Chinese women control the purse strings

30 June 2010

Brands that tap into female consumers in China could enjoy significant growth according to the latest research from MEC.

The study into women in ‘lower tier markets’ identified 57% of women in Tier 1 and 2 cities across China as the principal purchasers in their household, with some making decision for their extended family. This figure rose to 59% when extended to all lower-tier cities.

MEC analysis of consumption and media habits across this consumer segment saw five different categories identified: the pressure cooker, the traditional, the practical, the achiever and the undecided.

Access to internet varied across all five of these segments with ‘the achiever’, identified as those who want to excel and are open-minded, registering the highest internet use with penetration reaching 58%. Those who place their family at the centre of their lives, known as ‘the tradtional’, were ranked at the lowest internet users.

Traditional media still remained the most wide-spread way to reach consumers with 94% of all respondents having watched TV in the last 24 hours, compared with the internet’s 36%.  Out-of-home remains an effective channel to reach consumers with 29% while newspaper penetration peaked at 31% among the ‘practical’ consumer section.

The research, which took in more than 3,800 respondents, was founded estimates that women control $12tn of the $18.4tn global consumer spending.

Josh Colley, London