Taobao published top searched keywords on Taobao recently. The information could be helpful to marketers and decision makers understanding Chinese consumers’ shopping habit.
Hazy Weather
In 2013, the number of people who purchased dust mask on Taobao increased 181% compared to 2012. It was the same for air purifier, increasing 131% in 2013.
People in Beijing purchased most dust masks in 2012, however, Jiangsu province surpassed Beijing of consumption in dust mask this year. Spending on hazy weather related products in Jiangsu reached 347,513 yuan (USD 56,906), followed by Beijing with 301,812 yuan (USD 49,384) and Zhejiang with 279,657 yuan (USD 45,731). Totally, Chinese spent 870 million yuan (USD 142.27 million) on anti-haze products.
Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Purchasing Heating Equipment
While the north of China enjoyed central heating system, citizens of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were busy purchasing heating equipment. The south of China doesn’t have cold winters like the north, but the humidity is over 30% which makes the winter unbearable. The number of people who purchased heating equipment in Shanghai was 78,358, the number in Zhejiang province reached 148,066. The money spent on heating equipment in Guangdong province was 298,056 yuan (USD 48,739), and the money spent in Zhejiang province hit 323,138 yuan (USD 52,841) in 2013.
Shopping Dads
In 2013, the new standard for good fathers is: drive the car, and drive the shopping cart. The consumption of Chinese male on maternal and babies products hit 18.1 billion yuan (USD 2.96 billion), though it still fell behind female’s consumption of 29.1 billion yuan (USD 4.76 billion). The percentage of male consumers on maternal and babies products increased to 44.4%, grew dramatically compared to 32% of 2012. Fathers in Guanngdong province spent most on maternal and babies products, with 2 million yuan (USD 327,000).
Tuhao
Lots of Chinese were eager to be friends with tuhao, but do you know where were tuhao from? In 2013, 5,758 persons spent over 1 million yuan (USD 164,000) on Taobao. Most of them were from Guangdong province, with 1,053 persons. Followed by Zhejiang and Shanghai.
Dama
In May 2013, Chinese dama consumed 300 ton gold. Online gold and gold relative funds transactions reached 910 million yuan (USD 148.82 million) in 2013, average transaction amount was 997.8 yuan (USD 163.18). 73,537 citizens in Guangdong province participated in gold transactions in 2013.
Yellow Duck
Over 100,000 people purchased yellow duck related products on Taobao, reaching 8.53 million yuan (USD 1.39 million) in 2013. Cantonese spent most on yellow duck, as high as 1.22 million yuan (USD 199,499).
Peng Ci Precaution
Peng Ci, is a Chinese phrase for blackmailing car drivers by pretending to be hit by the car. In 2013, 800,000 car owners purchased tachograph on Taobao. Compared to 2012, tachograph users increased 205% annually, and the transaction amount increased 197% year-over-year, reaching 480 million yuan (USD 78.49 million). Taobao sold out 3.34 million tachograph in 2013, about 1 in 25 car owners purchased tachograph on Taobao. Guangdong province ranked top in the number of tachograph purchasing, 111,259 persons in total in 2013.
Rich County Towns
In August 2013, Alibaba released their findings on county towns, there were 14 large “Taobao” county towns. These towns operated over 1.63 million Taobao online stores. And the number of large “Taobao” county towns increased to 17 by December 2013. A lot of money flowed to these county towns.
However, the money flow was not single direction. The consumption power of these county towns was explosive. Yiwu spending growth ranked top in China, it spent 846 million yuan (USD 138 million) more than last year, growing 25% annually.
Mobile Shopping
400 million Chinese consumers shopped via mobile taobao in 2013. On Double 11, i.e. November 11 2013, 127 million consumers spent 5.35 billion yuan (USD 875 million) on mobile taobao, 5.6 times of Double 11 in 2012. Double 11 mobile transactions reached 35.9 million, 21% of total Double 11 transactions. Tibet mobile taobao consumers accounted for 29.1% on Double 11, Sanya users accounted for 36.5% of total mobile taobao consumers.