Most households expect phones to replace wallets

A recent report on Chinese household digital development reveals around three-quarters of those surveyed believe smartphones could replace wallets, while more than 60 percent worry about data security.

The report was mainly conducted by Guangzhou University’s School of Economics and Statistics and involved visits to 22,027 households across 149 cities in 29 provincial-level regions from 2021 to 2022, with questions focusing on the impact of smartphones on household income, phone-related expenditure, employment, and entertainment.

The report highlights that smartphones have significantly changed people’s behavior in payment and information acquisition, with 53 percent saying they believe smartphones can replace computers.

Additionally, 76 percent use smartphones for online payments, and 56 percent use them for online shopping.

Among individual provinces and cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong rank as the top three locations, in terms of the household digitization.

However, concerns about information security persist, with 64 percent expressing worries. Among the various activities people participate in, online chatting and online shopping attract the most concerns about data security, the report found.