Optimizing Your Brand For China’s eCommerce Shoppers

By Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_)  

Cyber Monday might seem like big news in the U.S., but it’s just a blip on the radar compared to the biggest online shopping day of the year: China’s Single’s Day.

The unofficial holiday is held every November 13 and is dedicated to a growing and lucrative population. Social scientists in China project that by 2020 there will be 35 million men who cannot find any available female partners, and Single’s Day has found a wildly successful way to get this population to spend.

This year, Single’s Day shoppers spent $5.75 billion with Alibaba, the China-based eCommerce juggernaut that will soon be making its market entrance in America. This figure was up from the $3.1 billion observed last year and set a global, single-day record. By comparison, U.S. shoppers spent only $1.5 billion with all merchants last year on Cyber Monday.

But, what are the key to attracting these shoppers? New research from Goldman Sachs indicates Chinese shoppers value brand power and authenticity in their purchases, but that certain products are more highly sought after.

In this PYMNTS.com Data Point, Goldman Sachs’ latest report, as profiled in Business Insider, to reveal the product attributes that most resonate with Chinese shoppers.

Function- And Design-Driven Products

The report found that from the perspective of a typical Chinese shopper, mass market apparel and non-athletic shoes fall into the category of function- and design-driven products. This space was identified as being the most vulnerable to disruption from consumer-to-consumer (C2C) eCommerce, suggesting that businesses with products in this area may have trouble infiltrating the Chinese market.

“Expensive footwear is easy for cheaper brands to design and replicate, meaning that Chinese customers aren’t as likely to spend their money there,” Business Insider wrote.

Brand-Driven Products

Goldman Sachs revealed that some purchases are less susceptible to C2C influence. The report indicated that athletic shoes are one example of a functional product that Chinese shoppers consider to be made of quality materials, and are more likely to purchase from a big-name brand.

The finding confirms recent data from Nielsen, which found that 29 percent of Asia-Pacific shoppers put an emphasis on quality during the buying process, and that quality, not price, is the most important influencer on their consumer spend.

Authenticity-Driven Products

The researchers further found that products that are able to be both brand and authenticity driven are the least susceptible to C2C spending. Goldman Sachs cited cosmetics, watches, luxury bags and luxury jewellery as examples of the products that are most resistant to disruption.

To learn more about Chinese shoppers and what they value in the market, view the full copy of the report here.