More than half of Chinese consumers favour mobile shopping: Draftfcb

The study is based on a survey conducted in the second half of 2012 of 8,000 people aged 18-64 in eight major global economies, including China, the US, India, the UK, Brazil, South Africa, Germany and the Middle East.

The results show that 57 per cent of Chinese people would buy anything on a mobile phone, versus the global average of 49 per cent.

The accelerating attraction of mobile devices has given rise to a new branch of digital commerce, called m-tailing, which is most accepted by Chinese consumers, according to Draftfcb China.

The study reveals China has the most active smartphone market where people use their mobile devices for more functions than in other countries. On average, Chinese smartphone users embrace 4.9 activities per day, followed by the US average at 4.7 and India users at 4.4.

Draftfcb China said mobile shopping gives brands access to the majority of China cities, where they don’t have physical presence. People in lower-tier cities and Gen Y, the most digital of all shopper demographics, are flocking to mobile shopping.

The most popular market categories among Chinese mobile shoppers are groceries, followed by clothing, shoes and accessories, health and beauty, casual dining and fast food, as well as electronics, technology and appliances.

“Shopping via mobile devices has brought new experiences to consumers, and those experiences vary from top-tier cities to those regarded in the lower tiers,” said Tiffana Pun, vice president, head of strategic planning, Draftfcb Greater China.

While in top-tier cities mobile has added a new dimension to the shopping experience. "the real revolution is taking place in the lower-tier cities, where marketers have traditionally appealed to consumers via traditional media channels and the Internet at either home or in the office,” Pun continued. “Mobile devices are now being used to access product information at any time of the day and from anywhere, so people can more spontaneously look for products and compare prices, even though they cannot physically see or handle the brands.” 

The study shows 67 per cent of Chinese consumers who were looking at products on a mobile phone were just as satisfied as being in-store, and 77 per cent of them feel that mobile shopping removes the hassle of speaking to sales people in-store.

In addition, Pun said that 84 per cent of Chinese are likely to buy a product if it has favourable online reviews, and convenience was more important in final purchase decisions than price, versus the global average of 66 per cent.