MSL: Survey shows Chinese women are most interested in social networking and online shopping

According to a research report jointly released by MSL Group and Dot Complicated, nearly half (45%) of Chinese women said they would rather not have sex for a month than live without a mobile phone.

The online survey was conducted from August 25 to September 7, with samples from 3,600 female netizens (aged 18-64) in the United States, Britain, Brazil and Chinese metropolises, who spend no less than two hours online each week. The survey results show that Chinese women are most addicted to mobile Internet access. Most Chinese women (91%) prefer to search and share information through smartphones, while the proportion of respondents who use laptops and desktop computers to access the Internet is 82% and 61% respectively.

Compared with women in other countries, Chinese women are more connected with their colleagues (82%) and bosses (41%) on social media. In the United States, only 28% of women said they keep in touch with their colleagues and only 8% of women said they keep in touch with their bosses on social media.

Chinese women are more likely to keep in touch with friends (74%) and search for information through social media, and 70% of Chinese women say they use social media to follow news and information. In other countries, only 46% of women say they have this preference.

In China, social media has a significant impact on encouraging women to participate in community activities. Nearly half of Chinese respondents said that social media has influenced their views, and 60% of Chinese respondents said that social media has made them more empathetic to the situations of others.

The research also showed that 25% of Chinese female netizens choose their partners through social media, and more than half (52%) spend at least eight hours a week on social media. In terms of popularity, QQ Space (a social platform similar to Facebook) is the most popular among Chinese women (79%), followed by Sina Weibo (76%) and WeChat (67%).

The survey shows that the most frequent online activity is still sending and receiving emails (98%), and 64% of Chinese respondents said that they sent and received emails at least 16 times in the 30 days during the survey. In addition, Chinese women prefer to search for product information (97%) or compare prices (95%) online, which is of great significance to marketers. The study revealed that handheld devices or desktop devices are necessary tools for Chinese women to make purchasing decisions.

The third most popular online activity is visiting news websites to check news (96%). Therefore, online shopping is still more popular than online information.

Source: CLS Communication / Translated in partnership with CLS