General overview
China is witnessing a booming female consumption market. According to CBNData's 2020 Women's Quality Life Trends Insight Report1, 97% of women are the leading consumption force in the family, and the female consumption market in China has exceeded RMB 10 trillion.
Women's strong spending power results from their increasing financial capabilities. In 2018, women's average monthly income before tax already reached RMB 3,930, an increase of 36.8% over four years. 62.9% of urban women earn more than RMB 10,000 a month.2
Modern Chinese women are pursuing a self-pleasurable lifestyle, and this feature has also shaped their consumption habits. According to iResearch3, 44% of new-generation women pay attention to personal experience-based consumption.
The social recommendation (also called seeding campaign, 种草) is a typical shopping model for Chinese females as most of them spend lots of time engaging in various social media apps such as Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin. A large proportion of female users on Taobao, Pinduoduo, and JD come from social networking and short video platforms.
Also, they are increasingly addicted to live-streaming shopping. Take Taobao’s top live-streamer Li Jiaqi as an example. In February 2020, his female fans accounted for 80%. The conversion of live-streaming sales among female users is direct and efficient.
Li Jiaqi is well-known to millions of Chinese women. Photo source: web
Beauty consumption
Women of all ages attach importance to appearance management and enhancement, and the overall age of skincare is declining. Gen Z girls, especially those living in the first and second-tier cities, is rising to be the driver of online skincare consumption. Nearly 40% of Gen Z begin to take care of their skin at the age of 16-18, which is almost ten years earlier than that of the post-90s, and their expenditure increased year by year.
In addition to forward-looking skincare awareness, more Chinese females are propping up efficacy-based skincare. Data shows that 90% of women prefer to study ingredients and formulations before shopping for products. The TOP3 ingredients that the efficacy-based group pays the most attention to when choosing facial products are niacinamide, amino acid, and ceramide.4
They also stay on top of the latest beauty trends and are willing to showering money on more avant-garde technologic approaches to enhance their beauty. The emergence of beauty devices and medical beauty has been an excellent exemplification. According to the Soyoung (China’s largest online medical beauty platform), women accounted for 90% of Chinese medical beauty consumers in 2019, with an average age of 24 years.
Food & Beverage Consumption
Alcohol
According to the "Insight Report on Drinking Consumption of Young People in 2020"5, female consumers played an increasingly pivotal role in the online alcohol market.
Female consumers born in the 1990s/1995s have accounted for half of the alcohol consumption, and the number of female consumers born in the 1990s has surpassed that of male consumers.
Fruit wine and mild wine are specifically catching on among female consumers due to better taste. Female users showed great interest in wines with alluring packaging designs.
MissBerry, a Chinese low alcohol drink brand with girlish packaging. Photo source: Tmall
Meal replacement
Meal replacement has become a popular option for Chinese women to stay in shape. According to the "China Online Meal Replacement Consumption Trend Insights Report"6, female consumption in this sector has increased year by year, contributing more than 70% of the sales.
In the current meal replacement market, the product concept of weight loss is more likely to win female consumers’ favor.
Chicken salad, low-calorie sandwich, vegetable salad, whole grain bread, and meal replacement bar are among the TOP5 categories gaining most attention by women aged 30 and above.
The younger generation is more receptive to innovative and convenient products, such as meal replacement milkshake and fruit cereal, which are springing up in the Chinese market.
Health food
Under the healthy eating tide that sweeps the whole country after the epidemic outbreak, females also look for healthy food that could fortify their body function and appearance.
Female consumers generally focus on two types of healthy food: traditional tonic (e.g., bird’s nest and Ejiao) and modern health care (e.g., probiotics).
Statistics show that nearly 50% of female consumers ordered traditional tonics during the 2020 Double 11 Shopping Festival, among which more than 70% chose bird's nest. Immunity enhancement and skincare are the two driving forces.7
Probiotics is another health product appealing to female consumers. Improving intestinal function, relieving constipation, preventing gynecological problems, easing inflammation, and losing weight are the leading contributing factors. The consumption of probiotics increased by nearly 20% during the 2020 Double 11 Shopping Festival.7
It is noteworthy that the Chinese oral beauty market is launching ahead at an accelerated pace. The post 90s/95s women account for more than 50% of the oral beauty consumption, and the proportion is increasing year by year. Collagen, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide are sought-after ingredients.
Mother and baby consumption
In China, more post 90s and even post 95s have become mothers or plans to have babies. The new generation is experiencing the information convenience brought by the digital age, at the same time, they are also influenced by Chinese and Western multiculturalism. Their advanced fertility concepts and segmented demands have reshaped China’s mother and baby market.
60% of women use skincare products during pregnancy, and skin toner, facial cleanser, lotion, and other fundamental care products are their go-to choices. Besides, pregnant women have tuned out the tradition of “face without makeup” for pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly 50% of them will make up during pregnancy, and lipsticks gain most of their traction. They also pay attention to postpartum recovery, with stretch marks and scar-lightening products becoming a necessity in their shopping carts.
In terms of food consumption, pregnant snacks have become a promising subcategory as 81% of mothers buy snacks during pregnancy. They also focus on nutritional supplements during pregnancy. More than 90% and 80% of women purchase folic acid and nutrition products during pregnancy.8
