Bao Xu, senior researcher at the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Shanghai, delivers a speech in Beijing on Dec 11, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
China is considered a world leader in technology use, according to the latest report on the Dynamics of Chinese People.
The report, published this week in Beijing, found that Chinese people use technological products and services more frequently than those in the United States and Japan, said Bao Xu, a senior researcher at the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Shanghai.
About 83 percent of people in China use cashless payments, while in the US and Japan, the figures are 32 percent and 35 percent respectively, according to an online study.
China is also considered a leader in the on-demand economy, with people in China recording high usage figures for food-ordering apps, shared bicycles, car-hailing apps and online supermarkets, Bao said.
China's food-ordering market last year stood at $204.6 billion, up from $166.2 billion in 2016, according to a 2017 report on China's food ordering by Meituan Dianping Research Institute.
China is also leading in industrial innovation, particularly in the automobile, information and logistic industries, said Huang Jinghua, professor of advertising at the Communication University of China.
China's new-energy vehicles sales topped world rankings for the third consecutive year in 2017, and the country's shipment of internet-enabled vehicles also ranked first in the world in the same year, the report said.
A visitor takes in photos showing how technology has changed people's lives, Beijing on Dec 11, 2018. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
High technology continues to play an influential role in the Chinese infrastructure industry, industry 4.0 and bio-pharmaceutical industry, and not only brings convenience and efficiency, but also changes consumption behaviors in the country, said Zhong Ming, general manager of the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Shanghai.
Chinese people tend to ask those they trust for advice on purchases, try different products with convenient refund policies and use more visiting services, the report said.
The "ATM" model or "ask, try and my way behavior" model, illustrates that Chinese people are showing self-motivation to use digital technology to solve problems in life, which is a key finding of the report, Bao said.
Chinese people don't just rely on digital information to make consumer decisions–they have an increasing level of insight on new technologies and aren't controlled by them, Bao said.
The "ATM" model requires businesses to use an "ATM marketing strategy" to manage customer relationships, through not just traditional media strategies, but also through online and offline experiences, said Yang Surui, marketing expert with the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Shanghai.
The rapid development of the high-technology industry in the country has been supported by government. China's investment in artificial intelligence accounted for 48 percent of the world's total last year, according to CB Insights, a US venture capital research agency.
