Deb Weidenhamer has been running auctions for three years in the French Concession in Shanghai, but still finds herself the center of attention at the end of the shopping spree. Chinese women flock to her side, wanting to understand more, not about the high-end handbags and imported jewelry they’ve just purchased, but about her life.
“They ask what I had to give up to have a career,” says the CEO of the U.S. American Auction Co. and of its Chinese subsidiary, iPai Auction Co. “Then they’re a little surprised when I tell them: nothing.”
“My husband is very supportive. I travel all the time.”
Chances are they’re soaking in the lessons fast: Weidenhamer is a groundbreaker in the auction business. So is this generation of Chinese women: They propelled China to its status as the world’s largest e-commerce market in 2013. Government stats put the U.S. market at about $270 billion and the Chinese market at $308 billion that year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Just 10 years ago, most Western companies were ignoring Chinese women altogether: the stereotype was of stay-at-home women who contributed little to household income. China was a huge market, but it was seen as huge monolithic market. When executives that I interviewed talked about it, they liked to say: “1.3 billion consumers,” and had little more context than that.
Fast-forward to today. The Chinese market is far from monolithic; it’s more likely to be called complex, as some
One-of-a-kind items are increasing in popularity.
One-of-a-kind items are increasing in popularity.
retailers have stumbled trying to break into it, stymied by high taxes, changing regulations and a lack of knowledge of the cultural differences
And most companies are well aware now that the driving force behind China’s fast retail growth and especially its e-commerce growth is women, who are increasingly earning their own money and using it to shop.
In 2015, retail sales in Asia were forecast to grow by an average 4.6% on a volume basis, to $7.6 trillion. Growth was expected to be 2.5% in North America and 0.8% in Europe. Asia is expected to surpass North America as the world’s largest e-commerce market this year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, which surveyed 5,500 women in major cities in Greater China, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea to get a sense of women’s emerging spending power. Worldwide, women control about $20 trillion of consumer spending, according to the International Finance Corp.
The glimpse of Chinese women that emerges from the report is fascinating. Some 43% of Chinese women are in executive or managerial jobs, 62% are joint breadwinners and 76% have their own bank account, according to the report.
I asked Weidenhamer the lessons she has learned about the Chinese market. Her company’s auctions, which are often held in malls and have a club/cocktail atmosphere, are one vehicle for high-end brands to move merchandise that hasn’t sold. Weidenhamer’s company also does market research for companies that want to test a product in the Chinese market. The latter service costs $15,000.
Many of the women are rising professional stars. The lives of urban Asian women are a far cry from the stereotypes many Americans hold. For instance, women held 29% of senior management positions in Asia in 2013, a higher percentage than American or European women.
They are becoming trendsetters. The retail market is developing fast, and some women area already moving away from identifying themselves by the big brands. Where a year or two ago it was important to have a brand-emblazoned bag, for instance, more women have been opting for subtle, though high priced items, Weidenhamer said. “They want to be on the cutting edge of what’s hot, what’s new,” said Weidenhamer. “I see more and more people pulling away from bigger well known brands into less popular brands.”
She mentioned an Italian jewelry boutique in Florence called Mona Luna.
They prefer non-traditional shopping venues. In some ways, perhaps, Chinese women are moving faster than their culture. A significant minority told the surveyors from the Economist Intelligence Unit that they prefer online shopping in part because they’re still talked down to in traditional shops.
They are becoming more discriminating and smarter with their purchases. “You are starting to see taste emerge,” said Weidenhamer. “When the market first opened up and all these big brands ran into China to capture the money that was there, you saw young women spend their entire paychecks.
“Now, women are deciding what they want. They don’t feel as compelled to spend.”
It’s not just young women who are spending. Though big retailers are tending to focus their energy on women in their 20s and 30s, they may be missing the boat on a particular dynamic in China, which is the tendency for grandmothers to spend enormous amounts on gifts for their grandchildren.
And one final, very interesting point: Weidenhamer said she often finds herself advising American retailers to spend a lot more time and energy on packaging. An item might be wrapped in tissue, placed in a box, tied with a ribbon, and placed inside a bag. “There is just an elegance to the culture,” she said.