WeAreSocial: Latest data on China's Internet, social, mobile and e-commerce in August 2015

199IT original compilation

WeAreSocial's latest Internet, Social and Mobile Report shows that there is no sign of slowing down the pace of Internet penetration in China.

Key Stats:

• Internet users: 668 million, an annual increase of 6%;
• Social media users: 659 million, more than the United States and Europe combined
• Individual mobile phone users: 675 million, mobile phone cards: 1.3 billion;
• Mobile Internet users: 594 million, accounting for 89% of China’s Internet users;
• Mobile social media users: 574 million, up 15% year-over-year

internet

Since last year, China has added about 100,000 new Internet users every day, more than one person per second.

The growth is mainly driven by the development of mobile networks, with 90% of Chinese netizens using mobile devices to access the Internet. It is worth noting that in addition to the growth in PC Internet usage, the number of netizens who only use mobile devices is growing rapidly, especially in rural areas.

In terms of network traffic, PC-based access is still the mainstream, with 56% of web pages visited by Chinese netizens last month being based on PCs or laptops. However, this index fell by 29% year-on-year, while the share of mobile device web page access reached 42%, an increase of 136% year-on-year.

These trends suggest that by early 2016 mobile usage will account for the majority of web browsing in China.

Although mobile access to the Internet is ubiquitous, Internet usage in China is still unevenly distributed, with the main difference being between urban and rural areas. Nearly two-thirds of China's urban population uses the Internet every month, but less than three-tenths of the Internet users in rural areas do so.

The good news is that Internet speeds have increased significantly since last year, with China's fixed-line access speeds increasing by 17% according to Akamai data. It is worth noting that the average mobile Internet speed is faster than the fixed-line speed, and China's average Internet speed is now considered "broadband", which is above 4 Mbps.

Social Media

The number of social media users in China is growing more slowly than expected last year, but this is mainly due to changes in behavior rather than a loss of interest in social media.

Social media usage in China is already at a high level, with data showing that 99% of Chinese netizens use social networks.

Individual platform users show more interesting trends. QQ, Tencent’s most popular messaging service, still has the highest level of monthly active users (MAUs) in China, and although the majority of its user base is in China, QQ is the second largest social media in the world, second only to Facebook.

Nowadays, more people use mobile devices to log in to QQ than WeChat, but WeChat can provide more diverse services and functions for users and marketers.

The number of users shows that QZone is still the mainstream of traditional social media, but WeChat is rising rapidly, and most users say they use this platform frequently.

For those who are not familiar with Chinese social media, Baidu Tieba may be a new discovery. Tieba is a community for users who are accustomed to using Baidu search.

Tencent Weibo, which was included in the 2013 and 2014 reports, has disappeared from this year's report because Tencent no longer releases Tencent Weibo's monthly active users. We speculate that Tencent has de-prioritized this platform as the three larger platforms QQ, Qzone and WeChat are more popular. Although Tencent Weibo still has many users, 38% of Chinese netizens have used the platform in the last month.

A survey by GlobalWebIndex showed that more than 6 in 10 Chinese netizens had used WeChat last month. Sina Weibo ranked second, with 54% of netizens having used it in the past 30 days.

Facebook, Google+ and Twitter are also on this list. Although these social networks are officially banned in China, GWI's survey shows that a considerable number of Chinese netizens use circumvention to access non-Chinese social platforms.

87% of Chinese social media users access social media using mobile devices. Platforms such as WeChat have driven the number of social media users to grow by 77 million in the past year, a year-on-year increase of 15%, equivalent to 200,000 new users per day and 2.5 new users per second.

The average time spent on social media is 1 hour and 43 minutes per day, which only accounts for half of the time Chinese netizens spend online. Although Chinese social media users spend 23% more time on social media than watching TV, it is likely that the usage time of the two overlaps, with social media users accessing social media on a second screen while watching TV.

A slight decline in tablet usage is worth noting, with tablet web page requests down 22% last month compared to the month before.

move

There are 675 million unique mobile phone users in China, and nearly half of the population owns a mobile phone. It is estimated that the number of mobile phone users in China will exceed half by the end of 2015.

In 2014, the number of mobile phone users in China grew strongly, with an annual increase of 8%, an increase of 94 million in one year, and an average of 3 new users per second.

The number of mobile phone cards in China is close to the number of residents, which means that on average each user has 2 active connections.

However, the rate is expected to decline next month as more people upgrade their feature phones to smartphones; the main reason for individuals to hold multiple SIM cards is to reduce the cost of communicating across networks, but data-driven communication tools such as chat apps and voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) are more effective.

Smartphones are now a must-have device in China, accounting for 90% of mobile phone sales. Nearly two-thirds of mobile phones are smartphones, and this share is expected to grow steadily next month as more people upgrade their devices.

In terms of Internet activity on mobile devices, Chinese netizens are particularly interested in checking the weather.

Chinese mobile users are also engaging in mobile commerce, with reports showing that 20% of Chinese have recently made an online purchase using a mobile device.

E-commerce

In China, e-commerce is booming, with one-third of Internet users making online purchases every month.

In the first half of 2015, China's e-commerce market reached 250 billion US dollars. Alibaba's sales reached 9 billion US dollars on November 11 last year, and it is expected that Alibaba's sales on Singles' Day this year will exceed 10 billion US dollars.

in conclusion

What does the above data mean for brands? The following three points can provide some inspiration for marketers targeting China.

China is different: Obviously, the mainstream platforms in China are different from those in other regions, even in neighboring Asian countries. However, not only are the platforms different, but the way Chinese netizens use social networks is also different. Marketers need to adapt to China's cultural and social uniqueness, as well as its technological differences. Marketers can work with professional partners who understand China.

1-to-1 social: The data in this year's report highlights the popularity of chat applications, and of course other countries around the world also show this trend. The popularity of chat applications also provides new opportunities for marketers, because these exchanges are more private than the public communication environments such as Facebook and Twitter that Western marketers face. In order to take advantage of these 1-to-1 exchanges, marketers also need to develop new methods and new content, emphasizing participatory content and natural sharing, rather than using paid media to push content to the public.

Social commerce: Chinese netizens are already very comfortable with online shopping, either through their PCs or using their mobile devices. It is important for marketers to understand the dynamics of social media engagement in China and use these to drive social conversions.

199IT.com Originally compiled from: WeAreSocial. Please do not reprint without authorization