An Ali Retail Platform Consumer Health Report co-produced by AliResearch and AliHealth showed that the total revenue in health related products of the platform reached RMB 65.02 billion (USD 10 billion) in 2014, a 62.5% growth compared to a year ago, Sina Tech reports.
The Consumer Health Report consists of data from pharmaceutical products, health products and healthcare services. The drastic growth is due to an increase in the total number of consumers spending on health-related products. The total number of consumers jumped from 68.2 million in 2013 to 111 million in 2014.
“As people have improved their living conditions, their lifestyles have also changed,” said Xue Yan, AliResearch’s senior analyst. “People are more aware of health issues and their health product consumption habits have shifted from ‘cure’ to ‘prevention’.”
Consumers have also moved towards shopping online for health-related products. The report shows that consumers who have spent RMB 5000 or more yearly have increased 68.9%. With an average of RMB 872, Shanghai became the highest-spending city on health products on the platform.
According to the report, Guangdong province, Zhejiang province and Jiangsu province have the highest total health spending. Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin have the highest percentage on health spending. The prime consumers for health-related products are in the age range of 29-35, which makes up more than 30.7% of consumers on the platform.
The report shows that Beijing occupies the top spot for mask consumption out of the entire nation, which accounts for more than one-sixth of the total. This week, Beijing issued its first-ever red smog alert. Heilongjiang has the fastest growth in mask consumption, which increased more than 200% compared to a year ago.