JD Report: Trends Reveal More “Exquisite” Healthcare Services in China

by Vivian Yang

Chinese consumers are looking for a more 'exquisite' experience for healthcare products and services, according to the Report on Health Consumption Insights 2021 released on Jun. 2 by JD Health in collaboration with China Business News (CBN).

The report is based on thousands of survey results on Chinese consumers who are from diversified backgrounds in terms of age, location and income. The majority of surveyed households reported their annual health expenditure is between RMB 500 to 5,000. Families with annual income below RMB 120,000 yuan also showed strong willingness to spend on high-priced healthcare products, noted Simin Wen, one author of the report from CBN.

Four main trends of healthcare consumption in China are identified in the report.

First, more and more segments of healthcare products are emerging on the market, such as maternal and baby nourishment, fatigue-relieving nutrition, vision formula and more. At the same time, medical equipment, including household devices like sphygmomanometers and blood glucose meters as well as professional medical equipment such as ventilators, atomizers, and oxygen machines are increasingly purchased for home use on JD Health.

Second, people of all ages and from all places in China are paying greater attention and spending more on their health and wellbeing. Young people demonstrate strong preferences for nourishment products. JD's data shows that in the first five minutes of the JD 618 Grand Promotion on June 1 - the official opening day of the shopping festival - sales of nourishment and tonic products on JD Health grew more than 200% YoY.

Third, disease prevention has been widely recognized as an important part of health management. Ni Ni, another CBN author of the report pointed out that people start to holistically pay attention to their health conditions and behaviors, from body weight, sleep quality, stress level, smoking, alcohol drinking, and even daily water drinking. 'All of these aspects can be managed, and people are keen to learn these methods in order to build a healthier body and become stronger in fighting the pandemic,' said Ni Ni.

JD's 'Family Doctor' telemedicine service meets these people's demand to receive customized healthcare management support anytime and anywhere they need. During the pre-sale period of the JD 618 Grand Promotion from May 24 to 31, the number of online medical consultations on JD Health increased 720% month or month.

Fourth, consumer healthcare services including aesthetic medicine, oral care, and physical examination and more are seeing strong growth in the Chinese market. In the first 15 minutes of the JD 618 Grand Promotion, sales of aesthetic medicine products on JD Health increased more than 15 times. The first hour sales of popular anti-aging services like thermage and Fotona 4D exceeded the whole-day sales of the same day last year. Additionally, JD Health provides pre-sales consultation services from physicians, pharmacists and nutritionists to customers, ensuring they can get enough information and proper guidance before they make purchase decisions.

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