Sale figures show regional variations

In August, Taobao, China's biggest online shopping platform, published a report that showed sales of A-cup bras were falling while sales of C cups were rising.

Based on a data comparison of sales from June 14 to July 13, and the same period in 2011, the report showed the sales volume of C-cup bras rose to 13 percent last year, from 8.96 percent in 2011. Sales of A-cup bras fell from 25.26 to 21.50 percent over the same period.

The best-selling sizes varied by region. In the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Qinghai province, the top sellers were 36B, but in the provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu, 34B bras led the pack.

The report also identified the three top provinces for sales of breast-enhancement products. In first-placed Guangdong, 63,000 products were sold during a one-month period, while in Jiangsu, in second place, the figure was 40,000. Zhejiang came in third with 38,000.

Women with high incomes, and therefore more disposable income, were most likely to purchase breast-enhancement products, according to the report.

Most female students bought bras priced at 30 yuan ($4.50, 4.49 euros) to 40 yuan, and cared little about figure enhancement. However, women aged 30 and older preferred pushup bras priced at about 200 yuan.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/03/2015 page25)