Daigou (Chinese: 代购 dàigòu (English: /ˈdaɪˈɡoʊ/); also 海外代购 hǎiwài dàigòu) is a channel of commerce in which a person outside of China purchases commodities (mainly luxury goods but also groceries) for a customer in mainland China, since prices for luxury goods can be 30 to 40 percent higher in China than abroad. The phrase means "buying on behalf of". Daigou sales across sectors total $15 billion annually. In 2014 the value of the daigou business just in luxury goods increased from CN¥55 billion to CN¥75 billion yuan (USD $8.8 billion to $12 billion).
Daigou purchases are often from luxury brand boutiques in major fashion cities like Paris, London, New York City, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. Some daigou operators use Weibo and WeChat to communicate with their clients. The large demand for daigou service is due to concern over unsafe products, especially food safety problems, and China's high import tariffs on luxury goods. Some daigou service providers intentionally sell counterfeit made-in-China products that have been altered to appear purchased abroad. A 2015 survey of Chinese online luxury shoppers found that 35% have used daigou to purchase luxury goods online, while only 7% used the website of the brand they are buying, or think they are buying. Approximately 80% of Chinese luxury purchases are made abroad. Asian-American sales associates at Macy's Herald Square sued Macy's for racial discrimination in September 2017, alleging that store managers instructed sales associates not to sell more than one unit to any single Asian customer, and that they were fired when they spoke up about the alleged discrimination. Read more...
Daigou purchases are often from luxury brand boutiques in major fashion cities like Paris, London, New York City, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. Some daigou operators use Weibo and WeChat to communicate with their clients. The large demand for daigou service is due to concern over unsafe products, especially food safety problems, and China's high import tariffs on luxury goods. Some daigou service providers intentionally sell counterfeit made-in-China products that have been altered to appear purchased abroad. A 2015 survey of Chinese online luxury shoppers found that 35% have used daigou to purchase luxury goods online, while only 7% used the website of the brand they are buying, or think they are buying. Approximately 80% of Chinese luxury purchases are made abroad. Asian-American sales associates at Macy's Herald Square sued Macy's for racial discrimination in September 2017, alleging that store managers instructed sales associates not to sell more than one unit to any single Asian customer, and that they were fired when they spoke up about the alleged discrimination. Read more...
