vietnamese e-commerce platform Tiki integrated Google advertisements Performance Max and YouTube Shorts, and launched a "Limited Daily Specials" video ad for the "Fresh Grocery" category, increasing the monthly order frequency from 4 times to 7 times.
II. Innovative tools and strategies for Google advertisements
1. AI-driven advertising technology
Google Ads latest AI tool can automatically capture the "micro-demand" of high-frequency small-amount consumption:
- AI Overviews: It has covered 1 billion users worldwide and can analyze complex queries such as "student backpack is lightweight and waterproof". Brands need to optimize the Q&A structure of their product pages to ensure they are included in AI summaries. For example, a Philippine backpack brand reworded the FAQ to “How to choose a pressure-relieving backpack?” and the click-through rate increased by 40%.
- Automation combo:
- Broad Match + Smart Bidding: Capture non-exact intent. For example, a Malaysian beauty brand targeted the broad match phrase “oily skin care” and the system automatically extended it to “small volume travel set,” reducing CPA by 22%.
- Performance Max: The Vietnamese milk brand GrowPlus+ integrated search, YouTube, and Gmail traffic through this Google Ads tool, increasing conversion rate by 14%.
2. Visual and audio-visual priority strategy
- Google Lens optimization: When uploading product images, you must include price tags and photos from multiple angles. A Thai furniture brand found that adding a "size comparison icon" to images increased visual search conversion rate by 35%.
- Audio and video advertising practice:
- First 3 Seconds Rule: YouTube Shorts need to hit the pain point directly at the beginning. For example, a Singaporean food brand added the words "dinner savior for overtime workers" in the first frame, and the completion rate reached 78%.
- Creator collaboration: Collaborate with local KOLs to create "situational short plays". Indonesia's Aqua mineral water invited 8 creators to shoot "breaking the fast moment" drinking scenes, and the UGC content created 9,000 derivative short videos.
III. Practical skills for high-frequency small-amount consumption
1. Full funnel coverage strategy
- Upper Funnel (Cognitive): Trigger demand with Google Ads Demand Gen ads. For example, a Philippine skincare brand proposed an interactive question-and-answer session titled “Who is the small volume suitable for?” to attract working mothers who have not yet realized the need.
- Lower Funnel (Conversion): Push "limited-time small purchase" to users who abandoned their orders. For example, a Thai e-commerce company set up a "Save another 30 baht" countdown bar on the shopping cart page, which helped to recover 19% of lost orders.
2. Data-driven localization
- Attribution Analysis: It was found that Indonesian consumers often use Google to search for brand comparisons after seeing advertisements on social media, and finally place orders. Therefore, 50% of the social budget will be transferred to Google Ads brand keyword bidding.
- Cultural Insights:
- Language: Malaysian ads using the slang “Murah tapi berkualiti” (cheap but high quality) saw a 27% increase in CTR.
- Festivals: During the month of Ramadan, we launch a "100ml mini package" combination to meet the custom of "small and frequent meals".
3. Topkee’s Google Ads Solution
In the field of marketing innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a major driving force in improving marketing effectiveness. Through AI technology, brands can significantly improve the efficiency of generating creative materials and achieve personalized customization of marketing content. Topkee uses advanced AI technology and manual design to provide companies with high-quality Google Ads creatives, ensuring that their design and content meet market demand and improve the efficiency of marketing promotion activities. At the same time, generative artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for creativity, providing a fast and easy way to prototype and brainstorm. This technology enables large-scale asset generation in production, adapts to consumer demand for diverse content, and continuously pushes the boundaries of marketing creativity.
Conclusion:
Southeast Asia’s “high-frequency, small-amount” market is like a marathon, where success or failure depends on whether brands can provide immediate value in every micro-interaction. Three immediate steps are recommended:
- Review your keyword strategy: Allocate 50% of your Google advertisements budget to non-brand broad match phrases.
- Enable visual search optimization: Upload multi-angle photos of products and price tags to Google Merchant Center.
- Test video shopping guide: Collaborate with local creators to create 15-second situational skits and embed limited-time small discounts.
If you need to further optimize your ads, please contact Topkee's professional team.
