Internet Usage in China

Chinese internet usage has grown at a rate that few thought possible, and what follows is the opening up of huge markets for those internet marketers willing to put in the effort to secure a presence there.

China has become the number one user of the internet in the whole world - with 253 million internet users. The number of users has increased by a whopping 56% in the year to June 2008, with 43 million of these users coming online in just the December to June period.

Now what is surprizing however is that these figures reflect a relatively miniscule penetration rate of 19.1% - meaning that only this percentage of the country can access the world wide web. Imagine the numbers if China could reach the 71% penetration of Korea or the 68% of Japan. To put it into perspective, you need to understand that the population of China is currently around 1.325 BILLION people.

Realistically though, in a country as vast as China, it may be a very long time, if at all, before the whole population will have internet access, but certainly the major centers are well serviced.

Who is online?

Females account for just over 46% of users. Chinese internet users are young, with over 68 percent of them being under the age of 30. Around 39% of these have education to high school only, a reflection of the educational makeup of the Chinese population. 30% of internet users are students and a little over 25% are business employees.

Online habits

The most common objectives of Chinese internet users are internet music, news, messaging and video, followed by search engines and email. Online games are accessed and played by 58.3% of users, while 25% purchase online. Contrary to a popular western perception, over 23% of Chinese 'netizens' use online banking and over 18% access the internet for learning purposes.

Especially significant for marketers of information products is the last figure - 18 percent equals around 47 million people in China that are on the path to self-improvement! And this segment is growing.

Another opportunity for products to the China market is online gaming items and accessories.

E-commerce

Online shopping is beginning to blossom in China, and statistics from China Internet Network Information Center show that as at June 2008 over 63 million people in China shop online. This figure reflected an increase of almost 17 million in the preceding 6 months alone. The major concentrations of online shoppers are, not surprisingly, the big cities of Shanghai and Beijing.

The reason for this increase in online shopping has been attributed to more functional, secure and reliable fulfillment and payment systems.

Opportunities abound.


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