Start the weekend with a nibble!
Category
According to Alibaba’s B2C eCommerce platform Tmall, by the end of Single’s Day on 11 November, Perfect Diary ranked as the makeup brand with the highest gross merchandise volume (GMV), topping the eyeshadow, lip gloss, eye liner and mascara categories. Meanwhile, the brand search volume on RED (Xiaohongshu) increased by 326%. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: This is the second year in a row that Perfect Diary has ranked first in the make-up category. What’s impressive is that it took only 13 minutes for the brand to reach the RMB 100 million gross merchandise volume (GMV) threshold this year. This young local brand’s influencer strategy has contributed significantly to its success. Instead of collaborating solely with larger influencers, Perfect Diary leverages a mid- and small-scale KOLs to build trends in ‘content seeding’ communities, like RED (Xiaohongshu), Taobao and Douyin. Formulating a clear, KPI-led strategy that fits the brand positioning and its goals is key when it comes to collaborating with influencers. Just being present on social channels and collaborating with influencers is not enough anymore. With a large number of brands creating content in cooperation with KOLs, creativity, innovation and the integrity of influencers are the key ways to make a brand stand out in the onslaught of brand-sponsored influencer content.
Consumer
According to Tencent’s ‘China’s White Collar Consumer Report’, 51% of consumers expect to downgrade consumption and 31% of them show less intention to consume. However, this is not a pattern across all categories. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Even with the trend of consumption downgrading, this year’s Single’s Day still broke sales records, with RMB 549 million more sold than in 2018. Diving into the data of each category, it can be seen that consumption upgrades and downgrades are both happening simultaneously but differ by category. According to DT Caijing, Chinese consumers were more willing to spend on skincare and cosmetics instead of apparel and bags during this year’s Single’s Day. For example, seven cosmetic brands reached RMB 100 million in GMV on the first day of pre-sales and 520,000 Estee Lauder eye creams were sold within only 10 days. This is why brands, especially the ones in downgrading categories, need to consider how to utilise creativity and innovate in a meaningful way that will help them re-establish a connection with their audience in China.
Culture
During China’s largest eCommerce festival Single’s Day, 50 million consumers participated in ‘Green logistics’ and more than 80 categories supported the “Trade in Service”. More than 40,000 branches of Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Network implemented the recycling scheme, with other major logistics companies, such as YTO Express, Yunda Express and Best Express following suit. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION:While a pure environmental approach by brands will not necessarily win over Chinese consumers, the lack of any green initiatives by a brand stands out to increasingly environmentally-conscious shoppers. This is why green marketing in China is no longer optional. The lack of an environmental approach from a brand can lead to a communications and business crisis in which companies can be accused of not caring about the future of the society in which their consumers live. This is why every brand needs to ensure that their green marketing approach is not included in just the communications strategy, but across the whole business.
Media
According to Alibaba’s B2C eCommerce platform Tmall, gross merchandise volume (GMV) from eCommerce livestreaming during Single’s Day exceededRMB 20 billion. Short video platform and Douyin’s competitor Kuaishou also launched its own livestreaming festival called ‘1106 Selling Masters’ during the 11.11 period, involving millions of sellers, 100 million consumers and more than 50 million orders placed. Click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION:Livestreaming can shorten the purchase journey by integrating research, consideration and purchase into a one-stop experience. The seller’s charisma, passionate product introduction and great deals often lead to impulse purchases by consumers watching the livestreaming sessions, which can also be utilised for brand awareness and consumer engagement. That said, brands should be aware that livestreaming cannot solve all business challenges. Most of the traffic goes to the top-selling livestreaming influencers with huge followings, leaving very little space for smaller KOLs. Even the most popular influencers such as Austin Li and Viya seem to have hit a ceiling. According to Tmall, on the first day of the 11.11 pre-sale, their audience peaked at just over 30 million, but immediately fell back to the normal the following day. The most influential KOLs are not easy to replicate or cultivate. This is why brands need to understand the benefits and limitations of livestream selling and consider what role these collaborations can have in their overall marketing communications strategy.
Have a great weekend!
