The Impact of Macro-control of State Subsidies on Consumer Preferences in China's Mobile Phone Market

Research Article
Open access

The Impact of Macro-control of State Subsidies on Consumer Preferences in China's Mobile Phone Market

Chunlin Hou 1* , Peicen Zhou 2 , Zhe Wang 3 , Yueer Ma 4
  • 1 Macau University of Science and Technology    
  • 2 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology    
  • 3 GuangDong Experimental High School    
  • 4 Sammamish High School    
  • *corresponding author housemerson@outlook.com
AEMPS Vol.192
ISSN (Print): 2754-1177
ISSN (Online): 2754-1169
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-195-2
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-196-9

Abstract

As the economy develops, the sales volume of the market will inevitably change with the changes in the economic cycle. The government hopes to use macroeconomic regulations to alleviate the negative impact of economic downturn on sales volume. Through literature research, data collection, and questionnaire surveys, this study examines the impact of national subsidy policies on the marketing strategies and consumer behavior of mobile phone industry companies. The results show that subsidies significantly affect market dynamics by stimulating short-term demand and reshaping the competitive advantages between brands. Mid-range and low-end smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Honor benefited the most because most of their products were within the subsidized price range, which increased consumer enthusiasm and higher sales growth. Therefore, companies adjusted their marketing strategies to emphasize cost-effectiveness, promote eligible models, and use discounts to attract price-sensitive consumers. On the consumer side, subsidies clearly affected purchase decisions, increasing demand for subsidized models, while reducing interest in high-end devices that were not within the subsidy range, as well as products with a certain brand premium. The policy encouraged many consumers to speed up their purchase time and boosted overall market activity, but did not produce long-term sustained growth. This highlights the temporary nature of the subsidy-driven demand surge.

Keywords:

customer behavior, subsidy policy, marketing strategies

Hou,C.;Zhou,P.;Wang,Z.;Ma,Y. (2025). The Impact of Macro-control of State Subsidies on Consumer Preferences in China's Mobile Phone Market. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,192,71-79.
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References

[1]. Liang , Y., & Li, Y. (2023). Exploring the Future of Electric Vehicles in China: Market Trends, Government Policies, Carbon Emissions and Technology Development. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management, 6, 236-242. https://doi.org/10.54097/hbem.v6i.6323

[2]. AN PHAM, T. (2024). Conditions of the International Smartphone Market - Analysing the Chinese Market - ProQuest. Proquest.com. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c6abf8d78f410339bc3a8e587bed346f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y

[3]. Yang, J., & Sun, L. (2020). Competition landscape and consumer choice behavior in China's smartphone market. Statistics and Decision, 36(7), 78-89.

[4]. Zhao, C., & Wang, L. (2019). A comparison of different subsidy policies on consumers' smartphone purchasing decisions. Management Science, 42(5), 99-112.

[5]. Zheng, S., & Wang, X. (2022). The impact of consumption subsidy policies on the smartphone market. Economic Management, 44(3), 45-58.

[6]. Zhu, M., & Liu, X. (2023). Consumer behavior research in the Chinese smartphone market: Based on conjoint analysis. Consumer Economics, 40(2), 45-60.

[7]. Li, H., & Chen, W. (2021). Price sensitivity and brand preference: An analysis of smartphone consumer behavior. Business Research, 38(6), 112-125.

[8]. R. R. Vadamala and B. Amarnath, “An Empirical Study on the Effectiveness of Consumer Sales Promotion Tools in Hyderabad,” J. Bus. Strategy, vol. 17, no. 3, 2020.

[9]. Kubilius, Ž. (2024). Effective pricing strategy in a retail store: category level promotion plan optimization (Doctoral dissertation, Vilniaus universitetas.).

[10]. Shao, J., & Hua, L. (2023). Research on government subsidy policy for firms’ R&D investment considering spillover effects: A Stackelberg game approach. Finance Research Letters, 58, 104415.

[11]. Meng, Q., Li, M., Liu, W., Li, Z., & Zhang, J. (2021). Pricing policies of dual-channel green supply chain: Considering government subsidies and consumers' dual preferences. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 1021-1030.

[12]. Eggers, F., Sattler, H., Teichert, T., & Völckner, F. (2021). Choice-based conjoint analysis. In Handbook of market research (pp. 781-819). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

[13]. Kulshreshtha, K., Sharma, G., & Bajpai, N. (2023). Conjoint analysis: the assumptions, applications, concerns, remedies and future research direction. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 40(2), 607-627.

[14]. Qin, Y., Xu, Z., Wang, X., Škare, M., & Porada-Rochoń, M. (2021). Financial cycles in the economy and in economic research: A case study in China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 27(5), 1250-1279.

[15]. Sandambi, N. (2025). The global smartphone market (No. rksv7_v1). Center for Open Science.

[16]. Guo, J., Shan, S., Wang, Y., & Khan, Y. A. (2021). Analyzing Chinese Customers’ Switching Intention of Smartphone Brands: Integrating the Push‐Pull‐Mooring Framework. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2021(1), 6660340.

[17]. Blanco-Encomienda, F. J., Chen, S., & Molina-Muñoz, D. (2024). The influence of country-of-origin on consumers' purchase intention: a study of the Chinese smartphone market. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, (ahead-of-print).

[18]. Shang, W. L., Zhang, J., Wang, K., Yang, H., & Ochieng, W. (2024). Can financial subsidy increase electric vehicle (EV) penetration---evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 190, 114021.

Cite this article

Hou,C.;Zhou,P.;Wang,Z.;Ma,Y. (2025). The Impact of Macro-control of State Subsidies on Consumer Preferences in China's Mobile Phone Market. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,192,71-79.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume title: Proceedings of ICMRED 2025 Symposium: Effective Communication as a Powerful Management Tool

ISBN：978-1-80590-195-2(Print) / 978-1-80590-196-9(Online)
Editor：Lukáš Vartiak
Conference website: https://2025.icmred.org/Bratislava.html
Conference date: 30 May 2025
Series: Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences
Volume number: Vol.192
ISSN：2754-1169(Print) / 2754-1177(Online)

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References

[1]. Liang , Y., & Li, Y. (2023). Exploring the Future of Electric Vehicles in China: Market Trends, Government Policies, Carbon Emissions and Technology Development. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management, 6, 236-242. https://doi.org/10.54097/hbem.v6i.6323

[2]. AN PHAM, T. (2024). Conditions of the International Smartphone Market - Analysing the Chinese Market - ProQuest. Proquest.com. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c6abf8d78f410339bc3a8e587bed346f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y

[3]. Yang, J., & Sun, L. (2020). Competition landscape and consumer choice behavior in China's smartphone market. Statistics and Decision, 36(7), 78-89.

[4]. Zhao, C., & Wang, L. (2019). A comparison of different subsidy policies on consumers' smartphone purchasing decisions. Management Science, 42(5), 99-112.

[5]. Zheng, S., & Wang, X. (2022). The impact of consumption subsidy policies on the smartphone market. Economic Management, 44(3), 45-58.

[6]. Zhu, M., & Liu, X. (2023). Consumer behavior research in the Chinese smartphone market: Based on conjoint analysis. Consumer Economics, 40(2), 45-60.

[7]. Li, H., & Chen, W. (2021). Price sensitivity and brand preference: An analysis of smartphone consumer behavior. Business Research, 38(6), 112-125.

[8]. R. R. Vadamala and B. Amarnath, “An Empirical Study on the Effectiveness of Consumer Sales Promotion Tools in Hyderabad,” J. Bus. Strategy, vol. 17, no. 3, 2020.

[9]. Kubilius, Ž. (2024). Effective pricing strategy in a retail store: category level promotion plan optimization (Doctoral dissertation, Vilniaus universitetas.).

[10]. Shao, J., & Hua, L. (2023). Research on government subsidy policy for firms’ R&D investment considering spillover effects: A Stackelberg game approach. Finance Research Letters, 58, 104415.

[11]. Meng, Q., Li, M., Liu, W., Li, Z., & Zhang, J. (2021). Pricing policies of dual-channel green supply chain: Considering government subsidies and consumers' dual preferences. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 1021-1030.

[12]. Eggers, F., Sattler, H., Teichert, T., & Völckner, F. (2021). Choice-based conjoint analysis. In Handbook of market research (pp. 781-819). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

[13]. Kulshreshtha, K., Sharma, G., & Bajpai, N. (2023). Conjoint analysis: the assumptions, applications, concerns, remedies and future research direction. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 40(2), 607-627.

[14]. Qin, Y., Xu, Z., Wang, X., Škare, M., & Porada-Rochoń, M. (2021). Financial cycles in the economy and in economic research: A case study in China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 27(5), 1250-1279.

[15]. Sandambi, N. (2025). The global smartphone market (No. rksv7_v1). Center for Open Science.

[16]. Guo, J., Shan, S., Wang, Y., & Khan, Y. A. (2021). Analyzing Chinese Customers’ Switching Intention of Smartphone Brands: Integrating the Push‐Pull‐Mooring Framework. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2021(1), 6660340.

[17]. Blanco-Encomienda, F. J., Chen, S., & Molina-Muñoz, D. (2024). The influence of country-of-origin on consumers' purchase intention: a study of the Chinese smartphone market. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, (ahead-of-print).

[18]. Shang, W. L., Zhang, J., Wang, K., Yang, H., & Ochieng, W. (2024). Can financial subsidy increase electric vehicle (EV) penetration---evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 190, 114021.

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