BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Consumer choices during November 11 "Singles' Day" shopping event may indicate current retail trends in China.
The day saw an increase in online sales, as well as the types of items purchased, with clothes and other products traditionally bought in retail stores now more popular to buy online.
Consumers interviewed by Xinhuanet gave their perspectives on popular purchases during this year's Singles' Day shopping spree.
Interviewee Caroline said she appreciates Singles' Day because it's so convenient to buy clothes online.
"If I don't like the clothes, I can send them back without any charge. The delivery service [on T-Mall] is really convenient," said Caroline.
2020 was a significant year, noted Anne from Shenzhen who said the global COVID-19 pandemic has made her more likely to buy online rather than in a retail store.
"The COVID-19 epidemic has changed my shopping habits to some extent," said Anne.
"I used to try and buy clothes in the real stores, but now I often shop online and send the clothes back if they don't suit me," she said.
"My friends and I bought some household appliances as well, such as rice cooker and vacuum cleaners. Some of my friends bought cosmetics and skincare products, but I didn't buy much."
Anne also used the day to stock up on essentials.
"I bought a lot of masks and medicine online," said Anne.
David is a Briton who lives in Xuzhou, East China's Jiangsu province. He gave his views on this year's main online shopping trends.
Sports products are more and more becoming a hit with Chinese consumers, said David, this is because "people are more conscious of their health these days," he said.
Livestreaming is another medium increasingly popular with Chinese consumers.
"Many small and medium enterprises choose to sell goods by livestreaming," noted Helen, from Beijing.
"Powered by digital technology, such as 5G, e-commerce is flourishing, becoming a driving force behind China's economic growth," she said, referring to China's burgeoning online marketplace.
Wang Baohua is a Professor at Communication University of China who has observed the transformative effect technological change has had on Chinese consumption habits.
"Ten years ago, people used to pay by cash, but now online shopping and mobile payment have become inevitable parts of our daily life," said Wang.
Data also suggests Chinese consumers are now paying more attention to quality when it comes to their purchasing.
A 2019 survey by China Youth Daily found 95.5 percent of 2,007 respondents said they pay more attention to the quality of the products and services than ever before.
JD.com, China's second-largest e-commerce giant, recently changed its slogan of "buying cheaper products with faster delivery" to "choosing high-quality consumption," illustrating the trend.
China's "Single's Day" of 11 November 2020 saw a record day of spending as total sales reached 213.5 billion yuan (30.7 billion U.S. dollars), according to e-commerce giant Alibaba.