• CONTACT
Search
Close this search box.

Jake’s Take: Quality Trumps Cheap in China’s Brand Battle

Published on: June 3, 2025

Picture of Jacob Cooke

Jacob Cooke

Co-founder & CEO

Peking University and Alibaba just released the China Online Consumer Brand Index—a fascinating report which illustrates that Chinese consumers are increasingly favouring branded goods.

One of the buzzwords that dominated the China retail space in the post-pandemic period was “consumption downgrading”—consumers allegedly swapping to cheaper, white label goods. It’s a narrative that WPIC Marketing + Technologies consistently pushed back against.

This latest report demonstrates that instead of chasing the lowest price, shoppers are increasingly prioritizing “consumption quality”, as measured by the Consumer Brand Index (CBI)—a metric Alibaba uses to quantify the brand equity and quality of goods consumers purchase. The CBI measures the quality dimension of consumption—factors like brand strength, customer satisfaction, and premium pricing.

The findings are striking. In China, the CBI has trended upward for five consecutive quarters, indicating a sustained rise in Chinese consumers’ preference for higher-quality, branded products. This steady uptick—coming in spite of economic headwinds—shows that a huge swath of consumers are actually switching from off-brand products to brands.

CBI Score & Growth by Industry Category

What does this mean? Simply put, Chinese consumers are proving less price-sensitive than many assume. The data shows a willingness to pay for quality: shoppers are “trading up” to products with better reputations, higher prices, and stronger reviews. They’re evaluating value, not just price tags. The report explicitly highlights a “growing preference for higher-quality brands” across the board. The trend applies not just in tier-one cities, but also in emerging second and third-tier ones, where many shoppers now seek out high-quality brands, even if it means spending a bit more. It also applies across a wide range of product categories, from baby care to pet to sports equipment.

Bottom line: the Chinese consumer is resilient and focused on quality. Premium brands that invest in product quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction are winning consumer hearts—and wallets—across China.

Get content like this in your inbox.

More trending articles

Award - Tmall 5 Star Partner
Award - Tmall Global 2021 TP100 Silver
Award - CCBC 2022 Gold