China’s Connected Consumers Opt For Omnichannel

Consumers in China helped online retail giant Alibaba set new records for its annual Singles’ Day shopping bonanza earlier this month, earning an estimated $17.8 billion in gross merchandise volume — just more than a 32 percent increase over last year’s figures.

However, a new study from KPMG revealed that Chinese shoppers still have a strong preference for doing extensive research prior to making online purchases, even as their eCommerce activity continues to grow, Jing Daily reported.

KPMG’s “China’s Connected Consumers 2016” report surveyed 2,560 Chinese consumers and discovered that 60.8 percent of respondents said they perform online searches for reviews and recommendations before purchasing a product online.

In a statement, Jessie Qian, partner-in-charge for consumer markets at KPMG China, said: “The meteoric rise in online and mobile activity points to a Chinese consumer that is increasingly sophisticated, hungry for information, more likely to spend and keen on accessing a greater variety of products.”

“Although desktops and laptops are still the most commonly used devices for shopping, with smartphone use in China skyrocketing, we expect mCommerce to become the preferred medium for many consumers throughout their entire shopping journey, encompassing initial product research, purchase and final payment, as well as product review,” Qian added.

The report data solidifies China’s dominance in mobile shopping — 22.3 percent of Chinese consumers prefer to shop on mobile devices, compared to the global average of 8.5 percent.

The survey also revealed that, in the past year, 90.4 percent of Chinese consumers that responded to the survey purchased something over a smartphone.

For more insight into what’s happening across the omnicommerce space, check out the November 2016 edition of the Vantiv Omnicommerce Tracker™, powered by PYMNTS.com.