Savvy, single, green, trendsetting, fully connected: the five consumer groups shaping China’s future
New study predicts consumers will be spending a staggering US$1.8 trillion yearly by 2021 on their daily essentials and lifestyles
Chinese consumers will be spending a staggering US$1.8 trillion yearly by 2021 on their daily essentials and lifestyles, and will fall into five clear profiles, according to new joint research published today.
That spending total will be the same amount spent by Germans, and represents a quarter of all consumption growth in major economies, according to the report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and AliResearch, the research arm of Alibaba Group.
The study shows mainland consumption grew 10 per cent last year and has not been affected by the macro economic downturn.
However, the “Five Profiles that explain China’s Consumer Economy” report said companies now need to abandon their past use of simple classifications of customers, such as age and gender, for instance, as customers have become a lot more diverse and sophisticated in their buying habits.
“A lot is changing in China, but the fundamental story is one of very strong growth, right through to 2021,” Jeff Walters, a partner at BCG and co-author of the report, told a media briefing in Dalian this morning – on the second day of the three-day World Economic Forum, being attended by more than 2,000 high-ranking participants from around the globe.