DATA POINTS: FMCG marketers in China can no longer just ride a category wave

Three key trends affecting China’s FMCG market have emerged from the third wave of Bain & Company and Kantar Worldpanel's study on the shopping behaviour of 40,000 Chinese households: Continuing deceleration across sectors and all city tiers, fewer store visits to offline retailers as online commerce booms, and foreign brands’ loss of aggregate share to Chinese brands. The research used an unconventional approach that assigned research participants with barcode scanners to determine what they actually purchased, as opposed to what they said they had purchased. Detailed analysis of 26 categories spanning the four largest consumer-goods sectors: Personal care, home care, beverage and packaged food, which account for more than 80 per cent of China’s FMCG market in value is presented.