Graduate's Research Looks at What Motivates Young Adult Chinese Shoppers

Wittenborg graduate Wei He took a peek inside the mind of the Chinese consumer as part of his final research project, deconstructing their online buying behaviour. He graduated with flying colours earlier this month with a Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Logistics and International Trade. In his Graduation Assignment (GA), Wei looked at what motivates Chinese millennials when they do online shopping and also what demotivates them.

Wei, who is Chinese, said online retail giants like Alibaba are facing some problems approaching millennials because of their unpredictable buying behaviour. "The purpose of my study was to analyse the purchasing behaviour of this group and help marketeers optimise sales, thereby creating effective marketing strategies."

Shift in Chinese Market

He hit upon the idea after seeing on the news the big shift in the Chinese market from traditional shopping to online shopping. "Being a millennial myself, I was curious about my own behaviour and what motivates me. Millenials are currently the biggest spenders in China."

His findings revealed that for this group of consumers, brand is the most valuable aspect of any product they buy online. "A popular brand name gives them a feeling of esteem. Online shopping also depends on income and gender. Females are much keener to shop online."

When shopping online, most consumers consider the overall evaluation of the shop, the brand reputation of the store's products in general, as well as current reviews of the shop, Wei said during his research presentation. What demotivates them are risk factors such as the possibility that products might be damaged when they arrive, the difficulties of accurately judging a product online, besides financial risks such as the possibility that bank card details might be compromised.

As for his own plans now that he graduated, Wei said he wants to pursue a career in the Netherlands. "The educational system is very different in the Netherlands than in my own country. I had to adjust a lot for it. For example, the study load for each class has a different requirement. Some classes require a student to put a lot of time and effort into it. It was intensive for me to get used to it at the very beginning."

WUP 22/2/2020
by James Wittenborg
©WUAS Press