MasterCard reports lift the lid on China shopping habits

The "Double 11" phenomenon, China's annual shopping festival equivalent to America's "Cyber Monday", reflects Chinese consumer's attitudes towards online shopping.

A report published by MasterCard showed that Chinese consumers were more open-minded towards new technology among consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in terms of payment and consumption.

Retailers and payment providers are trying to better understand consumer behaviors to help them tailor services and products and improve customer satisfaction.

According to the MasterCard report, published in April, Chinese mainland consumers dine out more frequently and are more likely to use the Internet to make savings through things like coupons, ratings and credit card promotions.

Paying by credit card at high-end restaurants was more popular among Chinese consumers than those in other Asia-Pacific regions, according to the report.

Dining out is common in China. The report noted that the average monthly spend on dining out by people in the Chinese mainland was $163, 16 percent higher than the amount spent in Asia Pacific regions.

Another report released in March by MasterCard, the MasterCard Online Shopping Survey, ranked Chinese consumers top in terms of mobile shopping. Nearly 60 percent of people interviewed on the Chinese mainland said they used mobile phones to purchase goods. Consumers in Thailand were ranked second with 51.2 percent and were followed by shoppers in South Korea with 47.6 percent.

Increased convenience, flexibility and simplification of purchasing through mobile phone applications have prompted consumers to change their shopping habits.

According to research data, the transaction volume of China's third-party mobile payment market reached 1.22 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in 2013. This marked an annual rise of 707 percent and the market is expected to grow 141.1 percent in 2014. The rocketing growth of the mobile payment market is not only an indication of changing mobile consumer consumption habits but also a reflection of the continuously diversifying mobile application options.

According to the report two thirds of consumers in Asia- Pacific regions have shopped online. Nearly 99.8 percent of shoppers interviewed in China purchased goods on the Internet in the past three months and from them 17.2 percent made cross border transactions.

Credit cards made up the majority of payment methods used by online shoppers, followed by bank transfers and debit cards.

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/10/2014 page10)