Best Practice Report

Poor Word Of Mouth Is Top eRetail Barrier In China

However, Heavy Social Media Use Spells Opportunity For Online Retailers

August 13th, 2008
DG
Dia Ganguly
With contributors:
Reineke Reitsma , Elise Godfrey

Summary

Chinese consumers are more likely than consumers in more developed markets in Asia to rely on others for advice before purchasing something. Consequently, bad word of mouth is an important reason why many Chinese consumers don't purchase online. Social technologies present a major brand building opportunity to reinforce trust with potential online customers. In metropolitan China, Netizens (whether they shop online or not) are already heavy social media technology users. To get Chinese online shopping holdouts to purchase products online, online retail companies should start to look into implementing social media platforms on their Web sites.

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