{"id":12528,"date":"2023-06-08T13:05:24","date_gmt":"2023-06-08T13:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=12528"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:30:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:30:23","slug":"how-chinese-women-really-shop-4-case-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/how-chinese-women-really-shop-4-case-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"How Chinese women really shop: 4 case studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days Chinese consumers can browse, buy and watch product live streams on all manner of platforms, from Douyin to Taobao to Xiaohongshu \u2013 here, in their own words, is how they choose between them<\/h3>\n

According to Statista, almost 60% of China\u2019s online live commerce shoppers are female, and they make up around 51% of Chinese e-commerce<\/a> users in general. But with so much noise, and so many choices, what influences the platform they decide to shop on, and how can their habits inform your China strategy?<\/p>\n

We asked four women what their typical buying journey looks like: Jenny Jing,<\/strong> a 38-year-old production manager and mother of two living in Beijing; Cecilia Wu,<\/strong> a 38-year-old editor living in Kunming; Fiona Yang,<\/strong> a 34-year-old teacher living in Beijing; and Cicely Shang<\/strong>, a 34-year-old working in tech and living in Shanghai.<\/p>\n

\"launchpad<\/a><\/p>\n

What were the last products you bought for yourself online?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jenny Jing: <\/strong>Skincare products from a Canadian brand called Cocoon.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Wu: <\/strong>Two pairs of Birkenstock sandals<\/p>\n

Fiona Yang: <\/strong>Bleaching agent (for clothes). I accidentally died my favourite jacket blue and wanted to get it back to white again. It worked! Made my jacket good as new.<\/p>\n

Cicely Shang: <\/strong>Cosmetics, coffee capsules and catnip<\/p>\n

Which platform did you use to make your purchase and why?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jenny: <\/strong>Xiaohongshu this time. But I often use Taobao. I follow a skincare professional on Xiaohongshu who has her own clinic, so she is able to share industry knowledge, insider tips and secrets. Taobao used to be my first choice for this kind of thing, but now I only go there for Li Jiaqi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cecilia: <\/strong>Douyin. Normally I use Taobao because they have almost everything, but for these Birkenstocks, the brand\u2019s official Douyin store offered a discount, so I went with that.<\/p>\n

Fiona: <\/strong>Taobao. I always use Taobao because it puts the customer\u2019s needs first. If you have a dispute or an issue arises between you and the seller, you feel confident that if something goes wrong, they will fix it. In general, you have more options with Taobao than JD.com and the quality is almost the same.<\/p>\n

Cicely: <\/strong>The Harmay mini programme, then Tmall. Harmay [a retail chain selling beauty brand samples with a market value above US$76.4 million] carries so many niche brands and the prices are below market rate.<\/p>\n