Only 1% of Chinese women use tampons, compared with close to 60% in the United States.
SAN FRANCISCO — Consumer giant P&G is using Saturday’s $17 billion online shopping holiday to sell Chinese women a product they rarely buy: tampons.
Just 1% of Chinese women use these alternatives to menstrual pads, as compared to about 60% in the United States, according to Tampax, which invented them in 1933.
That sales potential has prompted Procter & Gamble’s Tampax brand to launch a new, China-specific branded tampon during the Singles’ Day deals event run by e-commerce giant Alibaba on Nov. 11.
Menstruation products represent a $5.9 billion industry in the United States and a $35.4 billion one worldwide. Sales are expected to top $40 billion globally in the next three years, according to Global Industry Analysts.
Singles’ Day began as Valentine’s Day-like holiday in the 1990s among university students in China. Since 2009 Alibaba ( BABA) has rebranded it as a shopping day, marketed as a “get something for yourself day” that’s grown into a multi-billion dollar sales event.
The shopping event is also a big target for U. S. retailers looking to reach Chinese consumers. In 2016,37% of total buyers purchased from international brands or merchants — with the United States the top seller of imported goods, according to Alibaba. Citigroup estimates sales could rise as high as $24 billion this year.
The “something just for me” ethos of Single’s Day was perfect for Procter & Gamble, which chose Single’s Day last year as a test run for bringing tampons out in the open to Chinese women.
Periods are still considered unmentionable in Chinese society, where women tend to use euphemisms such as “getting a visit from my aunt” to describe them.
That’s why Chinese swimmer Yuanhui Fu made such waves during the Rio Olympics last year when she openly said she was having her period after a difficult race.
Chinese women praised her on social media for her courage in admitting to menstruating. A hashtag about the topic on Weibao, China’s Twitter equivalent, was used more than half a million times in the days after the race.
