Memo to mom:online shoppingis no kid’s stuff
Print Edition
Before I became a mother last year, I used to spend my evenings watching streaming videos of US and UK TV dramas or browsing online travel sites to plan the next holiday overseas.
Now, l after a two-hour struggle to get my nine-month-old daughter Claire to go to sleep, I sit down at my desktop computer to begin the task of buying food and other items for her.
Motherhood has certainly changed my shopping habits. I used to love going to familiar corner shops in downtown Shanghai to buy things. I liked seeing and touching what I wanted to buy, and bargaining for the best price.
Being a lazy 30-something, I never really took the time to learn the refined skills of online shopping aside from a few grocery purchases. I have now.
My preferred shopping site is Taobao, China’s largest consumer-to-consumer online marketplace. It’s a time, if not a life, saver. As a working mother, I just can’t afford the luxury of going out to shop anymore.
Everything I need, from diapers to a tummy-time activity mat, I can find on Taobao. And the prices are usually cheaper.
I am not alone. According to Kantar Worldpanel & Bain’s latest China Shopper Report, based on a survey of 40,000 Chinese households, skin care products, infant formula and baby diapers account for more than half of all fast-moving consumer goods in online sales in China.
Among all 26 “fast-moving” categories in the survey, those related to health products led the list, with growth fueled by more expensive imported goods.
The report concluded that many Chinese consumers view imported goods as safer than domestic products.
I can’t disagree when it comes to baby food. Like many people, I still remember the tainted infant formula scandal in China a few years ago. Almost all of my new-mum friends seek ways to buy imported formula or solid food via online channels, even asking friends to bring back products from overseas trips.
All this selectivity takes a lot of work. I have to balance cost with quality and with the developing needs of my daughter. Shopping on overseas online channels was a new realm for me.
The “almighty Taobao,” as we shoppers call it, is just a click away. But with such an array of digital shops and products to choose from, it comes down to separating what’s authentic and what’s copy-cat. When it comes to baby food, I don’t want to take any chances. I need to feel assured that what I buy is 120 percent authentic and safe. For that, I decided to turn to overseas e-tailers.
I did some research on overseas baby-product shopping sites via a handful of WeChat subscription accounts focusing on parenting.
They recommended that a newbie shopper like me should check out iherb.com when seeking bargains overseas. Products sold on the US-based site are more expensive than those available on amazon.com. However, Iherb offers direct shipping to China. So a rookie buyer like me doesn’t need to bother with finding a third-party shipping company, which is a must on many overseas shopping sites. Iherb even promised me free shipping once my order exceeds US$40.
I am hooked. After registering on the site, I happily drop 16 pouches of Ella’s Kitchen, a British organic baby food brand, into my virtual cart.
“Wow! This is really a good deal,” I said to myself.
The website offers a discount if I buy four of any product, and then offers a further 5 percent off when my cart overflows US$40. What’s more, the total price will be US$10 cheaper after I type in the complimentary new user code given to me by a friend. After all the discounts, a 100 gram pouch costs about 16 yuan (US$2.58), 40 percent cheaper than the same product sitting on the shelf in a high-end imported food supermarket in our neighborhood.
But, as so often is the case, what’s too good to be true usually is.
The gremlin appears when I go to virtual checkout. The website provides direct shipping to China only on orders weighing 7 pounds or less. My “basket” was overweight. But if I discard some of the pouches, the price will fall short of US$40 and I will be liable for a US$4 shipping fee. As a frugal consumer, I was determined to get free shipping.
There I sat, as moonlight streaked across my eight-year-old desktop, trying to untangle all the math to get the best deal. After considerable effort, I solved the problem by throwing some (lightweight) lipsticks I didn’t need into my basket.
After three weeks, the parcel finally arrived at my doorstep. I couldn’t wait to open it and see if my daughter liked the food in pouches.
Claire obviously has yet to grasp the merits of online shopping. In the end, she preferred a steamed bun bought in our company canteen to the fancy imported organic food. The cost of the bun? Just 1.20 yuan!
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