Relying on Alibaba’s data, Bain identified eight strategic segments of China’s online consumers that collectively account for 80% of FMCG platform users and represent over 90% of gross merchandise volume:

• Rookie White Collars
• Wealthy Middle Class
• Supermoms
• Small-Town Youth
• Gen Z
• Urban Gray Hairs
• Small-Town Mature Crowd
• Urban Blue Collars

Rookie White Collars are educated people in their early 30s who live in tier 1–3 cities. Their careers are advancing. They work in a fast-paced environment and greatly value convenience—hence, they prefer online shopping.

They represent higher per-capita spending on Tmall and Taobao, with annual spending growth of around 20% from 2016 to 2018 according to Bain’s report.

Wealthy Middle Class consists of financially stable consumers, typically in their early 40s in tier 1–3 cities, and primarily work as civil servants or in corporate middle or senior management.

They are less passionate than their younger counterparts when buying the latest new products. They are more rational consumers, they value quality, and a higher proportion of their online purchases are premium products.

Supermoms are women who are pregnant or have children under the age of 12. They live in Tier 1–3cities and are concerned about raising healthy families while taking great care of their own careers—and their own health and beauty.

They are the main shoppers for their families and are willing to pay a premium for convenience. Among all groups, they have the strongest spending power. It is reflected in the number of categories and brands they buy, their shopping frequency and the amount they spend.

Gen Z consists of students or others born after 1995 in tier 1–3 cities. They are digital natives. Unlike their older counterparts, they value trendy items over established brands and are major fans of insurgent brands.

This group represented the fastest per-capita spending growth on Tmall and Taobao FMCG, with per-capita spending growing 30% annually from 2016 to 2018.

Small-Town Youth are consumers in their 20s in tier 4 or smaller cities. They take their cues from big-city youth, eagerly following the latest urban trends. Without the pressure of exorbitant housing prices, they have considerable disposable income at their fingertips.

The slow pace of life also provides them with enough time to enjoy games, video streaming, and other online leisure activities. Their income and free time make them a huge potential force in online shopping.

Urban Gray Hairs are consumers born before 1970 who live in tier 1–3 cities. The majority of them are retired and have substantial pensions. This group could be considered a hidden gold mine for online sellers.

They now spend relatively little online. In fact, their per-capita spending dropped 20%annually from 2016 to 2018.

Small-Town Mature Crowd consumers are older than 35 and live in tier 4 or smaller cities. With their slow pace of life, they typically have an abundance of time to watch videos or news online. They make most of their purchases offline, a preference that allows them to socialize with acquaintances face-to-face.

They registered the lowest per-capita FMCG spending on Tmall and Taobao of any group in 2018.

Urban Blue Collars are less affluent consumers in tier 1–3 cities who are typically engaged in such professions as catering, transportation or retail. They are familiar with the same e-commerce infrastructure and online channels that influence their middle-class counterparts.

Compared with the Rookie White Collars or Wealthy Middle Class groups, they are more concerned about value for their money when shopping online and tend to buy fewer items. Their per-capita spending on Tmall and Taobao is far below that of middle-class shoppers and grew at a relatively slow 5% rate from 2016 to 2018.

Bain also suggested 4 steps on how brands can win:

1. Clearly understand the targeted strategic consumer groups and their preferences in products and content/promotion channels
2. Identify key growth drivers to customize a category- and brand-specific strategy
3. Optimize product portfolios, marketing, and channel strategy—choosing key growth initiatives for reaching and converting targeted consumers
4. Systematically review and continuously improve strategic initiatives

CIW annual subscribers can download the report here.

Chinese consumer demands, lifestyle, and behavior and attitude have changed greatly following the demographic structure and society evolutions as well as the three emerging forces in China’s consumer market, leading to more and more new particular consumer segments in China.

Social changes of national consumption age hasten new consumer segments such as “urban fashion men” and “active senior citizens”. The emerging trend of bachelordom develops new consumer group named as “the urban single tribe” with unique demands which are totally different from other consumers.

Emphasizing on experience and feelings as well as following closely the fashion trend have created “experience first” and “eager to become a master” segments. The age of high connectivity and digitization sees the born of “two-dimensional space” and “virtual social networkers”.

Enterprises shall deeply investigate each particular consumer group, and fully consider their special demands to identify the correct positioning of products and services. Then estimate their growth potential and formulate suitable strategies with diversified pricing, particular scenarios, and different functions.

Urban fashion men

Consumptions across various age groups are increasing in China, not limited to a specific consumer segment, age groups, or gender. China has entered into the “national consumption” age.

Rise of male consumers group in China roots in the accumulation of social wealth; social progress brings about diversified social identities for the individual; and, richer social life makes the male’s desire for non-essential materials become unprecedentedly huge, which is the prime power for the rapid rise of male consumers in China.

The number of male consumers increases dramatically on both offline shopping and online shopping; categories of consumption related to the male become more diversified, and the amount of expenditure is close to the female. Especially for online shopping, no matter they buy something for themselves or for female family members,

Especially for online shopping, the annual expenditure of Chinese male consumers is higher than the annual expenditure of Chinese female consumers, having reached 10,025 yuan.

Taking growth rate in skin care products for instance. Compared with the overall growth rate of 11% in China’s overall skin care market, the growth rate of the skin care products for men is twice faster than the overall growing rate and reaches 24%.

Nowadays, young male consumers who were born in the 1980s and 1990s living in the cities are different from their parents. They read male fashion magazines, pay attention to self-image, enjoy life, and are willing to spend money on their clothes and hair styles.  They on average spend 24 minutes on grooming every day. They also concern about their health; and, they will work out in fitness clubs.

73% male consumers in China’s first-tier cities believe that the personal appearance is important for job hunting and dating; 88% will check information of beauty and fashion on the internet; and, 83% in 18-35 years old age group think it is necessary to use skin care products.

Apart from traditional advertising, the influence of the internet on male consumers shall not be neglected. Many brands start to pay more attention to their exposure rate on the internet. Chinese male consumption market’s demands on fashion and personalization are increasing constantly; different brands could offer more differentiated choices.

Active senior citizens

Other than “the economy of fashionable men”, the Chinese demographic structure becomes increasingly mature. “Silver Economy” market is also becoming more and more competitive. The aging tendency of the Chinese population is an indisputable fact. Official research indicates that the total population of the elderly people is more than 200 million in China. Over the past decade, income levels of elderly people in China have increased significantly. Consumption structures also gradually shifted focus from basic necessities of survival to cultural relaxation activities.

Official research indicates that the total population of the elderly people is more than 200 million in China. Over the past decade, income levels of elderly people in China have increased significantly. Consumption structures also gradually shifted focus from basic necessities of survival to cultural relaxation activities.

In such a general background, lifestyles of elderly people in China are becoming more and more active and diverse. According to BCG research and studies on elderly people around the world, elderly people are keeping a more youthful appearance and “not satisfied with being old”. After retirement, they are no longer content with current lifestyle of staying at home. Besides, elderly people don’t just take care of grandchildren, grow

After retirement, they are no longer satisfied with the current lifestyle of staying at home. Besides, elderly people don’t just take care of grandchildren, grow plants, or read books in their twilight years. When asked about “the ideal state of retirement life” in China, the new generation of elderly people aged from 46 to 55 demonstrated significantly different viewpoints as opposed to the previous generation of those who are above 55 years old.

The new generation of old people is more willing to go out of their houses and pursue colorful retirement lifestyles. In particular, they are actively engaged in traveling, seeking for new hobbies and interests, sports, reemployment, volunteer work after retirement. The ratio is 10% to 20% higher than the previous generation of old people.

In addition, Wang Deshun, who is known as “the coolest grandpa” and the brand ambassador of Reebok, as well as Shao Quanfa, who is a 72-year-old sportsman and completed 70 marathon races, have become extremely popular and inspiring public figures. They made more retired people realize the new possibilities and created new business opportunities.

China’s elderly consumer market is the future of a blue ocean, showing a large scale, more diversified demand, supply shortage, and obvious consumption willingness.

Take tourism industry targeting the elderly for example. According to statistics from China’s National Tourism Administration, the average annual growth of senior citizen tourism market reached 21.5% between 2012 and 2015 which was higher than the overall growth rate of 16.8%. In 2015, it reached 826 billion yuan. And, 35-40 years old and above 65 years old are major consumers for cruise travel.

Under the age of silver economy, economic growth is as important as economic quality. From the perspective of consumption, the growth of some durable consumer goods slows down; organizations’ focus shifts to the elderly led businesses.

It’s imperative for businesses to develop strategies on how to guide the elderly’s consumption to personalized and diversified directions with high quality.

The urban single tribe

The population of bachelordom in China is about 200 million. The proportion of people who live alone has increased from 6% from ten years ago to 16%; the proportion of people who are more than 35 years old and still single reaches 21%, which is four times as much as it was ten years ago. 36% single women said that they are happy without getting married; as high as 80% expressed that they would rather remain single than rush to get married.

There are more and more white-collar workers and highly-skilled workers choose to remain in “the single tribe”. The reasons for keeping single may be different: some don’t want to interrupt the existing state of life; some keep high standards of choosing a spouse; and, some think that the expense of marriage is high that they would rather invest in themselves to improve themselves and pursue individual freedom.

The proportion of urban Chinese women who choose to be the single on their own initiative is high; they are economically independent, do not rely on men, and believe marriage is not a thing that women are forced into as it was before.

The number of Chinese who meet with the above-mentioned characteristics is increasing. Media and the public voice do not treat them with colored spectacles and do not call the single as “leftover women and men”. State of keeping single has become a kind of common phenomenon.

It is noteworthy that trend of bachelordom does not only refer to marital status but also indicates mental attitude change. Married couples also enjoy personal space and happiness belonging to the single when they are not accompanied by their spouse.

As the number of people who choose to become single on their own initiative increases, “the economy of bachelordom” becomes popular. “The economy of the single women” and “the economy of the single” have created a series of business opportunities.

Producing customized products and services for the single is becoming a trend of marketing; such customized products and services for the single including solo KTV, solo seat in restaurant, refrigerator with small size, small high-end retail store which provides abundant imported products, solo housing supplied by land agent, and solo dwelling with individualized design.

Acceptability of the society on the single is improved constantly. “One person” brings a new pattern of consumption, and hasten new consumers segment targeting the single. The single has become a key consumer segment which shall not be ignored by the consumer market.

The “healthy green advocates” and “environmental protection” segment

Food is the paramount necessity of the people, and safety is the top issue. In recent years, shocking security incidents of food, drug, haze, and water pollution were reported repeatedly. Food security and health have become a top concern in China.

People care for their own health, extending concerns to the environment and sustainable development. The proportion of consumers who are not satisfied with food security or medical treatment is among the highest which are 57% and 47% of respondents respectively according to BCG.

Report on Chinese Green consumers in 2016 issued by AliResearch indicated that Chinese consumers’ aspiration on green consumption and environmental protection upsurges unprecedentedly; their pursuit of healthy and green lifestyle is not only reflected on the preference on green products selections but also reflected on that they hope their consumption behaviors and patterns of consumption will meet health environmental protection standard.

According to a GFK survey, 73% interviewees expressed that they feel guilty if their lifestyle is harmful to the environment. The proportion ranks the 7th among the 23 countries participated in the survey. Furthermore, as high as 80% respondents think that brands and companies shall be responsible for the environment.

Advocating healthy life, laying emphasis on environmental protection, and the idea of sustainability make “environment-friendly consumers” become a new large Chinese consumer segment which develops rapidly. Environment-friendly consumers pay attention to environmental protection and have purchased more than five kinds of environment-friendly products. They have green consciousness; they have turned or may turn green consciousness into green consuming behaviors; they hope to create active influence on other people and society through their behaviors of buying environment-friendly products.

Environment-friendly consumers pay attention to environmental protection and have purchased more than five categories of environment-friendly products. They are green consciousness and hope to create a positive influence on other people and society through their behaviors of buying environment-friendly products.

The AliResearch report also shows that the internet has become the main battlefield of green consumption. Especially in recent years, the proportion of “environment-friendly consumers” had increased from 3.4% in 2011 to 16.3% or 66 million in 2015. Green and environment-friendly consumption have become the main consumer habit, which also increased the price of environment-friendly products by 33%.

The emergence of environment-friendly consumers is significant for consumer markets in China, forcing businesses to pay attention to sustainable development and green products supply. “Experience suprematism” and “people who yearn for becoming great master” who keep up with the trend become the new consumers groups.

The “experience first” and “eager to become a master” customers

Popularity and accessibility of internet information and booming international tourism enable more and more Chinese consumers in line with global trend; their horizon is more broad, and their ability to accept various emerging things become stronger.

Chinese consumers are increasingly keen to spend longer time researching their own consumption need and acquire purchase information through digital platforms such as the “Little Red Book” to help with their purchase decisions.

Furthermore, experiential consumption has become a kind of trend in China. Consumers are no longer satisfied with visiting familiar cultural and geographical environment and traditional tourist spots; they take delight in tourism which is full of exotic charm and features unconventionality and extreme sports.

According to the report of “high-end tourism in China” issued by Hurun, the popularity to Japan and Korea has declined from 58% to 36% between 2015 and 2017. However, tourism in other foreign lands such as Africa, Antarctica, Arctic, and the Middle East has grown from less than 10% to around 20%. Between 2015 and 2018, the expected growth of participation in rock climbing, motorcycle race and surfing is 124%, 103% and 70% respectively.

Some traditional businesses affected by the internet have identified new opportunities for the “experience first” consumers by crafting the design and sales of customer experiences. A rising group of “experience first” consumers in China is willing to invest in their interests; and, some also expect to achieve a professional level of skills.

In recent years, professional cameras are popular among some photography enthusiasts; mobile applications for fitness and cooking have attracted as many as eight to nine million active users. All of these indicate that more and more Chinese consumers are willing to spend money and time to improve skill levels of their interests.

Experiential consumption such as outbound travel and extreme sports rises quickly; and, these Chinese consumers are willing to invest a lot financially in interests, leading to a rise of “experience first” and “eager to become a master” consumer segments. 00 Yuan each year on hobbies and interests such as oil painting, skiing, watching

Take a 30-year-old white collar living in a tier-1 Chinese city for an instant. The annual spend on the painting, skiing, opera, and pastry material purchase could easily exceed 35,000 yuan.

“Two-dimensional Space” and “virtual social” consumers

“二次元” (Er Ci Yuan) refers to the two-dimensional space, namely the flat space where the early animation and games were composed. And, consumers who are addicted to or fans of those characters in the animations of games are called Er Ci Yuan or “two-dimensional space”.

This consumer segment has an everlasting expectation for skills and experience; they will complete purchase and consumption while studying and creating. Digital times have created “two-dimensional” and “virtual social networking” consumers segments.

Parents who once deemed internet as savage beasts for their children are constantly interacting on WeChat now. Students, white-collar workers, and the elderly all have a smartphone enabling them to 24/7 access to the internet.

PwC data shows that Chinese consumers spend the most time on digital devices in the world; they have extremely high requirements on the convenience of the equipment. The average time a Chinese consumer spends on a smartphone, laptop, and tablets is as high as 170, 161 and 59 minutes respectively, which is far more than the global average time of 147, 108 and 50 minutes. Furthermore, the convenience of online and mobile shopping in China also make consumers willingly to be in the state of 24/7 internet connectivity.

Furthermore, the convenience of online and mobile shopping in China also make consumers willingly to be in the state of 24/7 internet connectivity. There are 62% Chinese consumers believe that online shopping is convenient, 4%-7% higher than the developed markets such as the U.S. and UK.

When encountering with the two-dimension virtual world and three-dimension real world, high connectivity and demands on convenience have made such consumers group feel that the two world has integrated; for them, the boundary between virtual and real world is vague.

For example, in the past, soccer fans of World Cup would only feel satisfied when they go to a bar or restaurant to watch the game with a beer, the crowd, and friends. Now, the “two-dimensional space” and “virtual social networking” consumers move “beer social networking” back home. They buy BBQ and beers on mobile; and, they interact with soccer fans around the world through bullet screen (a function which allows viewers to post on-screen comments in videos) while they watch the live broadcast online.

This brings new consumption pattern and demands. Young people’s entertainment such as the online novel, gaming, animation, and cartoons, which were once deemed as “improper occupation” by most of the adult have now made more and more young consumers realize their value of life, leading to a series of new business opportunities and peripheral products.

The post-90s in China refer to the youth among 16 to 25 years old born in the 1990s which are the first generation accessing the internet from childhood, and have formed different consumption habits with their parents.

211 million Chinese post-90s make up 15.4% of the total population in China according to National Bureau of Statistics and 29.5% of the population are over 15 years old based on a ComScore report in 2014. Compared to other regions, the ratio of post-90s population in mainland China is higher.

The post-90s in China will reach 22.7% of the population aged from 15 to 60 years old in 2015 and is expected to reach 31.3% by 2050 according to data from United Nations. The post-90s will be the driving force of China’s future development and consumption.

The post-90s have formed unique shopping habits which are totally different with the post-80s or post-70s. The post-90s are more independent that 77.3% will purchase goods basing on their own opinions and only about 50% will purchase for quality. Fashion, brand, and promotions have less impact on the post-90s.

At present, although the majority of post-90s are still in school, most of them will begin to work and gradually become the main force of consumption power in the next five years. The current monthly income of 91.1% post-90s is less than 3,000 yuan (US$470.55) according to a job hunting website Zhaopin.com while it may achieve a substantial growth after 5 to 10 years.

The post-90s’ average age of internet experience is 7.53 years and the daily usage time is 11.45 hours per person on average in 2014 according to Baidu. Data of CITIC show that the post-90s accounts for 26% of China internet users in 2015.

The post-90s pursue personality and uniqueness. Owing to limited economic levels, 86.8% post-90s have to shop online to reduce cost on clothes and bags. Taobao, Tmall, and Jingdong are the most popular online shopping platforms among the post-90s: Taobao accounts for 57.2% of the market share; Tmall 30.7%, and Jingdong 8.8%.

Almost everything can be used for entertainment for the post-90s and entertainment is very important part in their lives. The post-90s join in groups to interact with friends and make new friends sharing common interests.

The post-90s are the largest age group of many instant messaging apps, such as mobile QQ, Weibo, WeChat and so on. 39.4% of the post-90s use social apps to communicate with their friends; 28.9% use for leisure and entertainment, and 8.9% to keep in contact with their families.

The post-90s are more social and prefer new and interesting things. They have stronger consumption desires and excessive spending consciousness; credit cards and financial products gain much popularity among them, and they prefer new advertising methods rather than traditional marketing ways. To obtain the post-90s, companies must have a clear understanding of what they like and what they dislike.

Also read: 55% China Online Shopper Are Male

The number of Chinese outbound tourists reached 107 million person trips in 2014. More and more travelers tend to travel abroad during the holidays. The total number of China’s tourists is estimated to exceed 4.1 billion person trips in 2015.

64% users are inclined to go abroad during the New Year’s Day holiday, and 69% tend to travel abroad during the Chinese New Year with 5 percentage points higher.

The young Chinese generation is full of adventurous spirit and independent consciousness. Most of them prefer free and easy tours rather than group tours. About 76% young users will pay for free and easy tours and 19% will go for individual trips during New Year’s Day in outbound countries. As high as 81.3% young people choose the free and easy tours during Chinese New Year, and only 3.3% users are likely to travel with groups.

As drawing near of the end of 2015, 57.56% users are determined to plan their journeys depending on the number of holiday days. 16.89% users will travel where is mostly appreciated by the public.

25.56% young users will determine their destinations by considering costs and salaries. Survey results of lailaihui.com show that 69.72% users will spend less than 5,000 yuan (US$784.9) on outbound travel during New Year’s Day, and only 6.77% are willing to spend over 8,000 yuan (US$1,255.9).

Compared with the average budget during New Year’s Day, Chinese young people would rather pay more for the Chinese New Year holiday: about 51% users are glad to spend over 5,000 yuan (US$784.9) and 20% to spend over 8,000 yuan (US$1,255.9) during holidays.

Chinese post-80s and post-90s account for about 31.8% of the total population. Due to different consumption habits and lifestyles from their parents, more and more young people prefer to travel during weekends or holidays. In recent years, outbound travel has become popular and the youth have contributed a lot to this market. Korea, Japan, Thailand, Australia, the USA and some European countries have become popular outbound destinations in recent years.

About 65% of the young generation enjoy traveling with friends during New Year’s Day and 21% will travel with families. However, 33% users will travel in families during Chinese New Year. 35% and 56% users are willing to spend 5 to 7 days on travel during New Year’s Day and Chinese New Year respectively.

On the way to travel, the cruise has become a hot new trend on the outbound travel market. More users choose to travel to the surrounding countries by cruise and 2.4% users will travel by cruise during Chinese New Year.

In the first half of 2015, the first-tier cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, had most citizens travel abroad, and second cities such as Taiyuan, Kunming and Xiamen also saw a large number of outbound travelers.

The rapid growth of mobile internet consumption has led consumers transferring from the PC client to the mobile client. Since January 2015, the number of active users on mobile apps has surpassed that of the PC side, and the gap is gradually increasing. The young generation are used to booking travel products on mobile apps.

Also read: More Chinese Travelers Active on Mobile Than PC

Average daily reach of Chinese news websites totaled 58.776 million users in September 2015, and the overall effective browsing time reached 110 million hours according to iResearch.

In September 2015, the daily coverage of news portals in China reached 58.776 million users, far more higher than other vertical websites, such as China’s fashion websites and finance websites.

Youth.cn, whose daily coverage reached 930 million internet users, remains the largest news website in China. The daily coverage of Gmw.cn reached 893 million with a penetration rate of 3.5%, ranking second; China.com.cn 772 million internet users with a penetration rate of 3.1%, ranking third. Xinhuanet.com, Cankaoxiaoxi.com, and Eastday.com increased in average daily users compared to the previous month.

Effective browsing time of news websites increased up to 110 million hours in September 2015. Gmw.cn accounted for 8.5% of the total browsing time to 9.5 million hours, followed by Huanqiu.com (7.99 million hours) and Youth.com (7.82 million hours).

Also read: China Social Media Users Insights in 2015

China’s domestic travel frequency has been gradually increasing based on Qunar’s data from January to September 2015.

Travelers under  21 years old account for 14.25% of the total, and most of them are accompanied by their parents during travel. The post-90s is the main driving force of China tourism market, accounting for 39.97% of the total online travel booking users. Consumers aged between 31 and 35 y-o account for the smallest percentage of total travelers. Travelers over the age of 36 get stabilized recovery.

Lovers and couples like traveling most, accounting for 44.66%, followed by the whole family trips and individual trip. The ratio of individual travelers is increasing.

With the improvement of economic development and income level, travel is becoming an important need in people’s living in China. Self-driving trips, budget travel, backpack travel and others are rapidly included in the territory of modern Chinese ways to travel. While most consumers travel as a planned trip, their advanced bookings are made in a relatively short period. 46.21% travelers make bookings 5 days in advance. Only 8.3% travelers may make bookings more than 30 days before the trip.

Mid- and low-end hotels are major preference of consumers. As high as 43.25% will book hotels under 300 yuan, and only 12.67% over 800 yuan.  Due to the popularization of Qunar, Ctrip, and other online hotel booking websites, more high-end hotel prices get deep discounts.

Among 32 capital cities in China, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou received most online bookings. Lhasa, Hohhot, Yinchuan and other midwestern residents rank at the bottom, who travel less.

Dali, Kunming, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna, Hong Kong, Jiuzhaigou, Sanya, and Beijing are top 8 inbound destinations; Bangkok, Pattaya, Krabi, Phuket, Bali Jeju and Seoul are top 7 Southeast Asian destinations. Citizens in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Sanya, Chongqing and Xi’an are most willing to spend money on accommodation during tourism in order to enjoy a more comfortable travel.

Also reads: China to invest $278.7 Billion in Tourism in 2025

China online news portals’ average daily user coverage exceeded 53 million during period from July 28 to August 3, 2014 according to iResearch. People.com (4.3%) ranks on top with an average daily reach of 11.19 million users, followed by Guangming.com (3.3%) and youth.com (2.8%).

Total effective browsing time on online news portal from July 28 2014 to August 3, 2014 was 25.933 million hours.

Online news portals in China are important channels for marketers. 74% Chinese netizens acquire news online while the proportions of America and the UK are 40% and 38%. Content from online news portals are more authoritative and credible.

Read more: China’s First News Crowdfunding Website