60% of Chinese Consumers Plan to Reduce Spending in 2009
Low consumer sentiment indicates difficult times ahead across many product categories in China for 2009. Chinese New Year retail spending under threat.
DDMA Market Research & Consulting is pleased to announce the results of our newly released China Consumer Sentiment Study 2009. Our data was collected in December 2008, differentiating our findings from other surveys taken earlier in 2008. We found the weakening economic situation in China will have a profound effect on the demand for consumer goods and services.
Shanghai, Jan 5th, 2009: The Data Driven Marketing Asia (DDMA) Chinese Consumer Sentiment Index was conducted in the last two weeks of December 2008. The study was conducted among 4,500 consumer interviews across Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenyang.
With many Chinese consumers facing an economic slowdown for the first time, spending patterns in China are beginning to shift. 60% of consumers polled either already have or plan to curtail their personal spending in 2009. The largest category to be hit will be luxury items and branded apparel with 48% of consumers planning to reduce spending on this category. However, 46% of consumers also plan to reduce the amount which they spend on entertainment and leisure, such as dining out and other social activities. In a worrying sign for the domestic tourist and travel industry, 42% of consumers also plan to reduce or delay any leisure travel in 2009. The composition of the general household grocery basket is also undergoing changes with 21% of consumers planning to reduce spending on general household items, either through reduced frequency of purchase or a shift to cheaper stores or brands. In another worrying sign for retailers, the usual bumper retail period of Chinese New Year which is traditionally fueled by annual bonuses looks like it will be subdued this year with over 45% of consumers expecting either no bonus or a lower bonus compared to 2008.
The state of the economy now tops the list of concerns. Concerns about job security are also on the rise. Overall, 30% of respondents believe that jobs are now difficult to get, however, results vary greatly across the five cities included in the study.
Source: Data Driven Marketing Asia (www.ddm-asia.com)
Official Presentation of Results:The core results will be presented on January 16th and the Portman Ritz Carlton, Shanghai.
Or contact Claire.Ma@ddm-asia.com to attend this presentation.
About DDMA:
Data Driven
Marketing Asia (DDMA) provides market research and business consultancy
services to our clients across the globe. Founded in 2002 with offices
in Singapore and Shanghai, DDMA Market Research & Consulting has two
branches to offer our clients premium services. DDMA Market Research &
Consulting’s core management team has over 50 years of combined experience in Asia working
with many of the world’s largest companies. Our clients include many Fortune 500 companies spanning multiple
sectors.
For further Information on DDMA Contact:
Sam Mulligan
Director
Tel: (+86 21) 6289 1138
Sam.Mulligan@ddm-asia.com