Chinese Consumer Behavior - Impact of Regional Differentiation on Consumerism in China

The 2008 McKinsey Annual Chinese Consumerthe preference for recognized brands, as well as the
Survey presented an analysis on how the key buyingwillingness to pay for these premium brands.
factors in the Chinese market are influenced byThe attitudes and behaviors of the Chinese
China's geographic segmentation. Out of the eightconsumer was another key aspect that was
key buying factors analyzed, six were found to beanalyzed in terms of the impact of Chinese
largely differentiated by regions, rather than by citygeographic segmentation. Of the six factors analyzed,
tiers.three were found to be differentiated by
These six key buying factors that are differentiatedgeographical regions, while the remaining three were
by regions in China include: consumer markets inpredominantly influenced by city tiers.
which buying decisions tend to be influencedThese aspects of Chinese consumer attitudes and
predominantly by parents, celebrities and others;behaviors that are differentiated by geographic
buying trends which are influenced by in-storeregions include: the early adoption of new products
salespersons; consumers who displayed a preferenceby Chinese consumers; the national pride and impact
for Chinese brand products; consumers who werethat the Beijing Olympics had on the individual Chinese
influenced by TV marketing advertisements; marketsand the nation as a whole; and the fact that buying
in which food/beverage safety played a key role indecisions are centered on the needs of children.
buying decisions; and brand-driven decision making inThe latter three attitudes and behaviors
relation to purchases of food, beverages anddifferentiated by city tiers are the frequency of
personal care products.accessing the internet; increasingly environmentally
The remaining two key buying factors that wereconscious consumers; and materialism within the
differentiated by Chinese city tiers were: theChinese market.
preference for modern channels by consumers, and