Consulting firm survey reports instant messaging services making inroads

Social media's role in urban consumers' buying decisions is increasing, a survey by global consulting firm Accenture Plc showed on Thursday.

Seventy-nine percent of urban consumers share information on social media and online shopping is growing more popular. Instant messaging platforms such as Tencent Holdings Ltd's QQ and WeChat are popular.

Forty-eight percent of Internet users visit social media sites every day and 51 percent are always connected, Accenture said.

Tencent is China's most used Internet service platform, according to the Shenzhen-based company's website. It listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004.

China had 618 million Internet users at the end of 2013, according to the China National Internet Information Center. That's 45.8 percent penetration.

Mobile instant messaging has "developed rapidly" with 532 million users, the center said in January. People with lower incomes and education are most likely to use social media sites, it said.

For the Accenture report, as many as 73 percent of urban consumers often recommend products they've purchased to friends.

Some people use the platforms to sell online, alongside online shopping sites such Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Taobao and some electronic commerce retail platforms.

"Business models brought by digitalization have yet to be completely shaped both at home and abroad," Woolf Huang, managing director of products at Accenture Greater China, said. "It's hard to predict whether the e-commerce practices that happened on social media platforms will pose a threat to the existing e-commerce industry giants.

"Every e-commerce player has its own business model and targets a specific group of consumers," Huang said.

One issue is how credible information gained through social media is for people making their own online shopping decisions, Chan Tzeh-chyi, managing director of Analytics Lead at Accenture Asia Pacific, said.

TV advertising holds sway for more than 60 percent of people buying personal care products, food and beverages, the survey showed. It compares with a 20 percent endorsement for social networks.

"This result is quite unexpected," Chan said.

Digital media is gaining importance among young urban consumers.

For 18-to 25-year-olds buying food and beverages, TV was influential for 61 percent, while 41 percent cited Internet advertising and 40 percent social media.

Concerns over product quality and online scams led 52 percent of urban consumers to visit brick-and-mortar stores first and then buy online.

Seventy-five percent compared online and offline prices for big-ticket item before buying, the survey showed. That may inform how retailers conduct online-to-offline business.

"Bricks-and-mortar and online stores should complement each other in serving customers and operation procedure," said Huang.

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