One Size Does Not Fit All

China’s 1.3 billion people of all ages live across 3.7 million square miles with multiple climates and speak countless dialects. So it’s not hard to imagine that Chinese consumers – like American consumers – have myriad tastes. The second annual UPS survey of urban, middle class consumers offers a glimpse into demographic differences between consumers in China, sending American businesses the clear message that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to selling their products in China.

“This survey bears out the fact that China is an increasingly sophisticated, much more complex and far less monolithic consumer market than it was perhaps previously believed to be,” said Kevin M. McConnell, senior partner of the law firm O'Connell and Co., which handles foreign direct investment and general business matters in China. “There is every reason for U.S. business to believe that this increasing complexity and sophistication is going to continue.”

Young consumers are most open to buying American products, along with consumers in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

“There definitely is an upswing in pampering overall in China’s top cities,” said Sam Flemming, CEO and founder of Internet market research company CIC Data. “A solid white-collar workforce has emerged with disposable income because they live with parents and no debt.”

The following offers an overview of purchasing differences unveiled in the survey, according to age, gender and location:

Age Differences

• Younger consumers say that they buy imported products to enhance their image and status. In particular, young, male consumers with middle-to-high income say they value the status and image associated with American products.
• Young consumers are more likely to consider American fashion and consumer electronics to be status symbols.
• Laptops and video/digital recording systems are the most attractive American consumer electronics products to young, urban consumers. In contrast, consumers between 50-59 years of age desire American digital cameras or televisions.

Gender

• Significantly more Chinese men than women intend to buy consumer electronics (49% vs. 39%). Not surprisingly, significantly more women than men want to buy beauty products (39% vs. 17%).
• However, women consumers also want to buy American consumer electronics, with 39% – the same number who want to buy beauty products.
• Male consumers also are interested in buying American athletic equipment and alcoholic beverages or tobacco products. Women say they would like to buy gourmet food from the United States.
• Male urban consumers prefer cool package colors such as blue, and female consumers prefer warmer colors such as red and purple.

City

Shanghai

• The American products most desired in Shanghai are books/music/DVDs, consumer electronics and apparel/fashion accessories. They have more interest in consumer electronics and apparel/fashion than their counterparts in other cities.
• In the books category, consumers in Shanghai want to buy non-fiction books more than consumers in any other city.
• The most desired consumer electronics product is a video/digital recording system.

Beijing

• Capital city consumers said they most want to buy American books/music/DVDs.
• The American home appliance Beijing consumers would most likely buy is a microwave.

Guangzhou

• Consumers in this southern city along the Pearl River say they most want to buy American home appliances.

Chengdu

• Consumers in China’s fifth-most populated city say that the American product they most want to buy is a laptop computer.
• Product quality is particularly important to consumers in Chengdu (72% say it is the most important factor when making a purchasing decision.)

Wuhan

• Respondents surveyed in this central Chinese city say that they most want to buy U.S. beauty products and apparel/fashion accessories.
• In the home appliances category, the American product most consumers in Wuhan want is a refrigerator.

Shenyang

• Consumers in northeast China’s largest city say they want to buy American refrigerators and digital cameras.