I am fascinated by China as a consumer market. I am fascinated by it for the same reasons companies have been fascinated by it for hundreds of years. 1.3+ billion people and it is not yet clear what they will be buying.
I just read the book As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers Are Changing Everything and it has provided me a somewhat better sense of what China’s consumers want now and will be wanting in the future. The book is written by Karl Gerth, who in 2004 wrote the book China Made: Consumer Culture and the Creation of the Nation. Gerth is a professor of Modern History and Chinese Studies at Oxford University and in his Oxford bio he accurately describes his most recent book as follows:
Written for the general public, As China Goes explores the wide-ranging ramifications of China’s shift toward a market economy over the past thirty years, showing how China’s rapid development of a consumer culture is revolutionizing the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese and is re-shaping the world. The book reveals why we should all care about the everyday choices made by ordinary Chinese and the deeper consequences of their seemingly small changes in lifestyles. Kirkus Reviews describes the book as “Nuanced, balanced and accessible — essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of China today.”
Gerth is an historian at heart and his book does a consistently excellent job of contrasting China today with China past. I also like how Gerth talks of the harm China’s rising consumerism is causing both to China and to the world, but also writes of how this harm differs only in scope, not kind, from the harm caused by the rampant consumerism found in so many other countries around the world.
What I most liked about the book, however, is that it helped me understand just a little bit better the thinking of Chinese consumers. I say “just a little” not to detract in any way from the book, but to emphasize the vastness and complexity of the issues.
This book is very well written and very well researched. Most importantly, it makes for a very enjoyable read. I am always touting the book Chocolate Fortunes: The Battle for the Hearts, Minds, and Wallets of China’s Consumers (see here and here) for those wanting to learn about China’s consumers.
From now on I am going to tout As China Goes, So Goes The World as well.
