Survey on Green Consumption Attitudes of China's Middle Class According to a survey on China's middle class by the Hong Kong Trade and Development Bureau, 71% of respondents said that green consumption has increased in the past year, especially "green products that are safe for health", based on health concerns, coupled with improved purchasing convenience and increased market supply. 73% of respondents agree that they “tend to use products that are safe for their health” and 59% say that “there are more and more convenient purchasing channels”, prompting their consumption of green products to increase than before. At the consumer seminar, it can be understood that although consumers knew the benefits of green food years ago, it was not easy to buy due to the constraints of the pipeline at the time, and the price was high, so it was just a rarity that we eat once in a while. But in recent years, green foods, especially organic fruits and vegetables and imported meat, have become more accessible as the internet’s fresh food consumption has become more common. As the site is directly connected to local farmers, there is favorable price reduction, and there are often promotions that prompt price reductions. In addition, the Internet platform is convenient to use and more convenient for shopping. In the symposium, some respondents have become accustomed to purchasing fresh food online, and some have even pre-ordered organic vegetables regularly. The survey showed that 71 percent of respondents said they had “increased their green consumption in the past year than before,” with a higher proportion of higher-income households saying they had increased their green consumption. Perhaps due to serious food safety problems in China years ago, coupled with increased income, the average consumer has become very concerned about quality of life and safety in the past period, so the survey shows that although 41% of respondents agree that "I am more concerned about quality of life and safety than before" As learned at the Consumer Symposium, although consumers were aware of the benefits of green food years ago, they were not frequently purchased due to pipeline constraints and high prices at the time. The survey shows that improved market supply is the main reason for increasing green consumption. 59% of respondents said the increase in green consumption was due to “more supply in the market, seeing green products more often than before, whether it is food or supplies”. Among male respondents, 36% said the narrowing of the price difference between green products and similar products was the reason for increased green consumption, higher than the 29% of female respondents, meaning that the narrowing price difference between green products and similar products was more inducing male consumers to buy. Consumers’ concern for protecting their health can be felt at the symposium, for example, respondents in almost all cities have air purifiers in their homes. Therefore when asked about their attitudes towards green consumption, 73% of the overall respondents agreed that “I tend to use products that are safe for health, such as organic, additive-free, etc., even if the price is more expensive than similar products”, with a significantly higher percentage of respondents with higher household income. Although there was no such high recognition of protecting their health due to concern for the ecological environment as a motive for green consumption, 59% of respondents said they “tend to use ecologically friendly products, such as environmentally harmless, renewable resource utilization, etc., even if the price is more expensive than similar products”. For different kinds of green products, more than 30% of respondents said they were “very willing” to pay a higher price to purchase them. Among them, the “very willing” purchase rate for “children’s food or supplies” and “organic food” exceeded 50%. Because most parents have the “best to give their children” mentality and consideration for product safety, plus 76% of the survey respondents are “married with children”, the proportion of “very willing” to pay a higher price to purchase “children’s food or supplies” is also the highest. Female respondents were significantly more “very willing” to pay higher prices than male respondents in three categories of green products, including “food or supplies for children”, “organic food” and “organic skincare/cosmetics”. From household income, in addition to “children’s food or supplies,” respondents with higher household income had higher rates of “very willing” to purchase in other product categories. From the age group, respondents aged 25-30 had a higher rate of “very willing” to pay higher prices in three categories of products, including “clothing products made of organic cotton” (33%), “organic skin care/cosmetics” (46%) and “recycled, recycled green and environmentally friendly products using renewable resources” (40%), while respondents aged 31-50 had only 7% and 3% of “very willing” to purchase these three categories of products, respectively. In addition to understanding the general consumption characteristics of the Chinese middle class, the survey also explores the consumption characteristics or lifestyle habits of Chinese middle-class consumers from the policy direction of promoting consumption in the 13th Five-Year Plan. In addition, the consumer group targeted at the “post-80s” grew in an era of significant economic expansion in China, with a different growth background than the previous generation. Therefore, this survey is still in age stratification, trying to reflect the consumption characteristics of the “post-80s” generation. Source: HKTDC Economic and Trade Research (2017-08-16) Department of Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Economy (Open new window) Center for Plastic Industry Technology Development (Open new window) Privacy Statement |Government Website Data Open Announcement |Contact Us
