Commentary
As China ushers in the Year of The Pig, Jessica Miao takes a look at the key consumer trends and behaviours that marketers need to consider in 2019.
1. Quality vs Quantity
As the talk of China’s economic slowdown
continues, Chinese consumers are shifting their focus from quantity to quality
purchases. This year’s Spring festival reinforced this shift as consumers
looked to invest in quality items such as health products and fashion items.
While the typical items remain hugely popular, such as jewelry, clothing,
smart-home appliances and digital products, these have been joined by quality
investment items such as organic food as well as gold and silver. The luxury
market remains popular in China, having recovered from a slump a few years ago,
and consumers are again spending big to buy high status quality items. The
concept of green and low-carbon consumption is a growing trend for Chinese
consumers and fits within an overarching trend towards quality-oriented,
individualised and customised consumption.
2. No slow down for social media
In a landscape where WeChat alone boasts more
than 1 billion monthly active users, engaging consumers on social media seems
like a no-brainer. Micro-videos and live streaming remain huge trends in China
and Douyin continues to be one of the most popular Chinese short video apps.
With Chinese consumers hungry for content, there are more opportunities than
ever for brands to create connections with consumers through relevant, engaging
and entertaining content. China’s legions of KOLs continue to flourish and
their influence and power continues to rise. With big data providing greater
insights into consumer behaviours, social media is proving even more valuable
for brands as it presents more and more opportunities to build brands and
engage with customers.
3. New retail flourishes
In the new retail era, consumers are breaking
through the geographical boundaries and driving a resurgence in the in-store experience.
New retail continues to blur the lines between online and offline shopping
providing online consumers with the realistic and tactile elements of offline
shopping, while giving in-store shoppers the convenience of online inventories
and instant payment methods. The rise and integration of AI and smart
technology, the maturation of big data and the ability to personalise and
customize experiences will only enhance retail experiences. With the flow-on
effect of reducing costs, increasing efficiencies and improving the experience.
As the market slows and consumers become more discerning with how they spend
their money, the new retail experience will be integral in getting customers to
part with their cash.
4. Outbound travellers remain lucrative
With China’s outbound travellers reaching 140
million in 2018, the opportunity to target this audience of big spending
consumers has never been more enticing. Nearly 7 million Chinese travellers
were predicted to travel abroad during the Lunar New Year period, of a forecast
400 million domestic travellers. China’s outbound tourists tend to be younger,
with young office workers accounting for a large proportion spending the
holidays abroad. Families also account for a huge proportion of the tourists,
with young couples travelling with children, and in many cases also their
parents. Despite the rise in independent travel in recent years, group travel
remains popular with a large proportion of travellers. China continues to be
the world's biggest spender on outbound travel – a title it has held for six
consecutive years – and has contributed about one-sixth of added-value to the
world's travel industry and more than 10% of international tourist growth
globally.
The opportunities for marketers looking to engage with Chinese outbound travellers are many and varied and this will continue to be a significant trend in 2019.
Jessica Miao is Chief Executive Officer at UMS. For more information click here: www.umssocial.com
This article was published in Exporter Today.
Apr 7, 2019