MARKET CASE STUDY: PAKISTAN

A data-driven approach to evaluate gaming behavior in Pakistan

How were online research surveys used to understand the overall gaming behavior by platforms in Pakistan?

Region

Country

Project background:

Constantly increasing internet penetration in emerging countries introduces more possibilities for digital growth. For example, Pakistan, a country of 220 million inhabitants, declares a relatively low internet penetration rate at the level of 36,5 percent. However, only between 2021 and 2022 did the group of internet users increase by 22 million, which is approximately 36 percent. Gradually, more digital activities provide the user with some income, for example, from the online gaming sector.

Pakistan's total revenue for online gaming tripled between the last five years ($22,5 million in 2021 vs 7,9 million in 2017) and is expected to reach over 55 million by 2026. This one is connected with the current development of multiple income-generating options related to the development of the NFT space. In general, online gaming in Pakistan is an activity admired by youth and is very prevalent.

Due to increased interest in online gaming in Pakistan, one of our Clients initiated a project aiming to understand the overall gaming behaviour by specific platforms. The project concerned gaming frequency, popularity, general opinions about specific platforms, gaming motivations, etc.

Challenge:

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan share similar fieldwork issues – with a population of almost 27 million spread over a large landmass. Half of them live in non-urban areas. Coordination is a big issue when reaching regions with traditional fieldwork. Severe challenges in transport, especially for rural communities, make it hard to conduct projects timely on the general sample.

Luckily, digital technologies and the penetration of mobile internet access increased over the last few years. With over 80% of the population with Internet access in Kazakhstan and 50% of mobile penetration, it provides chances to reach various segments. However, the penetration of online panels is low in this country, and its focus is in urban areas, which creates significant challenges for conducting typical online studies.

Methodology:

Sample: N=800
Targeted Audience: gamers, defined as anyone who has played a digital game on any device/platform within 15 days
Quotas: age, gender, regions, and socio-economic classification
Age: 13-40

Outcome:

TGM Research successfully delivered data within ten days by using an online research methodology. To reach the inaccessible regions of Pakistan, TGM used multiple sampling methods for data collection. Thanks to these methods, the understanding of the overall gaming behaviors wasn’t limited to specific regions but included all parts of the country.

As the leading online data collection agency, TGM Research has conducted multiple market research projects, pioneering online research in Asia. To learn more about our recent projects in Pakistan or other countries in APAC and our expertise, please contact us.