Older Consumers Drive Growth in the Chinese eCommerce Market

Chinese Consumer Behavior: Key Insights 

• Growing Online Engagement: 60% of Chinese seniors spend over three hours a day online, leading to a 238% increase in transactions and a 187% rise in active shoppers on JD.com from January to September 2024 compared to 2019.

• Health and Wellness Priorities: Sales of health products like probiotics grew tenfold, fitness equipment doubled, and fashion items like rings saw a 307% rise.

• Tech and Leisure Adoption: Older consumers are increasingly embracing smart home tech, with electric bed sales up 152% and leisure items like instant cameras and prescription pet food seeing significant growth.

Older consumers in China are becoming a major force in the online market, with JD.com's latest report highlighting significant growth in this demographic. 

Key consumer interests among this group overlap with younger generations, particularly in fitness, travel, skincare, and lifestyle products.

Increasing Online Engagement 

The 2024 Silver-Haired Consumer Report reveals that 60% of seniors now spend over three hours daily online, engaging in activities such as shopping, news reading, mobile payments, and video streaming – habits similar to those of younger users. In addition:

Health, Wellness, and Leisure Spending Surge 

Health and wellness products are top priorities: In the time period mentioned above, probiotics and health tonic sales grew tenfold and threefold, respectively. Demand for fitness equipment has also doubled. In fashion and beauty, sales of rings and jade necklaces have increased by 307% and 132%, while anti-aging skincare and personalized fashion items experienced tenfold sales jumps.

Modern technology is gaining traction too, with smart home devices like electric beds and smart bathroom cabinets seeing sales increases of 152% and 277%, respectively. Additionally, leisure spending is up, with products like instant cameras and pet care items – such as prescription pet food – showing significant sales growth.

Sources: Retail Asia, JD.com Corporate Blog, ECDB