Is China’s Buying Frenzy Cooling? After a rush on household goods, a look at what’s next by William J. McEwen, PhD
Global Practice Leader, Brand Management
IRVINE, Calif. -- Gallup Polls in China over the last decade reveal impressive growth not only in China’s per-capita income, but also in the array of products finding their way into the kitchens and living rooms of the average Chinese household. Gallup data show that products ranging from telephones to TV sets are increasingly common in the majority of Chinese homes. Further, some of these increases have been nothing short of dramatic.
In just nine years, from 1997 to 2006, the number of Chinese households with color televisions grew almost 60%, to the point at which 9 in 10 Chinese homes now have a color television. During the same time, the percentage of in-home telephones nearly tripled and microwave ovens in the home increased sixfold. Even more astounding, the prevalence of mobile phones is at a level that’s 15 times what it was in 1997. And, while computers are still present in only a minority of Chinese homes (15%), that number is more than seven times the mere 2% of homes in which computers could be found nine years ago.
While increases in product ownership are clearly evident among urban Chinese, as would be expected, the rate of change in the rural areas is even more striking. In 1997, only 10% of rural homes had a landline phone and slightly more than a third (36%) had a color television. In 2006, 64% of rural homes had a phone and 88% had a color television. Almost a third (31%) of rural-dwelling Chinese now have a refrigerator and almost half (49%) have a mobile phone. What’s more, these percentages nearly doubled in just two years.
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