This picture taken today in a traditional Chinese vegetable market shows a typical Chinese "early adopter/early majority". She has just bought a new 3G mobile phone and is very proud of it.
Her demographic is hardly the target audience for a 3G Smartphone. Her salary is about US$300 per month and I question her need to be "always on" with her social network! But there she is, proudly standing behind her vegetable stall with her unopened 3G phone.
Mobile phones, like many other categories in China, show that the Chinese often adopt products at an earlier lifestage/product maturity. Good examples include Scotch whisky, iPads, Swiss watches, and luxury cars.
One of my Chinese friends has just spent 750,000RMB (over US$100,000) on an Infiniti G37 convertible car. His (Japanese) work colleagues wonder how he can afford it, as in Japan this is the type of car you would buy at the peak of your earnings. But in China, you need this type of car earlier in your career development to show to everyone (especially your peers) that you are one of life's achievers. And what does he do at weekends? he has joined the Infiniti G37 car club, so like-minded achievers like him can drive down China's new motorways in convoy and network with each other at their destination.
So next time you wonder how and why the Chinese are buying up the world's latest technology and luxury goods, remember the middle-aged woman in the vegetable market.
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