China has experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization over recent decades, transitioning from a largely rural, manufacturing-based economy to a more consumer-driven urban society. This has created a massive new consumer class that is projected to increase domestic consumption substantially. The government is investing heavily in infrastructure like high-speed rail and new cities to facilitate economic development and further stimulate domestic consumption. Younger generations in particular are driving new patterns of spending, especially through growing e-commerce sales, and represent both opportunities and challenges for companies seeking to engage Chinese consumers.
2. Cheap Labour Creating a Manufacturing Miracle
Factory of the World
? After the global ?nancial crisis in 2008-2010
there has been a new focus on the latent
power of the Chinese consumer.
? As demand in the United States and Europe
has waned, exports have weakened as an
engine of China¡¯s economic growth, and
Beijing has turned its attention to
stimulating domestic demand.
4. Shortfalls in Consumption
In 2010 Chinese consumption accounted for 5.6% in
2010 of global private consumption, compared to
the US¡¯s 29% and Western Europe¡¯s 26%
Chinese consumers still spent a large percentage of
their incomes on provisions
35% in the case of rural consumers
26% for Urban households
Yet China contributed more than any country to the
growth in global consumption I 2011-13.
Consumption by urban Chinese households will
increase from 10 trillion yuan in 2012 to nearly 27
trillion yuan in 2022.
9. Urbanisation
A massive push to urbanise is also under
way, which should produce tens of
millions of richer & therefore willing
consumers.
Changes through infrastructure
12. The role of Infrastructure
Rural Conversion
China builds between 12 - 24 new
cities a year.
Of the 10 cities world-wide that
created the most shopping-mall
space last year, nine were in China
13. Rural Santai county inhabited by farm-
workers one modern shopping mall has
sprung up and another is being built.
Creating Consumer
Societies
Changes in Population
14. Mega cities
? China has more than 660 cities
? Over 100 of them have more than a million
people
? 10 Chinese cities contain 5m-10m people.At
least one of these, Wuhan, will pass 10m within
a decade.
? 6 cities have more than 10 million (worldwide
30 cities) Shanghai (23m), Beijing (19.5m),
Chongqing (13m), Guangzhou (12m), Shenzhen
(11m) and Tianjin (11m).
No One Single Market
16. Migration &
Population Shifts
In 2014 alone 13.2 million new urban jobs
creating more empowered consumers.
China's percentage of urban population
is 55%
300 million more people will move from
the rural areas into cities in the next 10
years.
18. New Century Global Centre, Chengdu
Build it
And they will come
China built world¡¯s largest building
in Chengdu. The New Century
Global Centre is the largest
freestanding building in the world
500 meters long, 400 meters wide and
100 meters tall. As large as 20 Sydney
Opera Houses or three Pentagons.
22. Transportation &
Railway Network
Over the next ?ve years China will
spend as much as 3.5 trillion yuan on
railway construction, 750 billion yuan
on rail rolling stock, 3.5 trillion yuan
to 4 trillion yuan on highways, 300
billion yuan to 350 billion yuan on
airports, and 900 billion yuan on ports
24. Generation 1 - Cautious Spenders
Lived through the cultural revolution
and have sometimes witnessed
starvation and adverse poverty.
25. Generation 2 - Conspicuous Spenders
Deprived when growing up, the
generation that buys brands for show.
26. Generation 3 - Gen.
90s Sophisticated
Technologically savvy, sophisticated and
well informed customers looking to
express their individuality.
27. China's Luxury
Goods Market
Globally the Chinese are the
biggest buyers of expensive
items, accounting for some 29%
of purchases last year
by 2020 China¡¯ personal luxury
market will account for $245
Billion 40% of the world market.
32. Post 90s
Generation
Chinese born in the 1990s are playing a
signi?cant role in consumption, as they
have more disposable money and a greater
say in family spending.
Style and design, brand, type, colour, size
and price were the top six factors that
in?uenced their decisions.
34. Informed Choices
Many Chinese consumers, frustrated
with high retail prices, are now
seeking bargains online and abroad.
Only 13% report that a brand was the
?rst factor they considered while
shopping, and 65% took both brand
and practicality into consideration
when making a purchase.
About 70% consider both quality and
price in shopping decisions.
35. Information
Empowered Consumers
China has become the world¡¯s biggest
e-commerce market, with spending
forecast to reach $540 billion next year.
61.7 % of 16 million post-90s surf the
Internet everyday, which accounts for
13% of the total number of China
Internet users.
36. E-Commerce
Revolution
On Singles Day, an annual online-
marketing extravaganza held on
November 11th, 400m Chinese spent
$5.7 billion just on Tmall, an e-
commerce platform run by Alibaba;
Americans, on their Cyber Monday a
few weeks later, spent only about $2
billion.
37. E-Commerce
Revolution
Luxi, a town of 57,000 people, online
shopping is hot. The ?rst express-
delivery of?ce opened only three years
ago, and handled perhaps ten
packages a day; today, there are ?ve,
each handling 100 packages a day.
39. e-Commerce?
Logistics
Companies focusing on higher-density
networks with quicker response times.
Taobao¡¯s logistics network now covers more
than 90 percent of China¡¯s cities, counties
and districts as opposed to traditional
networks, which typically focus only on tier-
one and -two cities.
42. Challenges
? Vast Market of 700+ cities
? Fast & Dynamic Demographic Shift
? Marketing Strategies need to ever more creative.
? Lack Brand Loyalty / Fickle Customer Loyalty
? Chinese Products Cheaper but they will soon be better.?
The Factory of the world in Rapidly Innovating
43. Opportunities
? Numbers and Volumes. ?
Even a niche customer base in China is as big as a
European Country Market.
? China is still a growth story.
? Chinese Customers search for Real Values ?
e.g. Health & Safety.
? Expanding Infrastructure.
? Educated & well-informed Customers.