Mother and Baby Products Retailing - China - September 2015
Overview
 
“The mother and baby products retail market has not only grown quickly, but it has also quickly moved online. However, it is a market where trust in quality and advice are crucial. Consumers need to be convinced of product quality in-store before they go on to buy online.

Building brand trust and confidence increasingly means companies must not only sell high quality products, but also provide a high level of expertise and advice. This means developing new services with the help of infant development experts and institutions, but also training staff to deliver that expertise.

As the market quickly expands into lower tier cities, brands and retailers must see their business expansion not just in terms of product delivery logistics, but also in terms of service and expertise delivery. It also requires better provision of information and engagement with consumers, using all retail channels (both online and in-store), as well as engaging with consumers through social networks.”
-Matthew Crabbe – Director of Research, Asia-Pacific

Definition
This report covers physical store and online retail sites selling significant ranges of goods meant for use in baby care in the People’s Republic of China.

For the purposes of this report, mother and baby retailers refers to retail chains, standalone stores and online retailers which predominantly or significantly stock products aimed specifically at babies and mothers (parents) of babies. These products include:

●	Baby foods including infant formula milk and baby supplementary foods (eg cereals, purées, rusks)
●	Babycare products including baby nappies/diapers; baby skincare products (eg baby oil, sun block, nappy rash cream ), baby shower and bath products (eg shampoo, body wash) and baby feeding products (eg feeding bottle, tableware)
●	Daily supplies including baby clothes and footwear; baby toys and baby cots/bedding.

Retailers include mother and baby specialist retailers, supermarkets and hypermarkets, department stores, online mother and baby specialist portals (eg babytree, mama.cn, PCbaby, Yaolan.com), and online general retailers (eg Yihaodian, JD.com, Tmall).