Chinese Teenagers Prefer Offline over Online Shopping

-     KITA analyzed the characteristics of Chinese teenager consumer market… they value active and independent consumption -

It is forecast that it is necessary to focus on offline market in order to attract more than 100 million Chinese youth consumers.

According to a report titled "Characteristics and Implications of China’s Young Consumer Market" issued by the Chengdu branch of the Korea International Trade Association (Chairman, Kim Young-joo) on December 21^st, the population of 00 hou (born in 2000s) is 280 million as of 2016, accounting for 20 percent of China’s total population and their average bank account balance is 1,840 yuan, nearly double the 90 hou (born in the 1990s).

As the Chinese economy grows, the parents of 00 hou generation are spending generous amount of money on their children. According to a study conducted by Chinese researcher iResearch on Chinese teenagers aged 12 to 18, 60 percent of respondents received regular pocket money from their guardians and the average monthly allowance was 370 yuan.

81.7 percent of the respondents preferred to purchase products offline rather than online and prefer tangible products over abstract services. The most purchased offline products were school supplies including study books (82.8%), followed by 'snacks and drinks' (71.2%), and 'clothes and accessories' (30.0%). 36.4 percent of the participants said that they ‘did not do online shopping’, and the teenagers who shop online spend less than 30 percent of their allowance on online shopping.

The report analyzed, "Chinese teenagers prefer independent shopping, away from parental interference. They enjoy offline consumption that is instant and independent rather than online consumption that makes products delivered to the house where their parents live together.”

Lee won-seok, the head of Chengdu branch, stressed, “In order to target the Chinese young consumer market, it is necessary for Korean companies to build a friendly and luxurious brand image focusing on daily consumed items such as snacks and school supplies.”