Li Sheng just purchased a new Sony smartphone, enjoys traveling abroad and rarely thinks twice about spending on what he likes. The 31-year old human-resource executive, a Shanghai resident making 120,000 yuan (S$26,410) a year, is gay. And that's making him increasingly interesting to Chinese marketers.
"I buy anything I need, from consumer goods to shampoos, body wash and electronic goods," said Mr. Li. "Maybe I'll get an iPhone next."
Homosexuality has long been taboo in China. But the spending power of China's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender - or LGBT -community is attracting growing attention. A survey of more than 18,000 LGBT people in China released this month by WorkForLGBT, a coalition of companies and activists, found that respondents earn an average of 10,298 yuan per month, five times the national average. They also tend to be brand loyal and have more disposable income, largely because most don't have children, WorkForLGBT found.
The survey comes on the heels of the China Pink Market Conference, which was hosted by the coalition earlier this month and examined the LGBT community's market potential. The gathering attracted a number of companies from startups to Fortune 500 firms, including Honeywell International Inc., BP plc and Microsoft Corp.
China's LGBT community spends US$470 billion (S$660.9 billion) annually, US-based research firm Community Marketing & Insights estimated in 2014. And Geng Le, chief executive of Blued - among the world's largest gay mobile apps, with 15 million users - believes China's LGBT population exceeds 70 million people, "equivalent to the entire population of the United Kingdom," he adds.
Read the full article here
OTHER WSJ.COM STORIES:
- Yiyi Lu: Rebuilding the Communist Party
- Alibaba in Talks to Buy Controlling Stake in Hong Kong's SCMP Group
- Meet Guo Pei, China's First Haute Couturier
Source: Gay consumers' spending power draws attention in China - but stigma remains
No comments:
Post a Comment