Mobiles an any time everywhere shopping tool in China

KPMG has put out an interesting report on how the internet is affecting Chinese consumers. They have a few interesting charts I've shared below. The biggest impact is the effect the mobile phone is having on retail. Many Chinese have leapfrogged straight to the mobile phone as a computer in their pocket rather than experiencing a computer just on their desk. KPMG's survey found that 69% of respondents used a desktop computer while 53% said they used a smartphone.

No stores? Shop online
The Chinese consumer is not the least worried about physically trying on shoes. Sales on a % basis are now equal to the US. A reason for this is that some of the lower tier cities do not have the access to brands in physical stores creating a great opportunity for online retailers. The most popular online category is cosmetics.

http://www.kpmg.com/CN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/China-Connected-Consumers-201402-v2.pdf

No more twiddling thumbs
In the past whenever you used public transport you would see twiddling thumbs now you see those thumbs being put to good use buying goods and growing the economy! Being able to buy whenever and wherever is a major advantage. Social media also plays an important part and was rated as the best way to find information on purchases slightly ahead of word of mouth. With nearly instantaneous feedback consumers can receive immediate advice from friends on purchases through social media.

http://www.kpmg.com/CN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/China-Connected-Consumers-201402-v2.pdf

It seems mobile payments are connected to eCommerce which gives some credence to eBay's current argument against splitting up their eBay and Paypal businesses. The market in the US is still up for grabs with other companies like Square, Apple, Visa and even Starbucks competing in the mobile payment space. In China apart from Union Pay (a network much like Visa and Mastercard but government owned) the battle for consumers dollars online is between an eCommerce site and a social network. They are AliPay which is owned by Alibaba an eCommerce site and TenPay owned by Tencent a social messaging service. It is amazing to think that nearly half of the internet users in China have made a mobile purchase. Cash is no longer king!

http://www.kpmg.com/CN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/China-Connected-Consumers-201402-v2.pdf

Jason

http://www.decisiveassetmanagement.com/

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