Market research in China
China is the world’s most populous country and the second-largest economy by nominal GDP. Real economic growth has averaged 6% p.a. over the last 30 years but the rate of growth is likely to be much lower over the next few years.
China is by far the largest manufacturer in the world and the largest exporter of manufactured goods, exporting USD2.5 trillion of goods in 2019. The most valuable categories of exports are smartphones, computers, integrated circuits/microassemblies, processed petroleum products and solar panels.
China is also the world’s largest producer of agricultural products as well as the world’s largest consumer. Key crops include rice, wheat, corn and soya beans. Overall, the Chinese agricultural sector employs around 300 million people and contributes about 8% of GDP.
The services sector in China contributes around 52% of GDP, less than in European and North American economies but this part of the economy expected to grow in importance as manufacturing faces a number of constraints, including slower growth in the workforce and in productivity, diminishing returns to investment, and weaker demand for exports.
FieldworkHub has carried out a number of projects in China including work in Beijing and Shanghai, the two biggest centres for market research.
| Population (2020 estimate): | 1.44 billion |
|---|---|
| GDP (USD, 2018): | $13 608 billion |
| GDP per capita (International $ at PPP, 2018): | $18 237 |
| Currency: | Yuan Renminbi (CNY) |
| Largest urban areas (by population, 2018 estimates): | Shanghai (25.6 million) Beijing (19.6 million) Chongqing (14.8 million) Tianjin (13.2 million) Guangzhou (12.6 million) Shenzhen (11.9 million) |
RELATED CASE STUDIES
Focus groups with international and luxury travellers in UK, France and China
An airport operator wanted to run focus groups with international and luxury travellers in London, Paris and Shanghai to help it improve its retail offering. International travellers needed to make at least three international trips a year and luxury travellers needed to fly in first or business class. All needed to be well educated and meet income requirements specified by the client. We successfully recruited 65 respondents for two focus groups in each of the three cities, managed the viewing facility bookings and arranged moderators and simultaneous translators for the groups in France and China.
Recruitment of healthcare professionals in the US, Germany and China
A well-established multinational company that develops medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods wanted to speak to pathologists and interventional pulmonologists with the aim of better understanding how technologies that are being considered impact unmet needs and workflows for peripheral lung biopsies. Another aim of the study was to understand more about the Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) used for bronchoscopic procedures, ensuring adequate sampling of the targeted lesion and appropriate specimen triage for any necessary ancillary studies. The client wanted to hold a series of 60-minute web-facilitated tele-depth interviews. FieldworkHub provided end-to-end project management of the fieldwork process. This included the recruitment of 24 participants (12 pathologists and 12 pulmonologists), evenly split across China, Germany and the USA. Our services also involved providing experienced moderators and organising moderator briefing calls. We also arranged translation of the research materials and transcription of the interview recordings.