Australia ranks 9th for transactions through Alipay during China’s Golden Week holiday

Australia’s transaction value through Alipay during China’s Golden Week holiday last week ranked 9th globally, with the number of transactions up 105 percent on 2017.

With more than 10,000 Australian merchants now accepting Alipay, statistics released by Alipay revealed that spend per user in Australian increased by 25 percent compared to 2017, with pharmaceuticals, fresh produce, and supermarkets the top performing categories.

In particular, Australian airports ranked third for transactions worldwide, while our Chinatowns were the most popular Chinese districts globally: almost 40 percent of transactions in Chinatowns during Golden Week occurred in Sydney and Melbourne.

George Lawson, ANZ country manager for Alipay, said the growth has come with Australian businesses taking steps to appeal to the Chinese consumer, from offering Alipay at the point-of-sale, installing signage in Mandarin, and providing discounts and specials during key travel dates.  

“The payments revolution in China resulted in people moving from cash to digital payments, largely missing the concept of ‘tap and go’ card payments,” he said.

“This has resulted in Chinese consumers being tech-savvy and open to using online information to find the best deal. The brands that most effectively engage with the Chinese community are marketing their goods and services before, during and after their visit to Australia to meet this trend.”

Other services are also working to help Australian businesses attract Chinese travellers include Adelaide startup UWAI.

With 60 million Chinese travelling globally each year, UWAI helps Chinese consumers access information and guides to local businesses as they travel.

Launched in South Australia last year, UWAI now has more than 2,700 businesses on board across the state. Food is huge: while just 14 percent of the businesses on board are restaurants, more than 60 percent of profile views are for food and beverage.

The market for Aussie businesses targeting Chinese travellers is significant: according to UWAI, $352 million was spent by Chinese tourists in South Australia alone over the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, the release of the figures from Alipay follows the closing of a $4 million Series A round by Australian startup Sinorbis earlier this week. The startup’s cloud marketing platform helps brands develop and execute their marketing for Chinese consumers.

Image: George Lawson. Source: Supplied.