Only 29% Indian consumers purchased Chinese products this festive season

29% consumers bought Made in China products this festive season

To the question that asked, “How has your shopping been this festival season in regards to buying products Made in China?”, 7,452 responses were received. Of which, 29% of respondents said they “bought made in China products this festive season.” On the other hand, 71% of respondents maintain that they “consciously did not buy made in China items.

When a similar question was asked in November 2019, 48% consumers had admitted to buying China made products during the festive season last year which dropped down to 29% this year marking a 40% year over year decline in terms of absolute number of Indian consumers buying Made in China products.

Percentage of consumers who bought Made in China products during festive season declined by 40%

Via another question, the survey tried to understand “of those who bought Chinese products during the festive season, what were the key reasons that they chose them?”. 6,722 responses were received. Of which, 66% of respondents who purchased made in China products this festive season did so because they felt the products offered higher value for money, 13% said “uniqueness”, and 25% said “can’t say”.

66% of Indians who purchased Made in Chine products this festive season did so because they felt the products offered Value for Money

Though 71% consumers did not purchase Made in China products this festive season, many of those who did ended up doing so because of their lower prices. With earnings being impacted for many households this year due to the pandemic, for many buying the lowest cost product was not a choice but the only option.

According to most consumers, the Indian counterpart for a Chinese product is generally more expensive though it might be of better quality. However, many festival related items like LED lighting, tealight candles, plastics, are one time use products and hence quality is not the top criteria for many consumers etc. For some other products like mobile phones, air purifiers, gadgets and appliances, consumers have reported China made products to be equal or better in quality.

While on an overall basis, the Indian consumer did spend less on Chinese products this year, the key takeaway for Government of India and MSMEs is to make manufacturing more competitive in India and improve scale. If the high quality products that are Made in India can be produced at scale and cost of capital for Indian MSME is reduced through Government support, products Made in India will definitely find preference amongst Indian consumers and even other retail markets around the world.