Ecommerce Entrepreneurs: What gender is your target customer in China?
Over the years, male shoppers were playing a lesser role: because female shopper dominates consumer purchasing. However the times are changing: New study reveals that men are seriously proactive when it comes to China eCommerce.
To understand different shopping behaviors influenced by gender is important, whether your eCommerce business is male-focused or you want to attract more male shoppers. From the latest research on China eCommerce shoppers, here’s what we discovered:
“He-Commerce" in China: quite a lot
China “he-Commerce” cannot be ignored: By the end of 2016, 47.4% of eCommerce shoppers in China are male, only 5.2% short from female.
Surprisingly, male shoppers are the driving force of cross border eCommerce in China: 64.8% of all the cross border eCommerce customers in China are male. The cliché of men hating shopping is long-gone on China eCommerce.
What are they like?
- Rational. Females tend to make impulse purchases when retailers running promotions, while men dwell less. Male eCommerce shoppers are pragmatic: sales promotion won’t draw too much of their attention, and they are less likely to buy stuff not on their shopping list.
- See Shopping as a mission. While female shoppers are comparing with different options, better prices, cheaper brands, male shoppers prefer a fast and effortless experience. They know what they want, and they come to your eCommerce to “get job done”.
- Loyal (to the brands). Chinese male shoppers will become exceptionally loyal customers once they found your brand really worked for them.Women shoppers on the other hand have “more complex loyalty requirements”.
- Higher spent. Surprisingly, men outspend women online by 44%. One big reason could be: Men are less price sensitive, and sometimes they purchase without regard for the price. Also, they buy electronic/digital products online, which can easily cost quite a fortune.
What do they like?
- Favorite thing to buy: Electronics/Digital. When female shoppers spending money on clothing, cosmetics and food, Chinese male shoppers placed orders mostly with home appliance, mobile, computers, video games & consoles.
- Favorite shopping time: Non-working time. Chinese male eCommerce shoppers are hard workers: They won’t check eCommerce during working hour. Most likely, they will place an order on their way home, or after they get home.
- Where do they buy: on mobile. In China, “He-commerce” is mostly “M-Commerce”. The majority of male customers shop online through mobile, since it is convenient and easy to pay.
What do they value the most?
- Convenience is priority. Male shoppers are overwhelmingly concerned with convenience: They need to find everything they need in a short period of time. The decision making process will be largely influenced by convenience, including convenience of order placing & payment.
- Delivery speed. Chinese male eCommerce customers are spoiled by the fast delivery speed. In average, customer will receive their packages in 3.5 days, so they will consider delivery speed as an important factor.
- Credibility. Male eCommerce shoppers in China don’t take chances: they will shop on eCommerce sites that are credible and trustworthy. If you lose trust, you lose the sale and you may lose the customer as well.
Any Advice?
1. Simple & direct user experience. Chinese male eCommerce shoppers want their shopping experience “quick and effortless”. Ideally, your eCommerce is easy to use and navigate: get to the point quickly, focus on the products, and use active statements that demonstrate value.
Moreover, keep it straightforward and convenient. Features like one-click payment or social login will reduce hassle, and save the time for your users.
2. Make your promotion message visible. In the eCommerce world, Chinese male shoppers are not “hunters”, but “gatherers”. They won’t spend hours finding the best deal; instead they check in and check out real fast. Plus, they are impatient: if anything that seems troublesome, they will leave.
Pernod Ricard's Tmall store put their promotion banner on homepage
Your promotion message must be loud and obvious, so homepage banners could be very useful. Don’t let them do multiple clicks then realize what your promotion is really about - just tell them what a generous discount you are offering.
3. Details are important. Men want more information, and like being presented with different ways of wearing the product. As a result, you need to earn your customer’s trust, and details help a lot.
Accurate and concise details such as size/dimensions, delivery costs, price, and availability are essential. Furthermore, detailed product descriptions featuring comparisons to other similar products, and customer reviews with images can assist their shopping experiences.
Last but not least: make sure your images are high pixel, while optimized for different devices.
Razor Keyboard on Tmall
4. Increase credibility. Transparency brings trust from your customers. Increase the level of trust, and convert visitors to loyal customers.
To start off, offering a clean design. Clutter-free and intuitive design can create great impressions for your visitors. Besides, make your contact info visible. Viewers will always view your "About Us" page to know more about the people or business behind the curtain, so you should put efforts into this.
