Chinese Housewives Spent More in 2011, Mostly on Travel & Investment
Chinese housewives, who traditionally hold the purse strings, spent more last year, with most of the increase going into trips and investments in stocks and real estate, a report has found.
In 2011, more than 60 percent of the average household income went into consumption, six percentage points more than in 2010. Another 26 percent of income went into the bank, while 13 percent was invested in a variety of assets and financial products, said the report by the Huakun Women's Consumption Center, a unit of Women of China magazine.
The center conducted a survey - on household spending in 2011 and spending plans for 2012 - in October.
The survey covered 951 women aged 18 to 60 living in 10 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian. More than 80 percent of those interviewed were married.