What is "daigou"

Daigou ( Chinese: 代购 dàigòu also 海外代购 hǎiwài dàigòu) is a channel of commerce in which a Chinese person overseas purchases commodity (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 among luxury goods increased from ¥55 billion to ¥75 billion RMB (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 use Weibo and WeChat to communicate with their clients. The large demand for the 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 brand's website. Approximately 80% of Chinese luxury purchases are made abroad.