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On the rise and online
Female consumers in Asia
An Economist Intelligence Unit report

Commissioned by


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Contents
Preface

2

Executive summary

3

Introduction

6

1. Changing demographics, control over purse strings

8

2. The shifting nature of retail

13

3. How women buy



18

4. Global vs local

23

5. Connecting with the new Asian female consumer

25

6. Barriers ahead?

29

Conclusion: What does the future of retail look like?

30

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

1


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Preface

On the rise and online: Female consumers in
Asia, is an Economist Intelligence Unit report,

commissioned by VIPSHOP. The EIU conducted the
survey and interviews independently and wrote
the report. Jonathan Hopfner and Liana Cafolla
were the authors. Laurel West was the editor.
Gaddi Tam was responsible for layout.

l Andreas Faahs, CMO and vice president,
Amway Japan

The findings and views expressed here are those
of The EIU alone and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the commissioning organisation.

l Kamal Nandi, executive vice president and
business head, Godrej Appliances

We would like to thank all survey respondents and
the following interviewees (listed alphabetically)
for their time and insights:
l Maximilian Bittner, CEO, Lazada Group
l Hyon-Ju Cho, vice president and team leader,
marketing service team, Samsung Electronics
l Elisabeth de Gramont, group account director,
Jigsaw Communispace
l Jodie Ding, senior analyst, iResearch
l Linda Du, Shanghai managing director, APCO
Worldwide
l Devangshu Dutta, chief executive, Third
Eyesight


2

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

l Leta Hong Fincher, author
l Andrew Keith, president, Lane Crawford
l Alice Lau, CEO, Le Saunda

l Roopa Purushothaman, managing director and
head of research, Everstone Capital Advisors
l Arvind Singhal, chairman , Technopak Advisors
l Torsten Stocker, partner, consumer goods &
retail, AT Kearney
l Lixia Tan, senior vice president and CFO, Haier
l Lavinia Tong, marketing director, Diageo China
l Tong-yi Mao, China general manager, GRI
Group
l Iris Xuan, brand direction manager, SK-II
China


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Executive
summary

Asia’s rapidly growing consumer markets are
the great hope of many companies across the
world. In 2015, retail sales in Asia are forecast
to grow by an average 4.6% on a volume basis,

to US$7.6trn1). This compares with 2.5% in
North America and 0.8% in Europe, according to
Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts. Behind
this broader trend is one that is rapidly coming
to the attention of brand owners and retailers:
the rising independence and economic power of
Asia’s women. While controlling an increasing
amount of household purchasing decisions,
women are also showing a passion for online
shopping. This report is aimed at providing
insights on how women’s purchasing power is
increasing, and in particular how women are
driving e-commerce in Asia. It is based on an
extensive survey of 5,500 women across major
cities in Greater China, India, Japan, Singapore
and South Korea, as well as input from consumer
analysts and major retailers and brand owners
themselves.
Among the key findings:
l Women in Asia’s major cities are increasingly
empowered. Region-wide, 43% of the women
responding to our survey were in managerial,
executive or professional services jobs.
Most were contributing to their household
income—8% described themselves as sole
breadwinners and 41% said they were joint

breadwinners. The trend is particularly notable
in mainland China, where 62% described
themselves as joint breadwinners.

l Women are showing increasing
independence in handling their finances.
Just over two-thirds reported having their
own bank accounts (this ranged from 76% in
mainland China, to a low of 47% in Macau),
and 48% held their own credit cards. Most are
in charge of budgeting decisions on groceries,
clothing and accessories, and children’s
products, and are at least co-decision
makers in most other product categories like
electronics and travel services. In terms of who
pays, 35% of women said they paid for their
own online purchases, while 15% said they
paid for their partners’ purchases as well.
l Women are driving the growth of online
shopping in the region, with many preferring
it to offline. Among survey respondents,
63% browse the Internet at least once a day
for products and services, with nearly 30%
doing so twice or more per day. Just under
80% of women regionally buy some groceries
online (just over 20% buy the majority of their
groceries online); the figure rises to 83%
for cosmetics and nearly 90% for clothing
and accessories (29% of women make the
majority of their cosmetics purchases online
with the figure rising to 39% for clothing
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

1


Based on nominal US$ sales

3


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

and accessories). Perhaps most troubling for
retailers focused on the brick-and-mortar
business, nearly half—49%—of women polled
agreed or strongly agreed that they preferred
the experience of shopping online to doing
so in stores. The figure was as high as 69% in
mainland China. Notable outliers include Hong
Kong, Singapore and especially Japan, where
only 18% of women said they preferred online
shopping to shopping in stores—the lowest
rate in the region. This no doubt reflects the
highly developed retail markets in these places.
l At least on the Internet, many Asian women
don’t seem to be living up to the stereotype
of selfless, family-focused individuals. Over
62% of women are buying for themselves most
of the time when shopping online; in mainland
China that rate rises to 74%, and to 77%
among 18-29 year olds. Women do, however,
engage in guilt shopping; 41% said they would
buy something for their partner, children or
family when they feel they have bought too

much for themselves. That figure rises to 67%
among women in mainland China.
l Women say online shops are cheaper, more
reliably stocked, and offer a less stressful
shopping environment. Women have a variety
of reasons to prefer online shopping. Most
point to cost (62%) and time savings (60%),
but they also feel that online retailers can be
relied upon to have the products they want to
buy (59%) and they appreciate the range of
choice online shopping offers (56%). Online
shopping is also more relaxing. Across the
region, nearly half (48%) of women say they
feel pressured and stressed in traditional
shops, and 27% feel store staff talk down to
them because they are women.
l The online shopping craze offers
opportunities for cross-border trade for
brands and retailers, but they need to work
on logistics. Regionally 36% of women agreed
or strongly agreed that they shop online
4

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

specifically to get products from overseas, and
41% said they bought products from abroad
because they were better than those produced
domestically—with the figure rising to 45%
among those aged 18-29. This perceived

quality gap was especially pronounced in
Macau and mainland China, where 53% and
63% of women respectively saw products
from abroad as superior. Analysts say this is
partially a result of the safety problems that
have plagued China’s supply chain at regular
intervals in recent years, but also points
to the challenges faced by local brands in
winning over increasingly demanding Chinese
consumers. However the taste for imports is
not universal—South Korean and Japanese
women remain highly loyal to local brands.
Moreover, regionally, 64% of women agreed
or strongly agreed that delivery times were a
concern when making purchases from abroad,
and 66% were concerned about delivery costs.
l Mobility in online shopping also means
women are increasingly shopping anywhere
and everywhere, and online retailers will
need to have a strong mobile interface.
Perhaps of interest to some of the region’s
employers, 28% of women say they shop
online via PCs at work—with the figure rising
to 40% in mainland China, where 20% also
use their smartphones to shop at work. Just
under 30% also say they shop online in bed
at night. Home is still the favoured place to
shop, with 78% using a PC at home, 45% using
smartphones and 25% using tablets.
l Women want personal service. According to

our survey, women are attracted to retailers
that build accurate customer profiles and
target communications accordingly—64% of
women found this appealing—as well as reward
them for loyalty (61%). These are seen as far
more effective ways for online retailers/brands
to attract traffic than traditional marketing
tools such as advertisements and newsletters
(45%).


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

l Getting the messaging right will be tricky.
Given their rising economic power, one
might reasonably expect women to be more
attracted to messaging that appeals to their
rising independence. The reality is more
complicated. While messages that address
them as independent, intelligent consumers
were found to be appealing by 56% of women,
nearly the same percentage (54%) said they
found messages addressing them as wives,
mothers or girlfriends to be attractive.
Successful messaging will no doubt be that
which somehow manages to marry the two,
and will depend on the product in question.
l The future of online shopping looks mobile,
and impulsive. Many of the trends identified
in our research are driven by younger women,

suggesting that the move toward online
shopping in general, the shift to shopping
on mobile devices and the preference for

being addressed on a personal level are likely
to intensify. For example, the percentage
who prefer shopping online climbed to 53%
among the youngest (18-29) demographic
surveyed (compared to 49% overall). In this
age range, 58% of women shop online with
their smartphones at home, versus 38% of
40-49 year olds. Similarly, 58% of women
18-29 found communications that respected
them as independent, intelligent consumers
appealing or strongly appealing, compared
to 53% of women 40-49. While overall some
43% reported spending more money online
than they do in physical shops, again the
rates among those 18-29 were even higher
(56%). This may be connected to the typical
lack of youthful restraint; over half of women
18-29 agreed that they were more likely to buy
impulsively online, versus around 40% of older
women. But habits, once entrenched, usually
do not change much.

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

5



On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Introduction

Asia has produced no shortage of compelling
growth stories over the past decade, and the
region certainly has more in store. Investors
and companies are now looking to consumers
in the emerging economies of Southeast Asia as
they seek to diversify beyond BRICS giants China
and India. But in the hunt for the continent’s
next growth engines, they may do better not to
think in terms of markets, but demographics—
specifically, Asia’s women. Long an untapped
resource in regional labour markets, women
are increasingly employed, independent and
prosperous, and they are poised to be one of the
leading drivers of spending in the years ahead.
Rising female labour participation and incomes
have coincided with a profound transformation of
the retail landscape. Online shopping is gaining
traction worldwide, but in Asia its rise has been

Asia as number one
Retail sales (US$trn), volume growth

4.3

North America


3.2

Western Europe

2.5%

0.8%
7.6

Asia and Australasia
Latin America

1.5

2.4%

Middle East and africa

0.6

2.9%

4.6%

For many traditional retailers, this will present
challenges and require shifts in strategy.
Connections with female shoppers will
increasingly have to be forged in the online
environment, and consumers will have more

options than ever. At the same time, online
shopping also represents a major opportunity.
Constant generation of data will allow vendors
unprecedented visibility into the behaviour and
tastes of their customer base; online platforms
will provide a possible way around some of the
costs and space limitations associated with
physical storefronts.
Based on an extensive survey of 5,500 women
throughout the region, as well as input from

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

6

nothing short of meteoric; the region is set to
displace North America as the world’s largest
e-commerce market this year. There are multiple
reasons for online shopping’s success. First, it is
convenient, frequently bringing goods to even
remote doorsteps. Second, it increases choice,
giving consumers access to products beyond
national borders. And third, as our research and
this paper will show, e-commerce has struck a
chord with Asia’s female consumers. Despite their
diversity in terms of income levels, habits and
cultural preferences, overall women throughout
Asia are enthusiastic proponents of online retail,
with many preferring it to traditional brick-andmortar stores for a variety of reasons.


© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

consumer analysts and major retailers and brand
owners themselves, this paper provides insights
into women’s preferences and aspirations
and how these could evolve. It suggests how

companies will need to respond to the emergence
of more empowered female consumers,
particularly in the online environment.

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

7


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

1

Changing demographics, control over
purse strings

Much of the rise in women’s spending power can
be traced back to a common cause: more Asian
women joining the workforce, and at more senior
levels. While women have traditionally been

underrepresented in the Asian workplace, recent
trends have been encouraging. Women held 29%
of senior management positions in Asia by 2013,
a higher rate than in North America and Europe2.
In mainland China alone, women’s average

contribution to household income has jumped to
50% from just 20% in 19803.
The results of our survey reflect these changes.
The sampling for the survey mirrored the urban
female population between the ages of 18 and 60
in select Asian countries* in 2014 in terms of age,
marital status, number of children and income.4

Women’s rising economic power in Asia
Breadwinners, not bakers

Overall, 91% of urban adult women contribute to
household income

(% respondents)

(% respondents)
Joint
breadwinners

Other

Grant Thornton, Women in
business, from classroom to

boardroom, March 2014

2

Nielsen, A Battle of the
Sexes Plays Out in Shopping
Aisles, March 2014

3

The survey covered
mainland China (Beijing,
Changsha, Chengdu,
Guangzhou and Shanghai),
India (Bangalore, Chennai,
Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai,
Pune), Hong Kong, Japan
(Kanto, Kinki), Macau,
Singapore, South Korea
(Gyeonggi, Seoul) and
Taiwan. Respondents were
also screened to exclude
those who do not have an
Internet connection.

4

8

Mainland China


Overall, 83% of urban adult women contribute
to household income

Partner is sole
breadwinner

Live with family
and share expenses

Sole breadwinners

10%

41%

8%

1% 9%

Partner is sole
breadwinner
Live with family
and share expenses
Sole breadwinners

15%

Joint
breadwinners


Other

62%

9%
8%
11%

8%

Earn, but partner
is main breadwinner

19%
Partner is main
breadwinner

Japan

Overall, 63% of urban adult women contribute to
household income
(% respondents)
Other

14%

Partner is
sole breadwinner


24%

Live with family
and share expenses

25%
17%

Sole breadwinners
Note: Figures may not total 100% due to rounding.
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

19%

Joint
breadwinners

2%

Earn, but
partner is main
breadwinner


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Financially independent
Bank accounts
Regionally, 67% of women have their own bank accounts
(% respondents)


76%

Mainland China

66%

Hong Kong
India

65%

Japan

65%
61%

South Korea

60%

Taiwan

58%

Singapore

47%

Macau


Credit cards
Regionally, 48% of women have their own credit cards
(% respondents)

53%

Mainland China
Japan

52%

South Korea

52%
49%

Taiwan

48%

Hong Kong

37%

India

35%

Singapore

Macau

Region-wide, 43% of the women responding
were in managerial, executive or professional
services jobs. Most were contributing to their
household income—8% described themselves as
sole breadwinners and 41% said they were joint
breadwinners, while another 19% reported that
they had some income, though their partner was
the main breadwinner.
More importantly, beyond simply contributing to
the family kitty, women are showing increasing
independence in handling their finances. Just

30%

over two-thirds reported having their own bank
accounts (this ranged from 76% in mainland
China, to a low of 47% in Macau), and 48% held
their own credit cards. Most are in charge of
budgeting decisions on groceries, clothing and
accessories, cosmetics and children’s products,
and are at least co-decision makers in most other
product categories like electronics and travel
services. Women in mainland China seem to have
a particularly large say in household spending
a majority also control household budgets for
electronics and travel purchases.
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014


9


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Household buying decisions
Who is in charge of the household budget for?
(% respondents)

Groceries

Clothing and accessories

Other

I decide

67%

Other
My partner/family
decides

18%
My partner/family
and I decide together

10%

2%


5%

My partner/family
decides

10%

I decide

73%

15%

My partner/family
and I decide together

Cosmetics

Furniture

Other
2%

My partner/family
decides

10%

7%


I decide

81%

Other

7%

My partner/family
decides

10%

I decide

31%

52%
My partner/family
and I decide together

My partner/family
and I decide together

Home products and furnishings

Maternity and children’s products

Other


I decide

50%

Other
My partner/family
decides

35%
My partner/family
and I decide together

10%
2%

10%
5%

My partner/family
decides

57%

12%

My partner/family
and I decide together

Travel and leisure


Electronics

Other

10%
5%

My partner/family
decides

I decide

33%

Other
My partner/family
decides

10%
9%

51%
My partner/family
and I decide together

10

I decide


My partner/family
and I decide together

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

49%

I decide

32%


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Women of influence in mainland China
% of women who make purchasing decisions, by category

86%

Cosmetics

79%

Clothing and accessories

78%

Groceries

70%


Maternity and children’s products

63%

Home products and furnishings

48%

Electronics

47%

Travel and leisure
Furniture

Especially in mainland China’s upper-tier
cities, women tend to contribute to household
finances “with their own disposable income,
which they have control over,” says Elisabeth de
Gramont, group account director at Shanghaibased consumer insights company Jigsaw
Communispace. Even women in smaller cities,
“although they might be earning less than their
husbands, are spending on their own expenses.”
Some, however, caution that financial
independence among women in mainland China
does not necessarily equate to financial security,
pointing out that Chinese women’s control over
some aspects of household spending may be
influenced by cultural factors, and more apparent

than actual.
“There’s this norm that men are supposed to own
the home … (while) women and women’s families
are supposed to be responsible for renovating the
home,” says Leta Hong Fincher, author of Leftover
Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in
China. “That means purchasing all of the furniture
and fixtures for the house. So certainly from that
perspective, yes, women are generally going to be
the ones who are going to the stores and choosing
things like curtains and lighting fixtures,

39%

appliances, for the home. That does not mean that
they’re empowered—on the contrary, their money
is being frittered away on all of these things that
depreciate in value over time, while the men’s
money is invested in an appreciating asset.”
In Macau, Singapore and India, women reported
having a comparatively smaller role in household
budgeting decisions than their counterparts
in other countries, but were still the clear
authorities in areas like clothes and cosmetics.
According to Roopa Purushothaman, managing
director and head of research for India-focused
investment manager Everstone Capital Advisors,
“Definitely for household (items) including
food, it goes to the women on that front … if you
look at bigger one-ticket items, like cars, those

decisions are typically made by the male head of
the household.”
Even in areas where women say budgeting
decisions are made jointly with, or controlled by,
their partners, their impact may be understated.
Just 30% of women in India, for example, say
they are in charge of the household budget for
electronics, but domestic appliance retailers
like Godrej say they still strive to communicate
equally to both male and female customers.

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

11


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

“It is still the woman of the household who
initiates the purchase process by identifying
the need for an appliance,” says Kamal Nandi,
business head and executive vice president of
Godrej Appliances. “Hence, the role of a woman
is critical …. Their role is as vital as that of a male
in the family in the decision-making process.”
Our survey data confirm this point. In electronics
purchases, for example, only 36% of women say
they have control of the budget, but another 54%
say they are involved in decision-making in this
category. In other words, 90% of women have

influence over purchases of electronics by the
household.
Retailers, especially in consumer goods and
apparel, have been quick to recognise, and benefit
from, an increasingly prosperous and assertive

12

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

Asian female consumer. Andreas Faahs, CMO
and vice president at Amway Japan, says around
73% of customers are female, as well as a similar
percentage of its independent ‘business owners’
or distributors—who in turn contribute to family
finances and fuel more purchases. “The 35 years
since Amway first arrived in Japan have seen many
women entrepreneurs born via Amway business.”
“Women are driving our business,” says Andrew
Keith, president of department store operator
Lane Crawford, which has properties in its home
base of Hong Kong and mainland China. Keith
estimates women account for almost 80% of Lane
Crawford’s customer base, and says segments
like women’s wear are outperforming the overall
market with double-digit annual growth rates.


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia


2

The shifting nature of retail

As the regional retail industry adjusts to
reflect women’s increased buying power, it is
simultaneously undergoing a more profound shift
from the traditional to the online environment—
and indeed one change may be supporting the
other. Asia-Pacific will leapfrog North America to
become the world’s largest e-commerce market
this year, according to digital marketing research
firm eMarketer, with online business to consumer
(B2C) sales likely to top US$525bn. Vast online
marketplaces such as Japan’s Rakuten and South
Korea’s Coupang have emerged that are tempting
shoppers with a dazzling array of goods in every
category and piquing the interest of investors.
Traditional retailers are also busily expanding
their Internet storefronts, sometimes gaining
customers in far-off markets where they lack a
physical presence.
Given the enthusiasm with which Asian women
have taken to shopping online, this may be a case
of the retail industry adapting or dying. Among
survey respondents, 63% browse the Internet
at least every day for products and services,
with nearly 30% doing so twice or more per day.
Just under 80% of women regionally buy some
groceries online (just over 20% buy the majority

of their groceries online); the figure rises to
83% for cosmetics and nearly 90% for clothing
and accessories (29% buy the majority of their
cosmetics online, while 39% do the same for
clothing and accessories online). Perhaps most
troubling for retailers focused on the brickand-mortar business, nearly half—49%—of
women polled agreed or strongly agreed that
they preferred the experience of shopping

online to doing so in stores. The rate climbed to
53% among the youngest (18-29) demographic
surveyed. Some 43% reported spending more
money online than they do in physical shops;
again the rates among those 18-29 and 30-39
were even higher. This may be connected to the
typical lack of youthful restraint; over half of
women 18-29 agreed that they were more likely
to buy impulsively online, versus around 40% of
older women. Younger women were also more
likely to agree they spent too much online.
And at least on the Internet, Asian women don’t
seem to be living up to the stereotype of selfless,
family-focused housewives. Over 62% of women
are buying for themselves most of the time when
shopping online; in mainland China that rate
rises to 74%, and to 77% among 18-29 year olds.
In South Korea and India, however, women said
they were almost as likely to be buying for their
children or family. Buying for friends or peers
is not as popular as family members—women in

India were most likely to do so, with 15% saying
that they most often buy for friends, while only
6% of women in mainland China said they bought
the most for their friends.
These trends are requiring many retailers to
pursue what Mr Keith of Lane Crawford terms a
“connected commerce” strategy, simultaneously
investing in physical properties in major
regional hubs and building out digital flagship
stores capable of catering to customers across
borders. “This is essential going forward because
our customers are highly mobile, travelling
around a very large, diverse region. We need
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

13


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Online habits
Regionally, 63% of women browse for products and services at least once per day
(% respondents)

77%

India

65%


South Korea

64%

Mainland China

57%

Japan

52%

Hong Kong

49%

Singapore

44%

Taiwan
Macau

23%

Regionally, 49% of women said they prefer online shopping to offline
(% respondents)

69%


Mainland China

57%

Macau

55%

India

51%

Taiwan

50%

South Korea

30%

Singapore

29%

Hong Kong
Japan

14

18%


to be connected with them, wherever they are,
whenever they choose, and that experience has
to be seamless.”

customers who arrange to collect their shipments
when they visit the city, attracted by a wider
selection and sometimes lower prices.

Mr Keith says Lane Crawford sees online and
physical retail as complimentary rather than
competing forces. “We have customers visiting
our stores in Hong Kong from mainland
China, Taiwan, Macau, Japan, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia,
enjoying the experience and then returning
home and continuing to shop frequently with
us online.” Around 10% of the firm’s Hong
Kong online orders come from mainland China

“You see more and more consumers who are
looking for an ‘omni-channel experience’—more
and more women are in stores and are actually
checking on their mobile what the better price
is that they can get elsewhere … or looking for
different styles (and sizes),” says Ms de Gramont.

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

The appetite for online shopping transcends

nationality. But unsurprisingly given the region’s
diversity, it takes varying shapes. Asia’s largest


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Why they shop online
(% respondents)

62%

They get the best price online

60%

To save time
Because they know the products
will be available

59%

Because there is a wider choice
of products
For the convenience of having
gifts sent
To get products from abroad

economy, mainland China, is also the region’s
online shopping champion. Mainland China
displaced the United States as the world’s largest

online shopping market last year, nearing
US$300bn in value, and will more than double
by 2016, according to China-based iResearch.
“Online shopping in [mainland] China has already
partly replaced offline shopping. (It’s) become a
part of daily life,” says iResearch senior analyst
Jodie Ding. Among Chinese women surveyed,
69% preferred online to offline shopping, and
63% classed online shopping among their
favourite past times—both the highest rates in
the region. Consumers in Taiwan and Macau were
similarly enthusiastic.
Analysts like iResearch say e-commerce’s
exceptional trajectory in mainland China is a
function of convenience—thanks to the explosion
of the mobile Internet—quick, effective delivery
networks and the user-friendly payment systems
set up by local web giants. Cost is also a major
contributor. “In lower-tier cities, you can buy
stuff cheaper online than at stores in town,” says
Ms Ding.
Jigsaw’s Ms de Gramont also credits the range
of choice that vast online marketplaces have
ushered in. “Online shopping in [Mainland] China
is very important because in big cities you have
a huge selection of premium products and a lot
of cheaper quality stuff, but not much mid-range

56%
51%

36%

choice. They have access to every luxury brand
in the world now, but they’re more expensive. So
if you’re looking for luxury products, people buy
online because they’re much better value. Also
for more mid-range apparel, there is much more
variety online compared to what they can find in
the shopping malls.”
The presence of bargains is one of the main
motivators for online shopping not only in
mainland China, but also throughout Asia. Across
the region 62% strongly or somewhat agreed
that shopping online gets them the best prices.
The rates of agreement were highest—around
70%—in mainland China and South Korea, both
relatively large and well-developed e-commerce
markets.
Women—58%—cited saving time as another
key benefit of shopping online, especially
in mainland China and India, where traffic
congestion and infrastructure-related delays
are common even in leading cities. This was
less of a factor for women in high-efficiency
Japan and Hong Kong, where only 40% and
49% of women said they shopped online to save
time, respectively. Time was a more important
motivator for married women and working
women, with around 60% of each group agreeing
or strongly agreeing they shopped online to save

time, versus 54% of single women.

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

15


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Availability and choice of
products also contributes
to online retail’s allure,
again for Chinese
and Indian women in
of women with children
particular. Seventy-six per
at home say shopping online enables
them to buy safe products for their children
cent of Chinese women,
and 62% of Indian women,
agreed or strongly agreed
that they shopped online
of women with children in India
and China agree
because they knew the
goods they wanted would
be available. A majority
of women in mainland
China, Taiwan, Macau, India and South Korea
also agreed there were more choices of products

online than in shops where they lived.

Safety
39%

54%

In India, “online shopping brings you options
and availability of items that you can’t get
locally. That’s the big thing that I think people
are attracted to,” explains Ms Purushothaman.
“We’ve heard anecdotally that for some
businesses, it’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns where
we’re seeing a huge amount of interest because
people have income and they want to dress a
certain kind of way, but they’re not able to find
those kinds of things; they have to find them
online. So all of a sudden some of these groups
have to quickly work out how to supply these
semi-urban areas.”
The shift to online shopping may also have to
do with what a number of women see as the
less pleasant aspects of the traditional retail
environment. Regionally almost half of those
polled said they felt pressured to buy goods in
stores, but not online, and a quarter agreed or
strongly agreed that staff “talked down” to them
because of their gender when they bought some
products in physical shops. Sales pressure is felt
most keenly in Macau, India and South Korea, and

Macau and India also had the highest proportions
of women who felt patronised in the traditional
retail environment at 47% and 42%, respectively.

16

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

According to Arvind Singhal, chairman of Indian
retail consulting firm Technopak Advisors,
the relatively high number of women feeling
uncomfortable in stores there may have less to do
with inherent cultural issues than the country’s
size and heterogeneous nature, as well as the
relatively recent emergence of a more organised
retail environment. This, he believes, has created
a significant e-commerce opportunity.
“Online shopping is a great leveler. For those
consumers who may feel uncomfortable,
overwhelmed or ‘out of place’ in brick-andmortar formats, online shopping can provide
comfort, confidence and empowerment,” he
says. “Of course, brick and mortar retailers
also need to wake up and address these softer
issues by closely monitoring their store staff
behavior across different consumer profiles and
imparting adequate training to ensure all types of
consumers are made to feel comfortable in their
shopping environment.”
While online shopping has clearly taken off
throughout the region, women in some markets

seem to be embracing it less than those in others.
Notable outliers include Hong Kong, Singapore
and especially Japan, where only 18% of women
said they preferred online shopping to shopping
in stores—the lowest rate in the region. This may
be partly explained by the physical density of
these markets, which ensures retail experiences
are within relatively easy reach, as well as their
sophistication in terms of the range of goods on
offer. Only 38% of Hong Kong women and 30%
of Japanese women felt there was more choice
of products online than in the stores where they
live, for example.
“I think that since the retail market in Japan
is hugely developed it is so easy to just go pick
things up, and so online shopping isn’t so
popular,” says Torsten Stocker, partner, Consumer
Goods & Retail at A.T. Kearney.


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Under pressure
48% of women feel pressured to buy in stores and stressed, but do not feel this way online
(% respondents)

60%

Macau


54%

South Korea

53%

India

50%

Mainland China

48%

Taiwan

41%

Japan

39%

Singapore

29%

Hong Kong

27% of women feel that store staff talk down to them because they are women
(% respondents)


47%

Macau

42%

India

38%

Mainland China

20%

Taiwan

18%

Hong Kong

17%

Singapore
South Korea
Japan

14%
11%


Though Japan remains one of the most connected
and sophisticated e-commerce markets in Asia,
analysts have cited the country’s emphasis
on personal relationships and hospitality,
and a cultural distaste for debt—which makes
some hesitant to use credit cards—as other
possible barriers to the adoption of online

retail. Japanese women may also be reluctant
to splash out online with money they don’t
earn. Nearly half of Japanese women surveyed
were housewives, the highest proportion in the
region, and only 21% classified themselves as
sole or joint breadwinners in their households,
the lowest rate among markets surveyed.

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

17


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

3

How women buy

The broad growth trend of Asia’s e-commerce
market also disguises a wide variety of shopping
methods and predilections, making the

formulation of a truly regional retail approach
difficult. Overall, women in Asia shop most
frequently at home, either on their PCs (78%), or
smartphones (45%) and tablets (25%). Younger
women and those in mainland China are the most
inclined towards mobile shopping with 58% of
18-29 years old using their smartphones to shop
online at home, for example. Fifty-four percent
of mainland Chinese women reported shopping
on their phones. This has made it more important
for online retailers to develop mobile-optimised
sites and payment systems.
“Female shoppers make up approximately 45%
of Lazada’s customer base in the region and
this share is similar when looking at purchases
from mobile devices only, which suggests that
there are a significant number of tech-savvy
professional women who like to shop on the
go,” says Maximilian Bittner, CEO of Southeast
Asia-focused Lazada Group, which sells a wide
range of electronics, fashion and lifestyle brands
via its network of websites. He says the firm is
“constantly” tweaking its mobile site in order to
enhance the mobile shopping experience, and
is also connecting to consumers via mobile apps
like messaging service LINE.
More than half of Lane Crawford’s online
customers worldwide access its e-shop through
mobile devices, according to Mr Keith. “We have
98% mobile coverage of our customer database

18

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

and it is the preferred channel through which we
communicate to our customers.”
Even in Japan, where a mere 19% of women
shop online with smartphones at home,
retailers are developing mobile-centric Internet
strategies. “We’re focusing on smartphones
and (social networking services) as we consider
a next-generation digital business platform,”
says Amway Japan’s Mr Faahs. “It’s essential
that we transition to a touch (user interface)
that improves both operability and visibility.”
Enhancements to its e-commerce system in
the works include larger character fonts and
the minimisation of steps needed for users to
complete orders.
Mobility in online shopping also means women
are increasingly shopping anywhere and
everywhere. Perhaps of interest to some of the
region’s employers, 28% say they shopped online
via PCs at work—with the figure rising to 40% in
mainland China. Just under 30% also say they
shop online in bed at night.
Mainland Chinese women were also far more
likely to shop online in the company of others.
Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they
regularly shopped online with friends, whereas

in most other Asian markets only a minority of
women agreed with the same statement. This
makes online shopping in mainland China a
communal practice, and vendors should tailor
their online stores accordingly by incorporating
functions that allow communities and discussions


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

What women buy online
Percentage of women buying at least some products online, by category
(% respondents)

89%

Clothing and accessories

87%

Maternity and children’s products*

83%

Cosmetics
Groceries

78%

Home products


78%
76%

Electronics

75%

Travel & leisure services

56%

Furniture
* % of women among those between 18-39 years of age with children

Percentage of women buying at least some groceries online
(% respondents)

90%

Mainland China

88%

South Korea

85%

Taiwan


76%

India

65%

Japan

60%

Hong Kong
Macau
Singapore

to form around products, says Jigsaw’s Ms de
Gramont.
“Chinese women view shopping in general as a
social activity. Chinese women go out shopping,
including window-shopping, much more
frequently than the average American woman, for
example … there’s a very important social media
element to online shopping, e.g., customer
reviews and reviews of other like-minded women,
because that’s really what they trust most.
Successful e-commerce websites should have a
social component because women do like sharing

50%
44%


with their friends, but also being able to have
some sort of community or discussion about the
product and what they’re buying brings a lot of
quality assurance.”
Asia’s women turn to the Internet to find a
broad spectrum of goods, but it is in apparel
and fashion that online shopping appears to be
displacing traditional retail the most. Regionally,
89% of women said they bought at least some
clothing and accessories online, with 39%
reporting that they make a majority of purchases
online. Maternity and children’s products and
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

19


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

Buying decisions
Which factors are most important in buying decisions?
Brand vs price vs personal feelings
(% respondents)

Groceries

Clothing and accessories
Brand

Personal feelings


26%

28%

46%

41%

Price

Electronics
Brand

Personal feelings

25%

Personal feelings

50%

25%

cosmetics are also frequently bought online.
Online shopping for furniture is generally less
common, with only 6% buying online.
Rates of online shopping tend to be higher,
therefore, for product categories where women
tend to control the household budget—and

where purchasing decisions tend to be driven
by brand, or personal feelings, rather than
price. While most women cited price as the main
factor when selecting groceries, furniture or
home products, their motivations for picking
goods that are typically for their own rather than
household use are quite different.
When selecting clothing, 41% of women said
their personal feelings were the main factor. This
was particularly true for women in Japan—where
the rate was 51%—as well as South Korea, Hong
Kong and Taiwan. Brand power, however, counted
20

24%

35%

Price

Cosmetics

Price

Brand

Personal feelings

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014


Price

Brand

16%

52%

32%

for more in purchases of cosmetics—cited by
50% of women as the most important factor—as
well as electronics and maternity or children’s
products. Mainland Chinese women appeared to
be particularly brand-conscious, with 66% basing
cosmetic purchases on brands, for example.
“(In mainland China) knowledge about brands
is almost a form of social currency … because all
the brands have come in so quickly, it’s almost
like there’s a pressure to find out what they’re all
about,” explains Jigsaw’s Ms de Gramont.
Women in India also often take a brand’s status
into consideration, but prices generally play a
larger role in buying decisions than they do in
mainland China.
“Traditionally, the female head of household
would see (shopping) as her responsibility and


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia


her contribution to the overall family, so she
would save as much as possible—get it cheaper,
faster and better. So women’s shopping habits
traditionally have a lot to do with negotiation,
informal pricing, relationships, and a lot of back
and forth and time spent to get to the right
price,” says Ms Purushothaman.
“Indian women will shop for styles, range, price
and/or a combination, and therefore show less
affinity towards a certain brand. They may be
brand conscious but may not be brand loyal,”
says Mr Singhal of Technopak. “A large population
of Indian women are homemakers and this adds
a different dimension to some of the shopping
trends. Managing the expense budget of the
family becomes a key responsibility and this gets
reflected in Indian women shoppers being value
seekers and bargain hunters.”
Women in South Korea, Japan and Singapore
seemed by far the least motivated by brands
overall. Only a quarter of Japanese women
cited brand as the most important factor when
selecting cosmetics, for example, a highly brandcontrolled segment in other Asian markets. In
Singapore, just 9% of women felt brand played
the main role in clothes buying decisions—price
was a far greater consideration.
Purchasing motivations also vary depending on
demographics. Among women surveyed, married
women seemed more brand-driven than single

women, while single women were more likely to
be swayed by personal feelings. Younger women
also appeared more brand-sensitive, with 52% of
30-39 year olds citing brand as the main factor in
cosmetic purchases and 56% as the main factor in
electronics purchases, higher than the rates for
40-60 year olds in both categories.
“I think there’s also a mindset among [mainland]
Chinese women from their 20s to their 40s, that
spending on themselves as they’re entering the
workforce is a long-term investment in their
image … spending on themselves can help them
advance socially and career-wise, especially when

you’re talking about luxury products and branded
accessories,” Ms de Gramont says.
The brand consciousness of the young female
demographic has convinced some major
technology companies to adopt more fashion
cues into their product design and marketing
approaches. Hyon-Ju Cho, vice president and
team leader of Samsung Electronics’ Marketing
Service Team, says young women represent an
“important target” for the firm. “Samsung is
collaborating and will expand partnerships with
fashion brands such as Swarovski phone covers
and (Galaxy) Gear charms to deliver mobile
accessories targeting female consumers.”
Unsurprisingly, brand sensitivity has an impact
on Asian women’s online shopping preferences.

Regionally 70% of women said the presence of
good brands or branded products somewhat or
very important when choosing an online retailer.
Overall, however, they were even more concerned
with finding the best prices, which 83% cited
as important or very important, and whether
the products on offer are genuine and of good
quality. These views were broadly consistent
throughout the region, making it important for
online retailers who deal in various brands to
strive for the most extensive and reputable range
possible.
“Lazada is constantly striving to give our
customers access to the widest possible
selection of products,” says Mr Bittner. “We are
continuously working with vendors to make
assortment from these markets available to
consumers in Southeast Asia.”
“Women are more adventurous in seeking out
new brands and product so we have a much larger
(women’s) brand portfolio to shop from online
(than in stores),” says Mr Keith of Lane Crawford.
Social circles also play an important role in
steering women towards certain e-commerce
sites. Thirty per cent of women said they
typically first discover an online retailer through
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

21



On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

friends or word of mouth, and over half viewed
friends’ recommendations as important or very
important. The advice of friends was viewed as
particularly important in India and mainland
China. Women in mainland China were also
most likely to lend credence to reviews of online
retailers on forums or blogs, again highlighting
the social characteristics of the country’s
e-commerce landscape that analysts say make
online shopping such a compelling proposition.
These traits have made positive online comments
one of the most valuable currencies in mainland

22

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

China’s brand landscape, and encouraged some
unique promotional techniques. Mainlandfocused shoe and accessory maker Le Saunda, for
example, sometimes offers points and bonuses
that can be applied to future purchases to online
customers who ‘like’ or praise its products. “A lot
of customers are willing to post their comments
on our websites or other platforms,” says CEO
Alice Lau. “Positive comments and word of mouth
from customers is very important, not just
concentrating on promoting your brand image.”



On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

4

Global vs local

Online retail has given women throughout Asia
access to a greater range of goods than ever
before, including imported brands that may have
previously been entirely inaccessible or all but
unknown outside a few urban fashion circles. On
the one hand this represents a stellar opportunity
for brands and retailers, enabling them to extend
their presence to markets where they don’t have
physical operations.
“Extending online to a digital flagship enables
us to cover all of [mainland] China and Asia,
expanding our reach into new markets,” says Mr.
Keith of Lane Crawford. “The online store has
been very effective in cultivating new customer

bases and very strong sales growth across Asia
Pacific and most notably in Australia, Japan,
Singapore, Korea and Taiwan.”
On the other hand, this can increase the
competitive pressure on local brands that
previously enjoyed a privileged market position
because of a relative lack of alternatives. The

results of our survey indicate local brands may
have to do more to raise their game. Regionally
36% of women agreed or strongly agreed that
they shop online specifically to get products from
overseas, and 41% said they bought products
from abroad because they were better than those
produced domestically—rising to 45% among

Buying from abroad
Percentage of women who agree or strongly agree
(% respondents)

I buy from abroad because ...

56%

I purchase products that are not available at home

Purchasing certain products abroad saves money

47%

I get more choice

47%
41%

Products are better quality

38%


It helps me keep abreast of trends
Products from abroad suit me better

32%

But I am concerned about ...

66%

Delivery costs

64%

Delivery times

59%

Having to pay extra taxes

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

23


On the rise and online: Female consumers in Asia

those age 18-29. This perceived quality gap was
especially pronounced in Macau and mainland
China, where 53% and 63% of women respectively

saw products from abroad as superior. Analysts
say this is partially a result of the safety issues
that have surfaced in mainland China’s supply
chain at regular intervals in recent years, but
also points to a bigger issue with local brands
struggling to win over increasingly demanding
Chinese consumers.
“Quality and trust are the fundamental issues
(Chinese brands are) facing. If they want to
be successful, they need to know how to grow
beyond their own market, (but) a lot of Chinese
brands are well known in [mainland] China but
not known in the global market,” says Linda Du,
Shanghai managing director of communications
and strategy firm APCO Worldwide. “That
really limits their strength and power because
consumers definitely want products that have a
global reputation.”
“The challenge is that [mainland] Chinese
consumers are still skeptical of local brands,
especially from a quality standpoint,” says Ms de
Gramont of Jigsaw. “Not many local brands have
really been able to build a true brand in terms of
the story behind the brand and what they stand
for. A lot of it is just development stage; I think
that it will come. A lot of brands had not been
marketing focused until quite recently, they’d
been sales and distribution focused.”
Women are also motivated to buy imports
online because they are unavailable at home,

and frequently because they are cheaper.
Price sensitivity was especially apparent in
comparatively high-cost South Korea and
Singapore, where 57% and 58% of women
respectively said purchasing some products from
abroad helped them save money.
Overall, however, women citing brand as an
important factor in purchasing decisions tended
to gravitate towards the local in most product
categories. Regionally 89% who felt brand was
24

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014

important favoured local grocery brands and
66% domestic clothing brands. This is most
likely explained by the unique dietary habits
of each country, as well as clothing styles and
particularly sizing issues—few Western apparel
makers cater for smaller Asian sizes, and vice
versa. The notable exceptions were electronics
and cosmetics, where only 52% and 43% said
they preferred local names.
For cosmetics branding in India “you rarely see
an Indian face in advertising, and you’ll always
see that the selling point is that it’s from some
other country outside of India because makeup
in particular is seen within India that the quality
isn’t very good,” says Ms Purushothaman of
Everstone Capital Advisors.

South Korean and Japanese women appear to
be the most consistently loyal local consumers.
Eighty-one percent of Japanese women and 70%
of South Korean women prefer local cosmetics
brands, and 97% and 94% respectively prefer
local electronics products, by far the highest
proportions in the region—thanks no doubt in part
to the presence of home-grown, globally feted
brands like Laneige and Sony in both categories.
Local brands can take some comfort in the fact
that infrastructure limitations and red tape look
likely to temper the influx of imports in many
markets. Regionally, 66% of women agreed or
strongly agreed that delivery times were a concern
when making purchases from abroad, and 64%
were concerned about delivery costs. While a lower
proportion were worried about having to pay extra
taxes on overseas purchases, this is a significant
potential barrier in mainland China and Taiwan,
where 66% and 68% of women respectively cited
taxes as a concern. The emergence of services
like Borderfree, which partners with major US
retailers to offer discount shipping and packageforwarding to destinations around the globe, may
go some way to addressing women’s delivery cost
concerns, but taxes or duties can’t be avoided by
even the most innovative vendors.


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