E-commerce in China isn't set to slowdown anytime soon. Source: Shutterstock

E-commerce in China isn’t set to slowdown anytime soon. Source: Shutterstock

Millennial parents and silver-haired to spend more on e-commerce in China

E-COMMERCE in China is booming and experts believe the trend isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Despite concerns of a slowing economy, Alibaba’s performance during the Single’s Day sale this year is proof enough that companies should double down on their e-commerce investments in 2020.

Truth be told, popular segments in the e-commerce market in China such as city-dwellers who spend an increasing amount of time on their smartphones every year and young teens who make purchases based on influencer recommendations are going to continue to remain hot.

However, for players looking for growth, two new segments could be worth exploring in 2020: Millennial parents and the silver-haired community.

Figures shared by CBNData suggest that as millennials in China bring new life into the world, they will be quite an exciting e-commerce category to cater to. Aside from shopping for essentials for their children, millennial parents in China also shop for insurance and are more likely to bring young kids to holidays with them — all of which can be purchased online.

The data said that 47 percent of millennial parents bought insurance for their children in 2019, spending on average CNY517 (US$74), up from 42 percent who bought insurance the year before.

Next, the silver-haired community in China is also an up and coming segment that would do really well on e-commerce platforms, especially if a slightly different approach is adopted.

CBNData suggests that internet users above age 50 have grown from 6.7 percent four years to 13.6 percent — doubling the potential for e-commerce platforms who make shopping online easy and convenient via their interface.

According to the data, silver-haired folks in China are likely to be big-spenders and choose goods that make life easy and convenient for them. They often tend to purchase rice cookers, food processors, blenders, and other big-ticket household items.

To tap into both of these new segments, companies need to tailor their e-commerce strategy to suit the customer and appeal to their needs and wants specifically.

For example, when creating campaigns tailored for seniors, companies might do well to avoid references to movies or songs released recently, and ensure fonts used are legible and simple.

At the end of the day, 2020 will bring exciting opportunities to companies in the e-commerce space in China. Those that seek an edge must look for a niche and create products, solutions, campaigns, and platforms based on their understanding of that niche.