Category
Sales of Tangeche, an online automobile trading and financial leasing platform, crossed RMB 2 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) during 618 Shopping Festival in 2019. 15,673 units of the car were traded through the platform’s app and its T-Mall flagship store. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: With the automobile market experiencing a decline in 17 consecutive months, all brands are seeking for new growth sources and opportunities. Lower tier markers have witnessed the fast growth of online car trading as the improved digital purchase experienced are streamlining the research, selection and buying process as well as the rent-to-own model lowering the purchase barrier for young consumers who otherwise would not be able to afford the automobiles. The key takeaway here is that brands should understand consumers’ purchase triggers and various barriers and provide relevant solutions not only on the product level but also integrate them with business innovations. With the market slowdown, product and business creativity and agility are more important than ever and brands need to ensure they utilize the market changes for their own benefit, rather than see them as a deterrent that can result in their demise.
Consumer
Business news and data platform CBNData reported that the number of stock-keeping units (SKUs) Chinese beauty consumers browse and add-to-cart before purchase decreased by 9% and 11% compared to 2018. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: With the maturing application of big data in a customized recommendation, consumers in China nowadays have a clearer product and brand purchase intention before sales conversion. According to the global consultancy McKinsey, 50% of post 80s & 90s luxury buyers in China know which product they want before entering stores and 60% of them would complete the purchase within one week after research. That said, increasing top-of-mind brand preference as a key conversion driver is more challenging than ever before, with the number of touchpoints across the consumer journey increasing dramatically and the purchasing landscape becoming much more complex. This is why brands need to make sure they understand their target audience’s consumer journey before developing the communications strategy and executing it.
Culture
“Slasher Generation” (斜杠青年) coins the new way of life for Chinese millennials, whose number has already exceeded 80 million. This group adopted a freelance lifestyle that enables them to enjoy multiple work identities instead of a conventional ‘linear career path’. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Behind the ‘slasher’ phenomenon, Chinese consumers are witnessing a significant question regarding to what to pursue in life: is it stability or personal purpose? Young consumers, especially the ‘Slashers’, are well known for their bravery to give up traditional “Golden rice bowl” (a Chinese term stands for a stable job that provides long tenure and social benefits) for fulfilling personal interests. As their obsession with uniqueness and individuality is challenging the old norm that brands represent social status, a trend of buy-what-I-like is on the rise. Therefore brands targeting the ‘Slashers’ might need to rephrase brand position to stay relevant and understand what their role should be in helping young consumers reach their life goals. That said, this does not mean that the younger generations are abandoning traditional culture, which is why it is important for brands to find the right balance between modern and traditional values to avoid cultural insensitivities.
Media
Chinese sharing video platform Bilibili started a “Music Star Project” to over 500,000 music content creators on the platform by promising more exposure, cash prizes and cooperation opportunities to the winners. Meanwhile, the platform’s official data revealed that more than 20 million users used Bilibili’s courses in 2019, teaching practical skills, such as programming as well as informational topics like art and history. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: With mobile game revenues slowing down, Bilibili has made several moves to expand beyond an ACG-only platform. In order to expand its offering and include a more mainstream entertainment product, Bilibili invested in a New Year’s Eve concert- ‘The Last Night of 2019’ – in its attempt to break the monopoly of extensive, gala-type shows held by state-owned television channels. The platform hopes to attract more diverse, mainstream online video users, thus creating new online video touchpoint for brands interested in testing platforms beyond Tencent Video, iQiyi and Youku.
Have a great weekend!
