Consumers move to cashless purchases

Chinese consumers are embracing cash-free lifestyles as an increasing number of people use digital mobile payment tools to order food, call taxis, buy clothing and pay utilities, a new report said.

The report, jointly released by French research firm Ipsos Group SA and the US public relations firm Ogilvy & Mather, showed that mobile payments tool are mostly popular among college students and young white-collar workers.

After interviewing more than 8,100 respondents, the report said more than 12 percent of college students said they don't bring cash with them when going out and 30 percent of interviewees aged between 23 to 29 only bring less than 100 yuan ($15).

While 78 percent of respondents said they have used mobile payment tools to shop online, the trend is also getting increasingly pronounced in bricks-and-mortar clothing shops. About 40 percent of interviewees have paid offline bills with mobile payment tools.

Thanks to online food-ordering platforms' huge subsidies to consumers, mobile payments tools are also becoming increasingly popular in the catering industry. About 71 percent of interviewees said they used mobile payment apps to order or pay restaurant bills at least once.