Alibaba sales data release reveals China’s shopping trends

World Today

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For the first time China’s largest online retailer Alibaba has released sales data that reveals insight into Chinese consumption trends.

The e-commerce giant released its data analysis based on transactions from 2011 until September this year. More than 300 million shoppers used the online sales platforms during this time frame.

According to Alibaba’s, Chinese consumers mainly purchase in the areas of health, electronics, traditional Chinese cultural items, and individualized personal items.

“The health category is mainly underpinned by Chinese consumers’ healthier eating habits shown by rising organic food consumption,” Xia Ji, Marketing Director of Alibaba’s Taobao.com said.

“Meanwhile, we’ve seen rising consumption of healthcare products and sports equipment such as treadmills and rowing machines,” Xia added.

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The report also reveals that Chinese consumers’ appetite for smart devices, such as robots, has seen an explosive growth with an increase by about 250 percent during the past two years. The most popular item in this category are cleaning robots, which own the absolute majority in the smart-device sector, Xia said.

People from Beijing, Shandong province in East China, and Liaoning province in Northeast China, seem to have a particular need for robots that clean windows, Xia Ji said.

“At least three out of every 10 families have bought them,” Xia said.

The report also finds that Chinese consumers have more diversified and personalized shopping needs.

“We are surprised to find that people’s shopping enthusiasm on Qi Xi, the traditional Chinese Valentine’s Day, is more than the Valentine’s Day celebrated in the West. We normally think there would be more young people celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14. But big data tells us a very different reality. This is because more young people in China have started to value our own tradition,” said Huang Lei, Manager of CBNDATA, an Alibaba partner that contributed to the report.

Alibaba has so far attracted more than 4,500 manufacturers and enterprises with average daily sales of more than 40 million yuan ($6.24 million), according to Zhang Qin, Vice President of Taobao.com.

Story by CCTV News