More Indians Buying Chinese Products Now Than 2 Years Ago, New Survey Indicates

Last Updated:April 16, 2025, 06:00 IST

The percentage of Indians buying one or more Chinese products rose from 55% to 62% in the last 24 months, says the survey by community social media platform LocalCircles

The range of Chinese consumer goods available in the market is very wide, with buyers available for all price ranges. Representational image

With the US-China tariff situation and the risk of the influx of Chinese goods in India as well as Chinese apps, including DeepSeek being used by a sizeable number of Indians, community social media platform LocalCircles has conducted a comprehensive national survey to find out the prevalence of buying made-in-China goods and apps by Indians. The survey received over 39,000 responses from consumers located in 387 districts of India. 62% respondents were men and 38% were women. 42% respondents were from tier 1, 26% from tier 2, and 32% from tier 3 and 4 districts.

38% Indians surveyed say they did not purchase made-in-China products in the last 12 months. However, the percentage of Indians buying one or more Chinese products rose from 55% to 62% in the last 24 months.

The survey first asked consumers, “Did you purchase any made-in-China consumer products in the last 12 months?” The question received 13,203 responses, with 62% stating that they “purchased made-in-China products in the last 12 months.

The range of Chinese consumer goods available in the market is very wide, with buyers available for all price ranges. The survey asked consumers, “What are all the different categories of made-in-China consumer products that you have purchased in the last 12 months?” The question received 8,186 responses, with some indicating more than one option. The largest group of 55% respondents indicated “Gadgets i.e. Smartphone, Smart watches, power banks, other electronic/mobile accessories”; 35% respondents indicated “festive lighting, lamps, candles, water guns, etc.”; 35% of respondents indicated “consumer electronics and appliances (television, air purifier, kettle, etc.”; 21% of respondents indicated “fashion products like apparel, bags, accessories, etc.”; 21% of respondents indicated “toys and stationary”; 10% of respondents indicated “home products like lighting, furniture, etc.”; 10% of respondents indicated “gift items”; 5% indicated “vehicle accessories” and 35% of respondents indicated “other items” not mentioned. To sum up, gadgets and electronic/mobile accessories are the top category in which Indians continue to buy made-in-China products.

The Government of India may have, over the last 5 years, banned around 500 Chinese apps for various security reasons, yet many citizens continue to use them. The survey asked, “How many Chinese apps do you have installed on your phone currently that are related to eCommerce, device management, gaming, utilities like photo editor, audio/video editor, scanner of social networking?” The question received 12,751 responses with 72% stating “none of them”. However, 4% of respondents stated that they use “5 or more” Chinese apps; 4% of respondents stated that they use “3 or 4″ of Chinese apps; 12% stated “1-2″ and 8% of respondents did not give a clear response. To sum up, 20% of Indian smartphone users surveyed have 1 or more Chinese apps installed on their phone.

Earlier this year, the AI app DeepSeek from China took the world by storm, impacting even the global stock markets. To understand its prevalence, the survey asked smartphone users, “Beyond the regular utility and gaming/entertainment apps from China, have you also installed the new AI app DeepSeek on your smartphone? Out of 15,889 who responded to the question, only 9% stated that “yes,” they have installed the DeepSeek app on their smartphones, while 3% of respondents indicated that they “haven’t yet but will do soon”. Of the remaining, 86% of respondents stated “no”, they have not installed DeepSeek app, and 2% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 9% Indian smartphone users surveyed have AI app DeepSeek now installed on their phone.

With Chinese companies rushing to find replacement demand against the loss of US volumes, many Indian companies are likely to partner with them to bring their products into the Indian market. To understand the consumer appetite for such goods, the survey asked, “If an Indian entity partners with a Chinese brand/company and imports their products made in China to sell to consumers in India, would that be acceptable to you?” Out of 13,431 who responded to the question, 70% stated, “No, will not buy such products”. However, 15% of the respondents stated, “Yes, we regularly buy such products and will continue to do so”, and 15% of the respondents did not give a clear answer. In essence, 7 in 10 Indians surveyed are not likely to buy Chinese brands introduced through partners in India.