Table of Contents
Executive Summary
-
- The market
- Spending per baby will drive market growth
- Durables, toys and nappies fuelled growth in the last five years
- Target a wider age range, not just new-borns
- Impact of COVID-19 on mother and baby products retailing
-
- Figure 1: Short, medium and long term impact of COVID-19 on mother and baby products retailing, May 2020
- Companies and brands
- Online retailers are getting more important while offline retailers expand
- The consumer
- Online comprehensive shopping websites rise to the top
-
- Figure 2: Purchase channels by baby product category, April 2020
- Safety is still paramount
-
- Figure 3: Purchase drivers when buying baby durables, April 2020
- Trading up more common for essentials
-
- Figure 4: Consumer reaction to brand price increases, April 2020
- Online communities are reliable information sources
-
- Figure 5: Reliable informational channels for parents, April 2020
- Difficult for online communities to convert sales
-
- Figure 6: Consumer behaviour after visiting parenting-related social media or online forums, April 2020
- Consumers affirm retailers’ initiatives for better service
-
- Figure 7: Attitude towards store staff, 2018 and 2020
- Retailers should see dads as potential buyers too
-
- Figure 8: Attitudes towards dad’s importance in purchase decisions, by gender, April 2020
- Whether online forums seen as being more than a community or not does not affect consumers’ choice of channels
-
- Figure 9: General attitudes towards mother and baby retailing, April 2020
- What we think
The Impact of COVID-19 on Mother and Baby Products Retailing
-
-
- Figure 10: Short, medium and long term impact of COVID-19 on mother and baby products retailing, May 2020
- Opportunities and threats
- Small independent stores struggle the most; winners take all
- Impact on the market
- Essential nature means limited impact on total sales
-
- Figure 11: Forecast of total retail sales of baby products, China 2014-24
- Shifts in consumer behaviour
- Offline shopping channels are recovering
-
- Figure 12: Offline grocery shopping channels, February to June 2020
- Impact on the marketing mix
- Knowledge about immunity and self-protection will gain mothers’ attention
-
- Figure 13: Defending yourself from coronavirus, by Meiyou, April 2020
- Embrace live commerce as consumers spend more time on their screens
- COVID-19: China context
-
- Figure 14: Accumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China, January to May 2020
- Figure 15: Status of returning to work, China, March, April and May 2020
-
Issues & Insights
-
- Young parents pursue more convenient lifestyle and are more forward thinking in baby care
- The facts
- The implications
- Extend product portfolios to seize the opportunity to build a baby lifestyle brand
- The facts
- The implications
- Traffic monetization is challenging for baby care content platform
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
-
- Consumption upgrade driving future market growth
- Product innovation can be tailored to wider range of babies
Market Size, Segmentation and Forecast
-
- Stable growth driven by more spending per baby
-
- Figure 16: Total number of newborn babies and babies aged 0-3, 2015-2019
- Figure 17: Retail sales value of baby products, CHINA, 2015-19
- Durables, toys and nappies led growth over the last five years
- Target a wider age range, not just new-borns
-
- Figure 18: Retail value sales and share of baby products, by segment, China 2015-19
- Future growth will be driven by spending per capita instead of volume
-
- Figure 19: Forecast of retail sales value of baby products (including the impact of COVID-19), China 2014-24
Market Factors
-
- Birth rate declining as population of women of childbearing age shrinks
-
- Figure 20: Birth rate and number of new-borns, China, 2014-19
-
- Figure 21: Total number and growth rate of babies aged 0-3 years in China, 2020-2024
- Rising spending per baby driven by increase in both prices and consumption upgrade willingness
Key Players – What You Need to Know
-
- Online retailers are more important
- Online community forums struggle with e-commerce ambition
- Retailers are busy with expansion
Key Players and Market Share
-
- Growing importance of online retailers
-
- Figure 22: Share of online sales in total IMF and baby diaper sales, China 2018-2019
- JD and Tmall are dominating online sales
-
- Figure 23: Value shares of top online channels for IMF, 2018-2020 (Jan-May)
- Figure 24: Value shares of top online channels for IMF, 2018-2020 (Jan-May)
- Other specialised mother and baby online retailers
- Offline retailers
- Specialised mother and baby retailers
-
- Figure 25: Images of specialised mother and baby retailers, 2020
- Department stores
-
- Figure 26: Images of mother and baby product floor in a department store, Shanghai, 2020
Competitive Strategies
-
- Increased competition in mother and baby care market
- Online strategy shouldn’t just be about building another sales channel
- Regional expansion is taking place
- Online mother and baby care community: from content to e-commerce
- Service-driven innovation offers a potential point of differentiation
-
- Figure 27: Baby cry translator, invented by Babytree, April 2019
- Demonstrating brand value during COVID-19
-
- Figure 28: Kidswant’s network of warehouses to meet demand for Hubei province, February 2020
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
-
- Online comprehensive shopping websites top channel for purchasing
- Safety matters for purchasing and innovation required for baby durables
- Consumers are price sensitive but still willing to pay more for essentials trade up
- Online baby care and parenting expertise are more reliable
- Online shopping as important for young parents
Shopping Channels
-
- Online generalists have exceeded offline specialised stores
-
- Figure 29: Purchase channels by baby product category, April 2020
- Feeding products have high channel loyalty
-
- Figure 30: Average of channels mentioned per product category, April 2020
- Young parents are more likely to buy from brand websites/apps
-
- Figure 31: % of parents buying from brand’s official websites/apps, by age, April 2020
Purchase Drivers of Baby Durables
-
- Safety first
-
- Figure 32: Purchase drivers when buying baby durables, April 2020
- Convenience is key to attracting young parents
-
- Figure 33: Selected purchase drivers of baby durables ranked as first, second or third most important, by age, April 2020
Price Sensitivity
-
- More than half of parents would be willing to pay more on essentials
-
- Figure 34: Consumer reaction to brand price increases, April 2020
- Parents of older babies are more value-driven
-
- Figure 35: Consumer reaction to brand price increases, % switching to a cheaper brand, by ages of the baby, April 2020
Information Channel
-
- Online communities have brought expertise together
-
- Figure 36: Reliable informational channels for parents, April 2020
- Parents with higher income tend to look at wider range of sources
-
- Figure 37: Selected reliable informational channels for parents, by monthly household income, April 2020
Purchase Behaviour
-
- Comprehensive shopping platform is still the top destination
-
- Figure 38: Consumer behaviour after visiting parenting-related social media or online forums, April 2020
- Speciality products may drive higher earners to buy from mother and baby e-commerce channels
-
- Figure 39: Selected consumer behaviour after visiting parenting-related social media or online forums, by monthly household income, April 2020
- Profile of parents who are more likely to consider buying early education and insurance products
-
- Figure 40: Selected consumer behaviour after visiting parenting-related social media or online forums, by demographics, April 2020
Consumer Attitudes
-
- Consumers affirm retailers’ initiatives for better service
-
- Figure 41: Attitude towards store staff, 2018 and 2020
- Consumers are more receptive of online shopping while young parents are not
-
- Figure 42: Consumers’ attitudes towards online shopping, 2018 and 2020
-
- Figure 43: Consumers’ attitudes towards online shopping, by age, April 2020
- Retailers and brands can be more encouraging to dads
-
- Figure 44: Attitudes towards dad’s importance in purchase decisions, by gender, April 2020
- Whether forums are merely a community for parenting knowledge doesn’t change where to shop
-
- Figure 45: General attitudes towards mother and baby retailing, April 2020
Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
-
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
Back to top