- From January to April 2019, China’s online retail sales of physical goods reached RMB 2.39 billion, increasing 22% year-on-year and accounting for 6% of total retail sales of consumer goods. Online sales of food, clothing and other commodities rose by 26.7%, 23.7%, and 21.2% respectively.click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Online retail keeps growing in China, and food and apparel remain the dominant categories. Since eCommerce competition has been fierce, each platform has been trying to introduce new features and added-on services to attract more shoppers and increase sales. Live streaming is one of those significant features, especially in the apparel category. Shoppers can watch influencers wearing clothes they are interested in and ask specific questions on size, material and with what outfits it would be suitable to wear. Viewers can also receive discounts or coupons while watching the live streams, making the overall online shopping experience more interactive and engaging.
- China’s social eCommerce businesses have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 100.6%, with 80% of Chinese internet shoppers using social eCommerce platforms. click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Social eCommerce has played an important role in consumers’ online shopping journey and now boosts unplanned online purchases. Shopping has been embedded in social, and social media apps in China have evolved to become multi-dimensional experience platforms. To enhance the experience, platforms usually include six elements: influencers (KOLs), live streaming, product customization, O2O, social CRM, and gamification. Social shopping is evolving rapidly day by day, which is why brands need to find the right approach to utilize these features, engage with their target consumers and develop strong bonds with them.
- Short video app Douyin and its overseas version TikTok together have brought in a total of USD 9 million worldwide through in-app sales of virtual coins in May 2019, with China’s iOS users contributing the most by spending USD 5.9 million on coins and accounting for 64% of total revenue. click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Virtual coins have become common within Douyin users to reward their favorite creators who can exchange these coins for digital gifts. Tipping content helps support creators and incentivizes them to produce high quality content, compelling the audience to return to the platform. Chinese consumers express their appreciation of the content by tipping because they want to show they value their creativity and engage with creators. Virtual coins may not be the main source of revenue for the platform, but they help improve the content and enhance the overall experience. Brands can consider creating branded stickers in cooperation with Douyin creators which could help improve the viewing experience and increase engagement.
- The number of Vlog users in China reached 249 million in 2019 with 58.3% of these users coming from WeChat. click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Apart from short video and live streaming, video blogs (vlogs) are the number three video format that has been rising the most quickly. Unlike short videos and live streaming, vloggers are currently mainly celebrities and hot influencers who have a strong fan base. Content-wise, vlogs focus on everyday life moments, leaving the audience with the impression that they’re learning more about the lives of their favorite celebrities and influencers. Vlogs are often produced in a long format, allowing the vloggers to showcase their creativity and video editing skills. Depending on the vlog theme, brands can consider co-developing content with the creators to increase the emotional attachment with their target audience and, in some cases, even sales conversion.
- On Jun. 1st 2019, 618 Shopping Festival reached its first peak. Within less than one hour, from midnight to 1:00 a.m., the gross merchandise volume (GMV) on Tmall exceeded the first 10 hours in 2018. click for more…
INSIGHT & IMPLICATION: Shopping festivals have been expanded to longer periods of time. The warm-up usually starts a month ahead to make sure all potential consumers notice and that they are given enough time to create their shopping lists. In order to increase engagement and boost sales during shopping festival, eCommerce platforms have been gamifying the experience. Numerous brands have been cooperating with popular Taobao live streaming hosts to advertise their products and offer special promotions and activities. In order to stand out, brands need to have a clear and focused 618 strategy that will showcase their creativity, innovative thinking and ensure they provide an entertaining and engaging experience.
Have a great weekend!
