On International Women’s Day, JD.com released a trends report in partnership with the Industry Development Institute analysing female consumption in China. The number of female users on JD.com has continuously climbed in recent years, and their purchasing power has reached a new high.
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The report showed female shoppers are increasingly spending on their own interests and are a driving force in purchasing technology products. Compared to male buyers, Chinese female shoppers tend to spend more on household products for their family members.
Own interests
JD’s data showed that in 2021, the proportion of women’s consumption to gratify themselves increased significantly to reach 54 percent, and the transaction value increased by nearly 30 percent year-on-year (YoY).
Specifically, the transaction volume of luxury items, education and training, local life/tourism, and health services increased dramatically. From March 4th to 7th, luxury brand turnover rose by 167 percent YoY, luggage categories increased by four times YoY, shoes and boots increased by 105 percent YoY, and the apparel categories increased by 100 percent YoY. The data also revealed that women’s search for apparel are more specific and diverse, showing that female shoppers have become more discerning.
Family consumption
Women outpace men in family consumption. According to JD’s report, Chinese female shoppers are more likely to acquire high-tech household appliances for their families. They favor innovative technical household products and baby care items. JD.com data showed purchases of household washing machines, floor/window cleaning robots, and dishwashers made by female shoppers increased respectively by 440 percent, 104 percent, and 69 percent in 2021 YoY. Baby formula smart kettle, Smart Lamp, and baby nasal aspirator all had a 274 percent, 143 percent, and 63 percent growth in sales YoY respectively.
Upgrade skills
Women spend more on self care items such as fitness services and equipment as well as book categories. According to JD’s report, female consumers contributed 52 percent of book sales in 2021. For the past three years, females outnumbered men by 2.38 times in the number of new customers under the category of books.
Among the Top 10 categories of books most frequently purchased by female shoppers in 2021, military books, comic books, and magazines/periodicals saw the fastest YoY growth in the number of copies sold.
Women are also looking for fitness products. JD’s sales in 2021 showed that the number of items purchased by women for sports services, swimming, ice and snow sports, and equestrian/folk sports increased significantly YoY, with the number of items purchased for sports services increasing 8.4 times YoY.
The number of strength training equipment items sold among female customers increased by 65 percent YoY. The products with the fastest growth were Flexi-Bars, hand grip strengtheners, resistance bands, single/parallel bar/pull-up bars, and shot puts. Flexi-Bar became an important option for women’s strength training, with a rise of 6.1 times in the number of items purchased YoY.
Technology products
In 2021, the turnover of smart devices purchased by females has risen by 40 percent YoY. In particular, the turnover of smart devices purchased by women aged 46-55 surged by 122 percent YoY.
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The consumption of sports trackers and smartwatches among women aged 46-55 surged dramatically, with a turnover increase of 2.7 times and 1.4 times YoY respectively, while the turnover for VR (virtual reality) glasses, drones, and smart robots also increased by 76 percent, 70 percent, and 40 percent YoY respectively.
(Source: JD.com)