Chinese Consumer Behavior Research Articles

Do Your Neighbors Matter to You? : Focused on Chinese Jiu Ling Hou (Post-’90s) Generation Online Shoppers

The post-’90s generation is made up of those born between 1990 and 1999 in China; it is also the generation that is driving e-commerce in China. To attract these post-’90s consumers, online retailers have adopted recommender systems based on previous purchases and personal preferences. However, current Chinese online retailers do not typically consider the purchasing histories of their neighbors, although those neighbors have been proven to influence consumer behavior intention in several fields of study. Thus, this study investigates neighbors’ influences on Chinese consumer behavior in online shopping. In particular, this study examines the relationship between neighbors’ purchase histories and consumers’ purchase decisions among Chinese post-’90s consumers. Furthermore, this research seeks to determine whether neighbors’ purchasing history has an influence on consumer perceptions (e.g., perceived enjoyment, perceived risk) and whether perceived enjoyment and perceived risk have influences on purchasing intention.

A study on Chinese Consumer Behavior of Korean Automobiles

A study on Chinese Consumer Behavior of Korean Automobiles

Social media and Chinese consumers’ environmentally sustainable apparel purchase intentions

Purpose Social media and sustainability are changing Chinese consumers’ consumption behavior in notable ways. Few apparel industry sustainability efforts are enforced or well known in China. As China operates its own social media sites, it is necessary to study Chinese social media, rather than Western types, in order to understand its influence on Chinese consumer behavior with regard to sustainability. By extending the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the prototype willingness model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how Chinese consumers were taught their environmentally sustainable apparel (ESA) consumption behavior through social media, and also how the influence of peers affected their purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach A total of 238 survey responses were collected and analyzed from a Chinese research firm in 2016. In accord with the study objectives, an exploratory factor analysis was first conducted, and then a two-step analysis of a structural equation model was employed for hypothesis testing. To test the significance of hypothesized mediated effects, a bootstrap procedure with 2,000 bootstrap samples from the original data was used to compute bias-corrected 95% CI for indirect effects. Moreover, hierarchical regressions were demonstrated to verify the unique contribution of social media influence. Findings The study findings support the previous literature that indicated positive attitudes toward environmentally sustainable purchasing behavior increased as Chinese consumers learned about social and environmental issues. Also, results of the analysis revealed that Chinese consumers’ engagement with social media and their peers were important social influences that were directly tied to increasing sustainable apparel purchase intentions. Originality/value By extending two grand theories of the prototype willingness model theory and the TRA, this study underlines a novel link between the influence of social media and ESA purchase intentions among Chinese consumers. Results are valuable in a global context as it is one of only a few studies to explore Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of ESA through an exclusive social media platform – WeChat – in China.

USING BAIDU INDEX TO NOWCAST MOBILE PHONE SALES IN CHINA

Most of the official data are released with a lag period, which increases the difficulties for decision-makers assessing the situation. To solve the problem of data lag, we used real-time Baidu Index to nowcast the Chinese consumer behavior of buying the best-selling smartphone, Huawei Mate 7. We introduced keywords like “Mate 7” and “Huawei” in Baidu Index search queries to examine whether the introduction of real-time data can improve the efficiency of benchmark model. Overall, our finding is that the introduction of Baidu Index, both in-sample and out-of-sample, can improve the prediction accuracy of the model significantly. The extended model provided a 55.2% outperformance relative to benchmark one. This can not only make up for official data release lag, but also help firms gain near-real-time insight into the consumer demand trends and reduce inventory costs. The findings suggest that firms can improve marketing performance by use of search engine promotion campaign.

The role of cultural values in green purchasing intention: Empirical evidence from Chinese consumers

AbstractEnvironmental problems, especially in the case of water and air pollution, are the harmful result of the overconsumption of fossil fuels as well as various forms of industrial sewage water discharge. Recently, growing environmentally friendly purchasing behaviour of consumers has become regarded as an effective method for alleviating such environmental problems. Due to concerns regarding the natural environment, consumers have increasingly begun to exhibit favourable attitudes towards environmentally friendly products, and as a result, are more likely to purchase “green” products. However, green purchasing behaviour of consumers varies across different nations and cultures. This study aims to reveal how Chinese cultural values (specifically, the Doctrine of the Mean) influence green purchasing intention of Chinese consumers. As the lifestyles of consumers will be deeply affected by their cultural values, this study examines the mediating effects of the four dimensions of Chinese lifestyle have on consumers. At the same time, environmental knowledge is considered as a moderating variable in order to investigate the relationship between the Doctrine of the Mean and green purchasing intention. The study’s data were collected from Chinese consumers. Empirical results reveal that such Chinese cultural values are positively associated with green purchasing intention, and that three dimensions of consumer lifestyle (namely leadership, cost consciousness and development consciousness), are all found to play mediating roles in the relationship between the Doctrine of the Mean and green purchasing intention in Chinese consumers. The moderating effects of environmental knowledge are exhibited in the influence of leadership as well as development consciousness on green purchasing intention. The study’s findings have theoretical implications for understanding green purchasing intention as well as behaviour of Chinese consumers further. The study’s findings also present practical implications for how to promote green purchasing intention in Chinese consumers better.

Analysis of the Impact of Interest Rate Changes on Chinese Consumer Behavior

Analysis of the Impact of Interest Rate Changes on Chinese Consumer Behavior

MARKETING TO CHINESE MILLENNIALS: WEIBO AS A MARKETING TOOL FOR LUXURY BRANDS

This paper explores how luxury brands can utilize Weibo in order to create an effective marketing strategy that appeals to millenials. China accounts for 47% of global online retail sales (eMarketer, 2016) and it is predicted that millenials (born 1980-1995) and Generation Z will make up two-fifths of luxury spending by 2025 (eMarketer, 2017). However, due to political constraints, popular western social media sites cannot be used to target this vast market of online Chinese consumers. Weibo is one of the most popular social media sites in China, with 97.2% using the site (Yu et al., 2017). In order to target them effectively brands need to gain an indepth understanding of Chinese consumers and what would appeal to them on Weibo. The majority of social media research uses quantitative methodologies on popular social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. There are limited qualitative studies exploring consumers’ feelings and attitudes towards brands’ social media activities on Weibo. Due to different cultural backgrounds Chinese consumer behavior is likely to show a different trend to Western countries. Semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 12 participants were conducted. Findings showed that convenience, immediacy, social standing/status and entertainment were key drivers for using Weibo. Fashion information, latest product releases and videos were the most popular type of posts. Consumers read comments and tagged their friends, emphasising the importance of e-word-of-mouth (e-wom) and the influence that it can have on purchasing behaviour. This also facilitated the creation and feeling of a brand community. Consumers were very receptive to celebrity collaborations which influenced purchasing behavior. The main criticism of luxury brand’s Weibo was that it was not updated enough and Weibo did not have an influence on trust. This study provides a clear insight into what Chinese millenials want from luxury brands’ Weibo and how it can influence their purchasing behaviors and e-wom. The findings are novel, contributing to the academic literature through the conduction of a qualitative study exploring an under-researched area. This research has practical implications for luxury brands, as they should provide regular, up-to-date content consisting of videos and celebrity collaborations. A limitation could be the limited number of participants, yet, findings provide an interesting insight into consumers’ perceptions of Weibo and how it influences their attitudes and behaviors towards luxury brands.

A Comparative Study on Cross-cultural Complaining Behavior of South Korean and Chinese Consumers about Fashion Products (II) -Focused on Lifestyle and Personality-

A Comparative Study on Cross-cultural Complaining Behavior of South Korean and Chinese Consumers about Fashion Products (II) -Focused on Lifestyle and Personality-

An agent-based modeling and simulation of consumers’ purchase behavior for wine consumption

Emerging Chinese wine market has expanded rapidly in recent years. This paper aims to explore an agent-based modeling method to simulate consumers’ purchase behavior in wine market, China. An agent-based simulation model was built which combined motivation function with decoy effect to simulate consumers’ wine purchase behavior. A survey of 976 valid samples was carried out in China, which meant to estimate key parameters in the simulation model. Then, the experiment was conducted to simulate the decoy effect in China’s wine market. An obvious decoy effect was observed, and the agents who changed purchase choices showed similar motivations toward wine brand A and B. The simulation experiment also recognized attribute intervals for creating an effective decoy. The agent-based modeling can simulate consumers’ purchase behavior in different wine markets through adjusting the parameters in simulation model. The experiment shows decoy effect is highly obvious in Chinese wine market. The findings provide valuable insights into Chinese wine consumer behavior and important implications for wine marketers. It is expected that the modeling methods can be served as a model to simulate consumers’ purchase behavior elsewhere in China. It is the first attempt to apply agent-based model and computing simulation parameters to simulate consumers’ purchase behavior in wine market in China.

Understanding Customer Intention to Use Mobile Payment Services in Nanjing, China

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED WITH THE INFORMING SCIENCE INSTITUTE. Aim/Purpose.............................................................................................................................................................................. This study examines the factors that influence customer intention to use mo-bile payment service in Nanjing, China. It also gains a deeper understanding and better insight of Chinese consumer behavior. Background.............................................................................................................................................................................. Mobile payments services represent a tremendously interesting paradox in the world of telecommunications. Although, they are convenient, quick and easy but there is not still enough evidence on how successful this practice is. In Nanjing, China, consumer intention to use mobile payment is still questionable and remains as a skeptical consideration. Methodology.............................................................................................................................................................................. A survey was conducted in Nanjing, China where 612 respondents were interviewed by self-administrated survey. The modified Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) were applied in this study. Descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis and multiple regressions were used to accomplish the objective. Contribution.............................................................................................................................................................................. This research provides an insight to the mobile telecommunication industry, marketers, decision makers and academics on the factors that encourage consumers to use mobile payment. Findings.................................................................................................................................................................................... Four factors that influence the consumer behavioral intention were deter-mined in this study (perceived risk, perceived usefulness, subjective norm and attitude). The results of multiple regression indicate that all four variables significantly influence consumer intention to use mobile payment in Nanjing, China, however subjective norm has relatively high impact as compared to others. Recommendations for Practitioners........................................................................................................................................ In order to build a positive expression of the brand, mobile service providers are suggested to enhance the persuasion of the application. As customers provide their privacy information to register for the mobile payment services, providers should strengthen their security system. This not only shapes consumer trust but also prevent privacy leakage. Secondly, mobile payment application providers can imply policies for protecting customer rights from potential risk to increase their agreement of the application. These will lead to unexpected losses financially. Recommendation for Researchers............................................................................................................................................ It is recommended to make a comparison study between two Mobile payment platforms by examining constructs such as usefulness, ease of use, perceived risk as well as security risk, financial risk, social risk and time risk between Alipay and Wechat payment system in China. Impact on Society........................................................................................................................................................................ Various forms of mobile payment have been adopted by Chinese consumers due to convenience, speed and ease of use. Even though mobile payment does not replace physical payment cards but it has been acting as a substitute for paper-based payment method and it is driving demand and consumer usage. However, there the potential for data to leak creates some level of insecurity and skepticism for Chinese costumers. Future Research............................................................................................................................................................................ To have an in depth understanding about the consumer intention to use mobile payment, it is recommended to determine the current customers’ satisfaction level by adopting the SERQUAL model. Qualitative and quantitative research with focus group will be a good approach to get a deeper understanding on the factors that influence consumer to use mobile payment services rather than others payment methods. It is also important to get more information regarding customer satisfaction towards the mobile payment platform.

Online shopping behavior of Chinese and Japanese consumers

Online shopping has rapidly developed all over the world. Differences of consciousness and behaviors of consumers of different countries may make consumer problems serious in cross-border net shopping. In this study, online shopping behaviors of Mainland Chinese consumers and Japanese consumers were compared. The data used for the comparison were the results of the internet survey of online shopping behaviors of Chinese and Japanese consumers collected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japanese government from 2010 to 2014. Chinese consumers collected various information, and they also made a lot of inquiries and negotiations before purchasing. Nevertheless, they encountered more troubles. In those cases, they returned the goods. Much less Japanese consumers did information collection, inquiries and negotiation. They put their complaints when they encountered troubles. It was a common problem that both of them did not confirm the site security such as the location of the operator, the notation of the contact person, the responsible person, and security measure.

Cross-Cultural Symbolic Consumption and the Behaviour of Chinese Consumers

Cross-Cultural Symbolic Consumption and the Behaviour of Chinese Consumers

A Study of the THAAD Impact of Chinese Consumer Behavior on the LOTTE Brand: Focused on Ethnocentrism, Consumer Animosity and Affinity

A Study of the THAAD Impact of Chinese Consumer Behavior on the LOTTE Brand: Focused on Ethnocentrism, Consumer Animosity and Affinity

Selection criteria of customers of Chinese restaurants and their dining habits

The present study investigates the selection criteria used by restaurant customers in India while choosing Chinese restaurant for dining and also to understand their contemporary dining habits. Structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the respondents. Respondents were selected using the convenience sampling approach. The study used descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis to interpret the data. The results of the study would assist the Chinese restaurant marketers to understand the important restaurant attributesfrom the customer's perspective. It would also help to formulate required marketing and operational strategies incorporating food quality, service quality, customer relationship practices and promotional offers, so that the restaurant can stay competitive in the market by better meeting the needs and expectations of the customers. This study was an attempt to examine the Chinese restaurant consumer behaviour in the Indian context, particularly from the Chennai City. The research also provided vital information and insights for the researchers, academicians and the practitioners in the restaurant industry.

Selection criteria of customers of Chinese restaurants and their dining habits

The present study investigates the selection criteria used by restaurant customers in India while choosing Chinese restaurant for dining and also to understand their contemporary dining habits. Structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the respondents. Respondents were selected using the convenience sampling approach. The study used descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis to interpret the data. The results of the study would assist the Chinese restaurant marketers to understand the important restaurant attributesfrom the customer's perspective. It would also help to formulate required marketing and operational strategies incorporating food quality, service quality, customer relationship practices and promotional offers, so that the restaurant can stay competitive in the market by better meeting the needs and expectations of the customers. This study was an attempt to examine the Chinese restaurant consumer behaviour in the Indian context, particularly from the Chennai City. The research also provided vital information and insights for the researchers, academicians and the practitioners in the restaurant industry.

A Cross Cultural Analysis of Chinese and Hispanic Consumer Behavior in the U.S. : An ethnical perspective

A Cross Cultural Analysis of Chinese and Hispanic Consumer Behavior in the U.S. : An ethnical perspective

Chinese consumers and European beer: Associations between attribute importance, socio-demographics, and consumption

The demand for western alcoholic beverages in China has increased tremendously in recent years. However, there is still a lack of understanding with regard to the behaviour of Chinese consumers towards European beer, which is a common western alcoholic beverage. This study explores associations between beer attribute importance scores, socio-demographic factors, general beer consumption frequency and country associations of European beer, and the consumption of imported European beer in China. The data (n = 541) were collected in two Chinese cities: Shanghai and Xi'an. Results of ordered logistic regression analyses show that the consumption of imported European beer is positively associated with importance attached to the product attributes Origin, Brand, Colour and Texture, and it is negatively associated with importance attached to Price and Alcoholic content. Furthermore, male gender, living in Shanghai city, a good financial situation, frequent beer consumption and a high-level employment position have a significantly positive influence on European beer consumption in China. In addition, about two thirds of the study participants associate imported European beer with ‘Germany’.

A study on the purchase behavior of Chinese consumers about environment-friendly agricultural products

In Korea, the market size for environment-friendly agricultural products has reached a plateau, even though many Korean consumers still show a high level of preference for environmentfriendly agricultural products. In order to solve this problem, some Korean farmers and marketers are starting to try to export their products to many countries, including China. China, in particular, is becoming one of the fastest rising market for Korean environment-friendly agricultural products, after the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with China. However, little research has been done or reported about the purchase behaviors of Chinese consumers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the environment-friendly agricultural product purchase behavior (especially, mandarin orange and muskmelon) of consumers in the Chinese market and to present some useful implications for Korean farmers and marketers. Through survey in China (especially, Beijing and Shanghai) and frequency analysis, this study made the following findings: first, Chinese consumers show a very strong concern for environment-friendly agricultural products. Second, many Chinese consumers usually buy environment-friendly agricultural products more than two times per month. Third, Chinese consumers give more value to freshness and food-safety than taste when they make decisions on buying environment-friendly mandarin orange and muskmelon. These can have some implications for the exportation of environmentfriendly agricultural products.

Chinese Mind Piracy?: The Effects of Copyright Awareness on Online Consumer Behavior

The issue of piracy is one of the major difficulties in international trade today. It is often the original-brand manufacturer who ends up in a great deal of trouble because of it. Pirated products have disrupted global trade and have caused untold damage to the world s economy. Hence, the copyright awareness of the consumers in a target market is worth looking at. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of Chinese customers copyright awareness on online consumer behavior. For this purpose, data were collected via a web-based questionnaire survey from 252 consumers across 23 cities in China. Qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis were adopted in the study. By building and analyzing the structural equation modeling using AMOS, it was found that copyright awareness has begun to make a drastic change in Chinese consumer behavior. The results reveal that first, Chinese customers age and educational level have significant effects on their copyright awareness; second, those part of the high-copyright awareness group put more importance on service quality than others where satisfaction is concerned; and lastly, their satisfaction have a significant effect on loyalty, but this effect is smaller when observed in the low-copyright awareness group.

Food Choice Behaviour of Chinese Consumers in Shenyang, Liaoning Province

The aim of the study was to investigate consumers’ use of nutrition claims and to determine the food choice behaviour of Chinese consumers based on the nutrient content of packaged foods. A cross-sectional descriptive research approach was followed. Combined stratified and random sampling methods were used to select 400 adult literate consumers involved in packaged food purchases from international chain supermarkets and other popular shops in Shenyang in Liaoning Province, North-East of China. Data were collected with questionnaires and analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that none of the respondents could interpret “salt free”, only 6.0% understood “reduced sugar” and 70% were sceptical about such claims. A total of 53.8% and 64.4% of the respondents neither understood the term or knew their RDA respectively, even though familiarity with these had implication for food consumption. Respondents’ use of information on calorie (Mean = 3.003, Std. Dev. = 1.248), sugar (Mean = 3.151, Std. Dev. = 1.175) and fat (Mean = 3.175, Std. Dev. = 1.202) content affected their food choices “sometimes” while salt content “rarely” (Mean = 2.803, Std. Dev. = 1.193) did. While the highest level education showed no significance, health status was significantly and negatively correlated with low-calorie (r = ?0.094, p < 0.01) and low-salt (r = ?0.083, p < 0.05) food choices. Taste influenced the choice of biscuits/cookies, which normally had high amount of fat, sugar and/or salt. The findings suggested a low nutrition labelling awareness even though majority of the respondents were well educated. Misconception and scepticism about label claims and value placed on taste could lead to over consumption of the negative nutrients from packaged foods. Consumer education and enforcement of claims on calorie, fat, sugar and salt are emphasized.