A futuristic fingerprint lock, software that allows you to unlock your car doors and turn on the AC using your phone, and an intelligent vacuum cleaner... China’s consumption upgrading is driving up a new commerce pattern, with novel products sweeping the Chinese domestic market.

The country has maintained stable and rapid growth in the total retail sales of consumer goods, and consumption has become the most significant driving force of the country’s economic growth for a number of years.

Novel products with new functions and technologies are enriching the supply of the market, enjoying massive popularity among consumers.

According to a report issued by Ali Research Institute under Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, over 75 million consumers on Alibaba’s shopping site T-mall were enthusiastic about novel products, with an average of 17 purchases per person in this category.

Last year, more than 50 million novel products were made available on T-mall, 10 times more than in 2016.

Statistics from Alibaba’s rival Suning also indicated the popularity of novel products. For instance, a smart drier rack that can also sterilize has been sold by over 150 Suning stores, with a monthly sales growth of 300 percent.

The enthusiasm for new products is not exclusive to consumers from first-tier cities. In 2018, over 200,000 major brands released 50 million new products on T-mall, and those living in second-, third- and fourth-tier cities made up nearly 80 percent of total sales.

“New products might mean a large concept, but small innovations usually create huge energy when applied to individual products,” said Fu Yifu, senior researcher from Suning Institute of Finance.

Given the diversified and individualized consumption demands of the Chinese market, opportunities exist everywhere as long as enterprises can find the consumer pain points, Fu added.