Sunday, May 14, 2006
China’s Changing Consumer Attitudes
by from BeijingWhen you exit the baggage claim area at Capital International Airport in Beijing, the Chinese language characters immediately make you realize that you are in a foreign land and culture shock sets in. However, you also quickly notice two very familiar signs of home—KFC and Starbucks.
Throughout the past 20 years, foreign products (and companies) have been entering the Chinese market at an ever-increasing rate. As China continues to develop, so does the demand and market for these international goods. More than ever, educated young Chinese are eating, drinking, watching and wearing products marketed by the world’s multinational companies. They don’t necessarily aspire to be westernized, but rather modern. The youth in China will buy just about anything if it has something to do with the West.
When walking down the streets of Beijing, signs of western brands are everywhere. One company taking full advantage of its popularity in China is Pepsi, which has a popular merchandising line in China that sells anything from athletic shoes to sunglasses. The brand has also developed a strong rapport with Chinese youth through its marketing.
As the average income in China continues to rise, people’s tastes are becoming more expensive. The roads, which used to be filled with outdated Chinese-produced cars and bicycles, are now filled with expensive foreign cars such as Mercedes, BMW and Audi. Along with the luxury cars and SUVs crowding the roads, there are Chinese automakers providing cheaper, smaller cars that are more cost-friendly to the average, middle-class Chinese person.
The improving accessibility to the Chinese marketplace will not only create opportunities for businesses, but it will also create challenges. The increased competition will force western companies to create better quality products and not just rely on their name recognition. People in China welcome the competition from foreign products. Ultimately, the presence of more and better quality products here can do nothing but help China shed its “third-world” label and make its exports more valuable to the rest of the world.
