Brand perception research studies show a vivid picture of car brands as different persons. And there are clear differences in brand perception in Germany and China. For this article series we use the topic “brand image as a person” to explain the cultural, political, and economic background and further: how the brands got their image in China and Germany.

Simulation games continue to enjoy great pleasure among gaming fans. Escaping from everyday life and immersing yourself in virtual but real-life-like worlds, designing a theme park, building cities, or imitating activities you can't do in real life – that's the appeal of this type of video games. Chinese manufacturers are now using the enthusiasm for these games in different business models.

Spiegel Institut has conducted plenty of market and consumer researches for premium manufacturers all over the world. Before we go more into detail about premium products or brand image during interviews, we always ask the study participants one definition question: What does “luxury” mean to you? Here we noticed clear differences between the answers of the European and Chinese consumers.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s China Automotive Consumption Summit of the Forum, a dedicated consumer conference, was held online on March 30, 2021. As a strategic partner of CATARC, Spiegel Institut had the great honor to be the only foreign enterprise invited to deliver a speech at the Summit with the topic: Through the Eyes of the User: Automotive Trends in Europe – Consumer Perception and Customer Experience.

The pet market in China is booming. One reason for this is that there are more and more single-lived people in tier 1 and 2 cities who need a companion. The emotional need for a pet leads to the purchase of products and services in a much bigger scope. So let`s face the differences regarding pet raising between Germany and China and the major products and services on the pet market in China.

As mentioned in the previous article, Chinese will do everything they can to support their children's education, allowing them to learn all the knowledge and special skills that will help them attending a good university. So in China everyone is facing the involution. But what does it mean?

In our second article about the Chinese mindset we want to focus on social mobility. What is the key to an upward mobility and how can Chinese fall down to the lower class? Let's find out!

The Chinese mindset impacts consumer behaviors in a lot of aspects. We often notice in user requirement research, that the Chinse consumers need happiness right away, or they need assistance products solving their problems to save their time. Why do Chinese need so much assistance in their daily life? Why are they always short of time? Why are they so anxious? Introducing the mindset is a good way to have a deeper understanding of consumers in a certain milieu.

In the past, there has been an interesting development within the Chinese market. Until recently, Chinese consumers rejected Chinese brands for one simple reason: Products from Chinese brands are often nothing but a copy of brands from abroad, but with worse quality for a cheaper price. However, in the last few years, we notice that Chinese consumers talk more and more about local brands across all industries.

A few years ago, when we asked Chinese participants in our studies which social media platforms they regularly use, we usually received two answers: WeChat and Weibo (similar to Twitter). But as time passes by, we now hear one name more and more often, especially from female participants: Xiao Hong Shu (“little red book”).