Online not the best bet for deals

Consumers who are anticipating cheaper prices for products during the upcoming Nov 11 shopping festival may not necessarily find them online, a new study said.

According to the 2017 China shopping report jointly released by market consultancies Bain & Co and Kantar Worldpanel, the online prices of many product categories are higher than those offered in physical stores, with the biggest price differences seen for toothbrushes, hair conditioners and kitchen cleansing supplies.

For example in the toothbrush market, the biggest player in the offline marketplace is Colgate with the average price coming in at 5 yuan ($0.75) each. But the online best-seller is the Oral-B electric toothbrush, sold at 82 yuan each on average, while the second best-seller online is the Philips electric toothbrush sold at 191 yuan each, according to the report.