Want to attract Chinese retail customers? Go digital

Chinese are relying increasingly on digital and mobile media for retail shopping and skipping physical stores, a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has discovered.
Already some of the world’s heaviest users of social media regarding retail brands, Chinese customers are also more inclined to provide personal information to their favourite companies compared to other markets. With hundreds of millions of potential customers, this is like a goldmine for any retail company in the world from cellphones to clothes to cosmetics.
In a city with the largest casinos in the world and almost all famous retail brands, the PwC report is a clarion call to companies seeking more Chinese customers. The Chinese account for almost two thirds of all visitations to Macau and probably much more in terms of retail sales.
According to the PwC report, investing in digital and mobile media from a dedicated website, social media or an app is the way to go. It’s no surprise that retail giants like Zara and H&M have already announced plans to open online stores here.
Online fever PwC says that today, at least half of all retail spend in China is influenced by mobile and social technologies from searching for a product to buying it.
Compared to the rest of the globe, Chinese customers buy much more through digital channels and have closer ties to the brands.
According to the survey, when searching for a product 32 per cent of Chinese customers go directly to the brand’s website compared to 19 per cent from other regions. They also go three times more to a social media site when planning on shopping than the world’s average (12 per cent versus 4 per cent, respectively). Almost 80 per cent of Chinese customers say they will click on a mobile ad if the content is relevant.
In a country that hosts six of the world’s largest social media sites, PwC says that this makes the power of social media in China crucial in purchase decision-making.
“No other country shows the same level of social media influence as China”. Chinese customers are twice as likely to research brands via social media than in the United States, also a heavy user of these platforms. And it works. PwC reports that 90 per cent of Chinese customers admit that interaction with their favourite brands through social media drives them to buy more.
Personal Info One of the main trends concluded in the report from PwC is that Chinese customers are increasingly going online to shop instead of going to a physical store. This for buying or searching for a cellphone or any cosmetic. According to the report, 86 per cent of Chinese customers now prefer to go to a store to browse a product and then buy it online, higher than the world’s average of 68 per cent. Better prices online and the chance to try the merchandise are the main reasons given.
The reverse trend – checking online and buying at the store – is more practised outside China (70 per cent for global customers versus 64 per cent for Chinese customers).
But as the competition for customers and their personal information increases among the largest retailers, there is good new from China.
Customers there are much more willing to share their personal data than their counterparts in the United Kingdom or US. PwC says that 58 per cent of Chinese customers are willing to share their personal data for a free app. This is double compared to UK and US customers, at 28 and 30 per cent, respectively.