Last year, MasterCard announced the findings of a survey on consumer purchasing priorities in aspects including travel, dining, entertainment, saving and further education. The survey on dining and entertainment preferences found dining out popular among Chinese and going to movies and Karaoke lounges are granted entertainment choices. The survey on travelling showed the activity becoming a regular family consumption item as the average income of Chinese people increases. The destinations and payment means, however, would be anybody’s choice. On the aspects of saving and further education, the survey indicated a keen interest in them among mainlanders. The survey findings are based on statistics collected and comparisons are made between respondents in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. They serve as references for MasterCard to better understand the consumption habits of residents in Greater China.

Movies and Karaoke become mainstream entertainment

　　Mainlanders like dining out, the survey found, and for entertainment, they like going to movies or Karaoke lounges. The respondents said their favorite leisure time activities are going to movies (57%) and Karaoke lounges (50%), many among them go to the cinema three times and Karaoke lounges once or twice a month. The survey showed the same trends in other Asian countries and regions, with movie-going as people’s favorite pastime, 75% in Singapore, 74% in Hong Kong, 74% in South Korea, 65% in Taiwan and 61% in the Philippines.

　　On the aspect of dining, the survey found mainlanders spend on average US$135 a month dining out, whereas the Japanese spend US$213, the Singaporean US$212, the Hongkonger US$195 and the Taiwanese US$165. As for the percentage of dining out expense to monthly income, it is 9.1% for mainlanders, second to Vietnam topping the 14 markets surveyed at 9.2% and followed by Thailand at 6.8%. At the same time, 20% of the respondents in China said they plan to dine out more in the few months following, indicative of a growing demand for restaurant dining in the market.

　　Spending on hobbies and leisure activities accounts for 18% of the monthly income of mainland consumers, and 55% of the respondents spend more than 10% of their monthly income on those activities. In Hong Kong, the respondents spend 18% of their monthly income on leisure activities, sharing the top spot with their fellow countrymen in China. As for the Asia Pacific at large, the expense accounts for 13% of the monthly income of consumers.

56% of the respondents save regularly for trips

　　Mainland consumers travel far less than their counterparts in other markets. Only 45% of the mainland survey respondents had made leisure trips, whereas 84% of Hong Kong people had travelled outside the city in the previous year. In addition, only 19% of the mainland respondents had made business trips in the year past, when 48% of the Hong Kong respondents had done so in the same period.

　　For consumers in China, cash is the main means of payment. Fifty-six percent of the respondents paid cash for accommodation, whereas only 27% of the respondents in Hong Kong insisted on paying cash. However, for mainlanders, bank cards are more likely used when they make sizeable purchases. The survey showed for purchases over US$100, more than half of the respondents would pay with their credit cards and debit cards, and the credit card is the better choice among respondents aged 25 to 44.

　　The survey on travel destinations listed Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore top three international touring destinations among mainlanders and France ranks fifth outside Asia. The top three destinations in China are Beijing, Hangzhou and Sanya, and Shanghai placed sixth.

　　For those planning leisure trips, the three most favorite activities are sightseeing, shopping, adventures and sports. Expense planning is a must for respondents, 56% of whom save for the purpose regularly, and 27% said they would pay travel expenses with their bonus from work.

　　An interesting point to note is most of the respondents who chose to travel by plane would also shop Duty Free, and food items such as chocolates and cigarettes are their favorite purchases. Twenty-six percent of them would buy food items and 20% would spend on cigarettes. Books or magazines are next on the list after cosmetics or personal care products, and electronics and apparels are only attractive to 5% and 1% of the respondents.

Keen Interest in Saving and Further Education among Greater China Residents

　　The survey found the majority (84%) of mainland residents will maintain or increase their saving in the next six months, and a third and more of them (35%) expect their saving to be 30% higher than their total income. Seventy-two percent of the respondents said they save mainly for precautionary purpose.

　　As for what to spend on, investment in financial products is the first choice of 40% of the respondents, followed by properties or upgraded residence (28%) and electronics (27%). Other reasons for saving included going on vacations (19%), retirement (16%), buying a new car or motor car (16%) and new home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines (7%), and future household or personal expense (7%). The mainlanders surveyed said they would keep a close watch on their expenses, saving and investment.

　　Although financial investment is the top choice of 40% of the respondents and in answering questions relating to financial management, almost all respondents (92%) claimed that they know how to budget for their daily financial needs. The reality, however, is different. Only 48% of the respondents pencil down their weekly or monthly expenses, and only 41% of them understand the concept of compound interest.

　　The Taiwanese are also concerned about the future. In the survey, although only 24% of the Taiwanese respondents indicated their intention to save 30% and more of their income in the next six months—less than the 35% level among mainland respondents, 76% of them are saving for unexpected economic situations, higher than the 72% of mainland respondents saving for the same reason. Hongkongers, relative to mainlanders and the Taiwanese people, seemed less concerned about the economy. Twenty percent of the respondents intend to put more than 30% of their income into saving, but only 68% of them said they save because of worries about the future economy.

　　At the same time, further education is also an important pursuit. Close to a third of the respondents in China (32%) said they plan to enroll in different training programs in the year ahead (the year till May 2012) and near one-fifth (17%) said they may go back to the university.

　　About half of the respondents (44%) said the main reason they seek further education is to improve their professional skills and 35% just simply want to keep learning, whereas the remaining 21% cited other reasons including personal interest or self-enhancement. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, however, self-enhancement (Taiwan: 44%) and continuing to receive education (Hong Kong: 48%) are what drive further education pursuits.

　　Moreover, non-full time programs are most preferred among the respondents in China (59%). 82% of the respondents tend to favor non-full time courses. Only about a quarter of the respondents (26%) would go for full-time education, which no doubt reflected the prevalent need among people for to study and work at the same time.

　　For the minority in China (18%) planning to study abroad, gaining an international perspective is one of their main drives. Among them, only about a third (34%) believes they will be able to enjoy higher quality education in other countries.

　　Among those wishing to go back to the university in China, 65% are prepared to pay tuition themselves; only a small number of them plan to rely on bank borrowings or scholarships to pay for their studies, and more than one-third (36%) said their parents will support them. For those respondents planning to study abroad, the credit card is the preferred means for paying school fees (46%), followed by cash (17%) and the debit card (14%).

About the Consumer Purchasing Priorities Survey

　　The survey commissioned by MasterCard was conducted by Synovate in Singapore in April 2011. The 1,095 respondents in China included the wealthy, young people and some random samples. The wealthy were those earning family incomes in the top 20%; the young people were those aged between 18 and 24, and random samples were drawn among those aged 18 to 64 who own bank accounts. The index and the report do not represent the financial performance of MasterCard.

For more information, please visit: www.masterintelligence.com.