After analysing trends in China’s burgeoning online shopping market in 2014, Amazon China has nominated five core trends it expects to see in the nation this year.
Last year, Amazon said four key trends stood out.
Firstly, China’s online shoppers were predominantly young (80 per cent under 35), educated (90 per cent had a bachelor’s degree as a minimum) and cashed up (40 per cent earned more than 5000RMB a month (USD$804).
Secondly, sales in second and third tier cities boomed, with two thirds of sales now from those centres. Four of the five fastest growing cities are in the south.
Thirdly, shopping was spread across a diverse range of categories, including ebook readers, liquor, food, sportswear, apparel, musical instruments and petfood.
The fourth trend from 2014 was the rise in shopping by mobile device: peak hours for mobile shopping were from 11am to 1pm and from 8pm to 11pm.
The year ahead
Amazon China’s top five predictions for 2015 are:
Smart Digital Devices will boom: Amazon recorded 33-fold increase in sales of smart digital devices in 2014, with the top five popular categories bracelets, watches, Bluetooth devices, household products and ‘innovated products’.
Healthy lifestyle: Sales of air purifiers and water filters are up 50 per cent year on year and 100 per cent respectively and Amazon expects such strong demand to continue.
Internationalisation: Increasingly, international brands will target Chinese consumers online. The number of international brands on Amazon China increased by 30 per cent last year and the sales by 55 higher end international fashion brands increased 17-fold.
Quality Globalisation: Amazon China believes local consumers shop online to be sure of quality and authenticity. Since it launched its global shopping site last November sales of imported wine and Cider doubled year on year.
Reading is back in vogue: With more ebook readers on the market and prices dropping, more and more consumers are reading again. It’s being supported by the growth in TV dramas and wider awareness of writers gaining international recognition and awards.
