1999 Survey: Nationwide Study of Consumer Attitudes and Lifestyles

In February 1994, The Gallup Organization released the results of the first national market and opinion research ever conducted throughout all regions of the People's Republic of China: Gallup China's Nationwide Study of Consumer Attitudes and Lifestyles. Gallup repeated the study in 1997, and again in 1999 with co-sponsor FORTUNE; both of these surveys exceeded the inaugural 1994 effort in size and scope.

The 1999 survey provides corporate executives with key data concerning the use and purchase of consumer durables and packaged goods, brand awareness and household financial data, including annual income and monthly expenditures. To provide context and background for the consumer data, a number of social and lifestyle issues have also been investigated.

Important consumer trends related to the rapid pace of economic development and change in the People's Republic can be determined by comparing the new data with the findings of the 1994 baseline survey and the 1997 study. Examples include increases -- or shifts -- in the use and purchase of products, in brand awareness, or in household income and expenditures.

If your company is currently doing business in China, or contemplating doing so, the findings, including the trends since 1994 and 1997, will provide valuable guidance for your corporate marketing or strategic planning efforts.

Details of the survey, including specific topics covered, sampling design, technical procedures and subscription information, are provided in the pages that follow.

For answers to any questions, please telephone Mike Van Buskirk, Senior Vice President, at 212-899-4870, or e-mail Mike at mike_van_buskirk@gallup.com.

More Information:

• Survey Overview
• Survey Topics
• Deliverables and Pricing
• Methodology
• About Gallup and Gallup China

SURVEY OVERVIEW

The current survey's results are based on a total of 4,247 interviews conducted by the staff of Gallup China. Hour-long, in-home interviews, each consisting of more than 400 question items, were conducted in every province, municipality and autonomous region of the People's Republic. Interviewing was conducted in seven primary tongues (including Wei, Tibetan and Zhuang), as well as in numerous local dialects.

The three Gallup surveys (1994, 1997 and 1999) differ in two important respects from other research efforts in China, which have typically been limited to individual cities or provinces, or have been based on unscientific survey methods. First, the findings of the Gallup survey reflect the consumer attitudes and behavior of the entire nation, based on personal in-home interviews conducted in scores of interviewing sites, ranging from the subtropical island province of Hainan to Inner Mongolia, from Tibet to Heilongjiang, and from coastal Shanghai to Xinjiang in the far northwest.

Secondly, findings are based on a strict probability-designed sample and are, therefore, accurately representative of the total population of China and its various population segments. Due to the survey's large sample size, findings for such low-incidence target groups as owners-users of a particular product, 18- to 34-year-olds, or urban males can be reported with a high degree of confidence.

In addition to providing comparative information for China's urban and rural sectors, its various geographic regions, and its key demographic subgroups (such as age, gender, occupation and income), the survey's sample was designed to yield a sufficient number of interviews in leading cities so that the attitudes and behavior of such distinct markets as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou can be analyzed independently.  

SURVEY TOPICS

I. Marketing

A. Consumer Durables:

1. Attitudes About Purchase of Consumer Durables, Including Preference for Foreign Manufactured Products vs. Chinese

2. Household Ownership of Various Consumer Durables

Air Conditioner • Automobile • Bicycle • Camera (Still) • Cassette Player • CD Player • Clothes Dryer • Clothes Washing Machine • Coffee Maker (Electric) • Computer • Cooking Stove/Range • Dishwasher (Automatic) • DVD (Digital Video Disk) • Electric Cooker • Electric Fan • Food Blender (Electric) • Gas Cooker • Hair Dryer (Electric-Home) • Life Insurance • Microwave Oven • Mobile/Cellular Phone • Moped • Motorcycle • Motorscooter • Pager • Piano/Organ • Polaroid (Instant Camera) • Property Insurance • Radio • Refrigerator • Rice Cooker • Steam Iron (Electric) • Stereo System/Home Theater • Telephone (In Home) • Television (Black & White) • Television (Color) • Television (Any) • Typewriter • Vacuum Cleaner • VCD (Video Compact Disc) • VCR • Video Camera • Video Game • Walkman • Water Heater (Electric) • Water Heater (Gas)

3. Intention to Buy Various Consumer Durables Listed Above

a) Within the next two years

b) At some future point

4. Perceived Quality of Products From China, United States, Japan, and 10 Other European and Asian Nations

B. Packaged Goods:

1. Food and Beverage Items in Home

Beer or Ale • Breakfast Cereal (Cold) • Butter • Cat Food (Canned or Packaged) • Cheese • Chinese Health Foods/Drinks • Coffee (Instant) • Coffee (Regular) • Cocoa or Chocolate • Cream • Dairy Products (Net) • Dog Food (Canned or Packaged) • Fruit Juices (Bottled or Canned) • Ice Cream • Liquor/Distilled Spirits • Margarine • Meat (Frozen) • Vegetables (Frozen) • Milk (Fresh) • Milk (Condensed or Evaporated) • Milk (Long-Life or Shelf-Stable) • Packaged/Boxed Potato Chips • Pre-Cooked Food in Plastic Bags • Packaged/Boxed Crackers • Packaged/Boxed Cookies • Soft Drinks (Bottled or Canned) • Frozen Staples (Rice, Noodles, Dumplings) • Wine (Rice and Grape) • Yogurt

2. Incidence of Smoking

3. Alcoholic Beverage Consumption

a) Frequency of drinking any alcoholic beverage(s)

b) Consumption within last 12 months, 30 days, and 7 days of:

Beer or Ale • Wine (Rice and Grape) • Chinese White Spirits • Any Liquor/ Distilled Spirits • Brandy or Cognac • Scotch Whisky • Other Whiskeys • Gin • Vodka • Rum

4. Use of Women’s Cosmetics

Foundation Cream • Rouge • Face Powder • Hair Spray, Gel, Mousse • Hand Cream or Lotion • Lipstick or Lip Gloss • Perfume or Eau de Toilette • Hair Coloring • Hair Shampoo • Home Hair Permanent • Nail Polish • Eye Liner or Eye Cosmetics

5. Use of Men’s Toiletries

Shaving Cream • Electric Shaver • Disposable Plastic Razors • Razor Blades • After-Shave Lotion • Hair Styling Products • Hair Shampoo • Cologne or After Shave

C. Brands:

1. Brand Differentiation: Occurrence of, in the Following Product Categories:

Athletic Shoes • Banks • Beer • Cameras • Camera Film • Cars • Computers • Credit Cards • Fast Food Restaurants • Insurance Companies • Mobile Telephones • Pagers • Refrigerators • Soft Drinks.

2. Awareness (Aided) of Following Chinese and Foreign Brand and Company Names:

ABN Amro • ABB • Acer • Adidas • Aetna • AIG • Airbus • Alcatel • American Express • Apple • Asia Week • AT&T • Avon • AXA National Mutual • Bacardi • Bank of China • BASF • Bayer • BBC • Beijing Jeep • Benetton • BMW • Boeing • British Telecom • Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch • Bugs Bunny • Buick • Business Week • Canon • Caltex • Calvin Klein • Casio • C Cube Microsystems • Chanel • Changhong • China Telecom • Christian Dior • Chrysler/Jeep • Citibank • Citroen Fukang • CIGNA • Clinique • CNN • Coca-Cola • Colgate • Crocodile • Daewoo • Dell • Disney • Ericsson • Fiat • Ford • Forbes • Fortune • Founder • Fuji • Fujitsu • GTE • Gateway • Giordano • GE/General Electric • GM/General Motors • Goldlion • Gold Star • Great Wall Computer • Haier • Hang Seng Bank • HBO (Home Box Office) • Head and Shoulders • Hershey • Hewlett-Packard • Hilton • Hitachi • Honda • Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank • Hong Kong Telecom • Hyundai • IBM • Intel • John Deere • Johnnie Walker (Red/Black) • Johnson & Johnson • JVC • Kawasaki • Kentucky Fried Chicken • Knorr • Kent • Kodak • Legend • Lego • Levi’s/Levi Strauss & Co. • Li Ning • LG Group • Looney Tunes • Lucky • Marlboro • Mary Kay • MasterCard • Mattel (Barbie) • McDonald’s • MCI Worldcom • Mercedes Benz • Metropolitan Life • Mickey Mouse • Microsoft • Minolta • Motorola • Mitsubishi • NEC • Nestle • New York Life • Nike • 999 • Nissan • Nokia • NTT • Olive • Panasonic • Pepsi Cola • Pfizer • Philips • Ping An Insurance • Pizza Hut • Playboy • Polaroid • Procter & Gamble • Prudential Corporation • Red Flag • Reebok • Rolls Royce • Samsung • San Miguel • Santana • Sanyo • Seven Up • Seiko • Shanghai Dajhong • Sharp • Shell • Siemens • Sony • Sprint • Standard Chartered Bank • Star TV/Phoenix • Suzuki • 3M • Texas Instruments • Tiger Beer • Time Magazine • Toshiba • Toyota • Tsingtao • Tweety Bird • Unilever • Viagra • Visa • Volkswagen • Volvo • Walls’ Ice Cream • Wahaha • Warner Brothers • Whirlpool • Xerox • Yili

II. Standard of Living

A. Personal/Household Finances

1. Total Annual Household Income, Reported in RMB and U.S. Dollars

2. Perceived Minimum Annual Household Income to Live On, Reported in RMB and U.S. Dollars

3. Household Expenditures, Reported in RMB and U.S. Dollars

a) Amount spent monthly for following household necessities:

Food, Including Eating Out • Home Expenses, Including Rent, Water, Gas and Electricity • Entertainment • Child’s (Children’s) Education • Daily Goods Other Than Food • Clothing • Medical Expenses, Including Drugs • Savings • Transportation • Insurance • Travel and Tourism

b) Spending Intentions (Long Term)

New Housing • Interior Decoration of Home • Home Electronic Items, or Consumer Durables • Fashionable Clothes • Jewelry Items, Such as Rings, Watches and Earrings, etc. • Children’s Toys • Children’s Wedding(s) or Marriage(s) • Personal Education Purposes • Eating Out with Family • Leisure Activities and Entertainment • Travel in China • Overseas Travel • Stock Investments • Investing in Own Business or Job • Everyday Household Products • Family Savings • Automobile • Computer

c) Ownership of personal checking account(s)

d) Identification of household member—who purchases most of the food and minor household items—who has most to say about major expenditures

4. Credit Card(s)

a) Ownership

b) Purposes for which card(s) used

- To make purchases on credit (for which credit card issuer is paid later)

- To make purchases that are automatically deducted from savings account at moment of purchase

- To deposit, withdraw, or transfer funds, or for other purposes

c) ATM use

5. Household Savings

a) Savings Goals:

To Buy Home Electronic Items and Other Consumer Durables • To Buy a New Home, Remodel or Expand It • To Finance Child’s or Children’s Education • To Pay for Child’s or Children’s Wedding(s) or Marriage(s) • To Cover Costs of Possible Personal or Family Sickness or Injury • Savings for Old Age • For Travel and Entertainment • To Finance Work or Business • To Buy an Automobile • To Purchase Life Insurance, Property Insurance, Medical Insurance

b) Ownership of personal savings account(s)

6. Household Investments

a) Shares or stocks

- Awareness of stocks or stock market, including "proved" awareness

- Ownership of shares or stocks, including purchase from employer or other company

b) Ownership of bonds, including government, enterprise, bank, or others

7. Insurance

a) Ownership (current)

- Life insurance

- Property insurance

- Medical insurance

b) Intention to buy within two years

- Life insurance

- Property insurance

- Medical insurance

B. Housing

1. House/Apartment Ownership

a) Owned

b) Rented

- from employer

- from other than employer

2. Intention to Buy House/Apartment

a) Within two years

b) At some future point

3. Housing Amenities, Including:

Running Cold Water • Running Hot Water • Electricity • Gas • Cable TV

• Satellite Dish • Flush (running water) Toilet • Private Bathroom (family members only) With Flush (running water) Toilet

C. Place of Residence

1. Preferred Community Size: Large City, Medium-Sized City, Small City, Town or Village, Rural Area

2. Desire to Move From Current Place of Residence

3. Preferred City, Province or Region of Country for Residence

D. Employment/Career

1. Would One Choose Same Line of Work Again?

2. Line of Work Would Recommend to Young Person

3. Type of Organization Preferred as Employer:

a) Government department (including the military, schools, hospitals, research institutes, etc.)

b) Government or state-owned company

c) Township or village enterprise

d) Privately-owned company

e) Foreign company

f) Joint venture company (owned by both Chinese and foreigners)

g) Personally founded and owned business

III. Quality of Life

A. Assessing Quality of Personal Life

1. Perceptions (Self-Described) of "Ideal" Life and "Worst Possible" Life for Oneself and One’s Family

2. Rating One’s Life Today; As It Was Five Years Ago; and As Anticipated Five Years from Today

3. Degree of Satisfaction -- or Dissatisfaction -- Expressed With One’s Life Overall, and With Key Aspects of One’s Life, e.g.:

Household Income • Way Leisure Time Spent • Job or Work • Standard of Living • Education • Personal Health • Family Life • One’s Community as Place to Live • Amount and Quality of Food • Home Electronics and Other Durable Goods Owned • Clothing • Amount of Savings • Current Housing • Children’s Education, etc.

B. Personal Philosophy: Capitalistic/Acquisitive, Collectivist, Hedonistic, Ascetic, etc.

C. Lifestyle Activities and Interests

1. Leisure Activities Participated in Within the Last 12 Months

Attended Movie(s) in a Theatre • Visited an Amusement Park • Attended a Sports Event • Read a Book(s) • Played Stereo, Records/Tapes/CDs • Took Photographs • Traveled Overnight in China (PRC) • Traveled to Foreign Countries • Played Sports or Exercised • Purchased Music on Records, Tapes, or CDs

2. Media Usage -- Ever, and Within Last 24 Hours

a) TV viewership

- Received from broadcast, cable, or satellite

- Received from inside the PRC

- Received from outside the PRC

b) Radio listenership

- Received from inside the PRC

- Received from outside the PRC

c) Newspaper readership

d) Magazine readership

3. Computers

a) Household ownership and intent to purchase within next two years, and at some future time (SEE CONSUMER DURABLES)

b) Personal access to computer at home, at work, at school or elsewhere

c) The Internet

- Awareness of, including "proved" awareness

- Personal use (ever)

4. Pet Ownership, Including Dogs, Cats, Birds

IV. Selected Social Issues

A. Foreigners, Foreign Nations, and Foreign/Western Culture

1. Personal Contact with Foreigners

a) Ever seen one in real life, spoke with or met one, known one as friend or colleague

b) Within last 12 months: seen one in real life, spoke with or met one, known one as friend or colleague

2. Interest in Visiting Foreign Nations

a) In general

b) Specific nations: Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, United States

3. Awareness of Personalities and Institutions Identified with Western Nations Including: The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Chicago Bulls, etc.

4. Favorable or Unfavorable Opinion of the Following Aspects of Western Culture and Way of Life: Western Food, Western Soft Drinks, Western Clothing Styles, Movies from Western Nations, Western TV Shows, Western Music, Western Dancing

5. Personal Involvement in Last 12 Months in Following Activities Associated With Western Culture and Way of Life

a) Attended a Western-language movie

b) Purchased records, cassettes or CDs containing Western music

c) Purchased food in an American fast-food restaurant

d) Visited a Western or American theme restaurant, bar or night club

e) Purchased any article(s) of clothing with Western brand name(s)

f) Read any books, magazines or articles from a Western nation(s)

B. Image of the Generations

1. Young People in China

a) Are they viewed favorably or unfavorably?

b) Would nation be better off/worse off if more attention paid to their opinions, ideas and values?

2. Older People in China

a) Are they viewed favorably or unfavorably?

b) Would nation be better off/worse off if more attention paid to their opinions, ideas and values?

C. Environment

1. Perceived Seriousness of Following Environmental Problems Where Currently Reside

a) Water pollution

b) Air pollution

2. Perceived Improvement of Following Environmental Problems Over Last Several Years

a) Water pollution

b) Air pollution

DELIVERABLES AND PRICING

METHODOLOGY

Survey Procedures and Sample Design

This Gallup China research program is unique in that its sample covers -- and represents with statistical precision -- the entire adult population (aged 18 and older) of the People's Republic of China.

A total of 4,247 hour-long, in-person, in-home interviews were conducted across China during the period from April to June 1999. Interviewing was conducted in every administrative region of mainland China -- that is, in each of its 22 provinces, 3 municipalities, and 5 autonomous regions.

The strict probability-based sample was drawn in the following stages:

1. 2,500 counties, cities and urban districts were divided into 50 strata based on their geographic location, degree of economic development, and proportion of non-agricultural population.
2. One primary sampling unit (PSU), consisting of either a county or a city, was selected from each stratum based on probability proportional to population size.
3. Within each PSU, the populations of all neighborhoods and villages were compiled. From this listing, four neighborhoods or villages were selected proportional to size.
4. From each of these four neighborhoods or villages, five households were selected at random.
5. One respondent was selected from each of the selected households according to the Kish method. This research procedure, designed to ensure proper representation in the sample of all age groups by both genders, involves first recording the ages and genders of each of a selected household's adults on a grid. The respondent to be interviewed is then selected according to a prescribed systematic procedure.
6. If the designated respondent was not at home, or could not be reached, a second -- or, if needed, a third -- adult family member was selected systematically from among the household members remaining on the grid listing. If contact with the designated respondent could not be made after a total of three separate visits to the household, an interview with a respondent in a substitute household in the same locality was permitted. (Two substitute households were kept in reserve for each five assigned households in the interviewing area.)

The same basic selection procedure, based on probability selection according to population size, was also used for each of the augmented ("oversampled") ten city sub-samples.

In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing, a minimum of 400 interviews were conducted (Beijing: 402; Shanghai: 407; Guangzhou: 400; Chongqing: 405; four-city total: 1,614). In "oversampled" cities five through 10 (Tianjin, Shenyang, Wuhan, Nanjing, Chengdu, and Xian), 414 interviews were conducted.

Nationwide, among other areas classified as urban, 1,191 interviews were conducted, thus bringing the sum of all urban sector interviews to 3,219. Finally, nationwide, 1,028 interviews were conducted in areas classified as rural.

To correct for the effects of deliberate oversampling of urban areas, post-weighting has been applied so that the final data are statistically accurate and projectable to the total adult population of China within plus or minus 2 percentage points.

ABOUT GALLUP AND GALLUP CHINA

Gallup China Fact Sheet

The Gallup Organization's subsidiary, Gallup China, is the first survey research organization licensed to do business throughout the People's Republic. Established in January 1991, it was accorded this unprecedented privilege by way of a 20-year license granted by the central government in 1992. It received its formal business license in Beijing in September 1993.

Gallup China is directly owned, operated and managed by The Gallup Organization, the world's most widely known and respected polling and survey research firm. Gallup directs wholly owned or majority-owned subsidiaries in 28 countries from its worldwide headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey.

Gallup China covers the entire People's Republic. The company's main office and production center is located in Beijing, with branch offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou. An integral part of Gallup's global company, Gallup China conducts all phases of the research process in-house -- from initial research design, through sampling, interviewing and field supervision and data processing, to the analysis and reporting of findings. In contrast, other survey companies limit their operations to major urban centers or rely on third-party suppliers for key sample design and data collection functions.

Gallup China's activities encompass the entire spectrum of survey-based research -- including marketing, advertising, media and audience research -- and deal with the attitudes and behavior of business and industrial customers as well as consumers and the general public. Supplementing these survey-based efforts, Gallup China provides a full range of related consulting services, including product, brand, and service feasibility studies, concept tests, site analyses, desk research, and in-depth consultation with governmental and regulatory officials.

All of Gallup China's research is conducted by a permanent professional staff, using Gallup's own facilities, using the same technical methods and operating procedures that have made the company an industry leader since 1935. Gallup clients benefit not only from the use of standardized and uniform research methods, but also from close managerial control, which ensures that technical standards are adhered to and that client deadlines are met.