An interesting report by BCG on China’s Internet, China’s Digital Generations, shows once again the extremely high level of Internet usage by Chinese citizens.

What are people in China doing for 2.7 hours per day? Many of them are using social networks, IM-ing, gaming and chatting in bulletin boards.

Not only are more Chinese people using the Internet but they also use the Internet more than do consum- ers in the major emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and Indonesia—which, together with China, form what we call the BRICI countries.
◊ Digital devices and the Internet are moving to center stage in the lives of China’s digital consumers, with total time spent online averaging 2.7 hours a day in 2009.
◊ This usage rate is the highest among all the BRICI countries and averages 0.4 hours a day more than the average rate in the United States.
◊ As a country, China spent more than 1 billion hours online per day in 2009—double the daily total in the United States. This number will grow to well over 2 billion hours per day by 2015.

Social, historical, and economic factors have shaped a unique set of needs and behaviors among Chinese digital consumers compared with the other BRICI economies.
◊ The most prominent themes are that far more Chinese people use the Internet to communicate and seek en- tertainment than in the other BRICI markets.
◊ For instance, more than 80 percent of Chinese digital consumers use instant messaging (IM), read news on- line, and stream or download music via the Internet. Three-quarters stream video content, and more than 50 percent use search engines and play games online.

Any company committed to engaging Chinese consumers will need to grasp the trends and implications of the country’s Internet-usage patterns.
◊ Understanding the underlying needs and tastes of the different segments of Chinese digital consumers is vital to creating an effective approach to communicating with them.
◊ However well established they may currently be, consumption trends such as e-commerce, online advertis- ing, and social-networking sites are far from realizing their potential.
◊ Many consumer-oriented multinationals in China are operating under outdated assumptions regarding Chi- nese consumers’ media and shopping behaviors. These companies are at grave risk of losing touch with one of the world’s most important growth markets.
◊ It is imperative to act fast, because the shift toward digital media and commerce has already become mainstream—and is gaining momentum at a tremendous rate.