Internet usage outside of China's largest cities strongly resembles their metropolitan counterparts
Tianjin - a new centre of growth Image: Peiyi |
Social media giant Tencent, most famous for its ubiquitous QQ instant messenger service, has released a comprehensive survey that compares the browsing habits of netizens across the country.
The analysis, which compiled data from 43,000 respondents in Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 cities as well as counties and villages, focused on online reservations, internet finance, online travel, online education and online medical service. Around 80% of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 and 3 groups were satisfied with using the internet to book various activities.
Surprisingly, the survey found that the majority of respondents (33%) of Tier 1 and Tier 2 and 3 cities made a similar wage of between 3,000-5000 yuan ($484-$807). However, 27% of Tier 1 residents made between 5,000-10,000 yuan ($807-$1614 compared to 18% in Tier 2 & 3 cities. While Tier 1 city residents clearly have a larger spending power, Tier 2 & 3 city respondents still have a relatively high level of income.
The majority of respondents aged between 16-35 were all very enthusiastic about the internet and logged on at least once every two days. A growing majority of both admitted to accessing the internet through mobile devices.
The data is interesting for lubes marketers for a number of reasons. Firstly, the income levels of the average worker in both cities is roughly the same, while a growing number of higher middle income residents in Tier 2 and 3 cities are starting to make purchasing decisions online.