Chinese online shoppers prefer to take advantage of the occasional promotions to buy imported goods; and, they also prefer imported goods at promotions, accounting for 65% of online FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sales according to Bain & Company and Kantar Worldpanel research.
Online shoppers are very interested in imported goods and goods on sales, which is one of the biggest features of China online shopping. About 38% of online sales come from big online activities such as Double 11 and Double 12. Alibaba revenues reached 57.1 billion yuan (US$8.98 billion) on Double 11 2014, which set a record in history of online shopping. Imported products are also very popular on the internet, which accounts for about 40% of total online sales while offline only for about 10%.
China FMCG market grew by 5.4% in 2014; the growth three years ago was 11.8%. However, online FMCG sales grew by 34% in 2014. 60% of online retail sales came from newly created demand while 40% as replacement of offline sales.
The variety of FMCG goods Chinese consumers buy online are limited. Skin care products, baby formula milk powder and baby diapers, health-related, and easy delivered goods sell best online. Top ten popular online FMCG sales categories account for 77% of the total online sales while the offline only 43%.
Chinese consumers are likely to purchase overseas goods and luxury or upscale goods although sometimes that prices online are much higher than those offline. For example, the average price of toothbrushes online is 102% higher than that of offline, as well as beer and hair conditioner.
Also read: China E-commerce Market to Reach US$3.8 Trillion in 2018