Chinese Consumer Trends II
At the end of 2011, China had 185 million seniors above the age of 60, or 13.8% of the population (up 3% from the previous census) while 8.9% are older than 65 (up over 1.9%). China’s aging population is among the fastest growing in the world. The China National Committee on Aging projects the number of senior citizens to surge to 221 million by 2015 and skyrocketing to an astounding 487 million, or 35% of the population, by the 2050s.
Chinese seniors no longer save every penny toward a nest egg. They harbour new notions of living meaningful golden years involving more spending on recreation and a higher quality of life. Average incomes in the 55-64 bracket has been rising along with disposable portions for such activities as travel and sports. Just in the last two years, those who travelled within their home province grew by 7%; those who travelled outside the province grew by 18%; and those taking tours to Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan grew by 10% with significant numbers voyaging beyond Greater China. Among this segment, mobile phone ownership is spiking as is participation in an assortment of recreational activities, pushing up demand for sports and leisure apparel, just to name a couple sectors.
Latest figures from tmall.com indicate that more than 1.3 million over 50s netizens shop online. While they currently form only 4% of the general senior population, there is obviously enormous potential for growth. Geographically, “Shanghai Aunties and Uncles” lead the pack with nearly 60,000 more than in Beijing. Surprisingly, senior netizens buy more clothing than anything else, especially women’s clothes. In the past year alone, they bought 8.59 million pieces of female apparel. During the “double holiday” of Mid-Autumn (Moon cake) Festival and National Day, tmall.com released a “My Father” video on its microblog calling on children to remember nurturing by their fathers. Of course, tmall wants children to respond in kind by teaching their fathers how to shop online, particularly during holiday periods!
Some of elderly are now into backpacking. Prior to the 2012 Olympic Games, video portal Youku and dairy producer Yili aired a series of micro-movies about the Olympic journeys of common Chinese people. “Happy Backpackers” inspired many consumers to take up the sport for a healthier life. Zhang Guangzhu and Wang ZhongJin are an Beijing couple who became minor celebrities on the internet and national TV gallivanting around the world having visited over 40 countries. They post real-time updates of their trips on their blog, mostly on people and culture. They travel on buses, visit farmers markets, and chat with the locals using broken English. Their widely publicized escapades were unthinkable for Chinese seniors just a decade ago.
Charity is another area gathering momentum for Chinese consumers. Today, a person’s stature is longer simply measured by money and power but bound up with how actively they engage in charitable and socially responsible activities. In addition to charitable acts and donations on their own, people can give through consuming or participate in activities organized by marketers. They can take part in microblog charities that allow them to “donate while purchasing” or “donate while forwarding (microblogs).” Through consuming and contributing, they raise both their self-esteem and image.
More and more marketers and promotions are also getting on the microblog bandwagon for charitable activities since information spreads quickly on the Internet, amplified by China’s hordes of microbloggers. Exhortations like “donate while you forward (your microblog)” and “donate by buying” are frequently used. These activities improve the image of companies and brands while raising awareness about and aiding the downtrodden.
In its second year, “an egg’s long trek” is jointly organized by MSN China and Shanghai United Foundation. Through trekking and collecting sponsorship money, volunteers in Shanghai were able to raise 2.14 million RMB for poor children in remote mountainous areas. Within a few months to spring 2012, their ranks have swelled from 122 teams and nearly one thousand registered participants to 208 teams with more than two thousand trekkers.
Other trends cited in the MEC/CIC survey include: micro-ads on 360buy.com, the popularity of rebate websites such as 51fanli.com, and the exploding trend of payments via mobile phones; the “kids too” and “parent and child together” phenomena, “Cloud Classroom” learning, and general splurging on early child education; the emergence of “go-betweens” where intermediaries step in to do things not done by consumers themselves – purchasing agents, carpooling and Happy Farm mentioned in Part I; and “crossover”, integrating online and offline platforms, celebrities joining forces with stars in other sectors, and merging the 2D world of anime, comics and games (ACG) with the physical world.