Once again the results are just amazing how heavily the Chinese users are adopted to the Internet and how intensively they use it. Advertisers in China should really have an eye on these studies as they contain very important information. And they should also raise some questions how to allocate marketing budgets, how much weight put on e.g. TV spots, how much attention on online marketing.

Embracing life online

• I live some of my life online: CN 86%, US 42%
• Online is as real as offline: CN 37%, US 16%
• I have a parallel life online: CN 61%, US 13%

Self-expression on the web

• I have expressed personal opinions and/or written about myself online: CN 72%, US 56%
• Online I feel free to do and say things I wouldn’t do or say offline: CN 73%, US 32%
• I sometimes express myself more strongly online than I generally do in person: CN 52%, US 43%

Relationships online

• It’s perfectly possible to have real relationships online with no face-to-face contact: CN 63%, US 21%
• The Internet helps me make friends: CN 77%, US 30%
• Online interactions reduce the time and attention I have for personal interactions: CN 51%, US 20%

Expanding the sexual universe

• With the Internet I am more likely to access adult material: CN 65%, US 28%
• I have made hot dates using text messages: CN 54%, US 20%
• The Internet has broadened my sex life: CN 32%, US 11%

Compare this information to my post about Online Marketing Trends in China.

The Chinese-consumer behavior data have broad implications for American companies intent on selling consumer goods in China, Netpop said.

Among the key findings of the report, “Netpop | Nations: China and the US Web 2.0 Behavior”:

• User-generated content (consumer reviews/rating sites, forum/discussion boards, blogs, etc.) influences 58% of all purchase decisions in China, compared with 19% in the US.
• 47% of Chinese broadband users post comments to a blog, chat room, listserv or forum, compared with just 28% of American broadband users.
• Search engines are the most influential source for making purchase decisions in both countries: 46% of Chinese broadband users use a search engine to make purchase decisions vs. 25% of American broadband users.

So, why do Chinese users rely so heavily on user-generated content?

In my opinion there are two things: first, expressing your free opinion and posting it in blogs and forums is much easier in the Internet than in traditional media. Due to the facilitated access, of course. Second, advertisement in China in traditional media is often heavily misleading consumers. So, consumers often have developed a natural cautiousness to magazine, TV and outdoor ads. On the contrary, mouth-to-mouth recommendation is trusted much more. As user-generated content is nothing else than that, it is very successful.