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A majority of consumers refrained from purchasing ‘Made in China’ products during their festival shopping, according to a survey by LocalCircles.
LocalCircles conducted a survey receiving over 14,000 responses from 204 districts of India to understand consumer behaviour during festive shopping.
The survey received 7,452 responses, out of which only 29 per cent of respondents said that they had purchased products made in China.
On the other hand, 71 per cent of respondents stated that they had consciously refrained from purchasing made in China items.
In a similar survey last year, 48 per cent of consumers had said that they had purchased China-made products. Hence, there has been a 40 per cent year-on-year decline in terms of the number of Indian consumers buying Made in China products.
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Affordability an important factor
When asked about the reason for purchasing Chinese products 66 per cent of respondents said that they had done so because they felt that the products offered higher value for money. Lower prices were one of the primary reasons for purchasing such products.
“With earnings being impacted for many households this year due to the pandemic, for many buying the lowest cost product was not a choice but the only option,” the report said.
“According to most consumers, the Indian counterpart for a Chinese product is generally more expensive though it might be of better quality,” it said.
Consumers generally do not consider quality the top criteria for festival-related products with one-time use such as LED lighting, tealight candles, plastics, etc. For some other products such as mobile phones, air purifiers, gadgets and appliances, consumers have reported China-made products to be of equal or better in quality, as per the report.
“While on an overall basis, the Indian consumer did spend less on Chinese products this year, the key takeaway for Government of India and MSMEs is to make manufacturing more competitive in India and improve scale,” the report said.
“If the high-quality products that are Made in India can be produced at scale and cost of capital for Indian MSME is reduced through government support, products Made in India will definitely find preference amongst Indian consumers and even other retail markets around the world,” it added.
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