Do you think second-hand luxury will take off in China this year? Despite continued growth, mainland China’s second-hand luxury market is a drop in the bucket compared to total high-end spending. But that is changing, albeit slowly, and driven by younger consumers eager to get their hands on items snapped up during the country’s “luxury glut” of 2008-2018. Now, livestreaming and sophisticated authentication systems are giving consumers confidence that they’re buying genuine second-hand luxury goods. Apps such as Ponhu Luxury are gaining in popularity as a result.

Sephora China The ultimate example of omni-channel presence in China. Sephora China has launched a flagship store on Alibaba’s B2C platform Tmall Global. As part of the launch, the beauty retailer also unveiled its first showroom presenting cross-border beauty products with “cloud shelves” in a physical Sephora store. Sephora first explored the Chinese market in April, 2005, when it opened its first brand shop in Shanghai. They opened their regular Tmall flagship store 4 years ago, their brand own e-commerce store and WeChat store in the past years, and they have a ‘Sephora Collection’ store on Little Red Book. Now opening their cross-border shop on Tmall Global will allow them to expand their product categories even further. Besides all these e-commerce channels Sephora is also active on various social media channels in China, such as WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book, and 2 accounts on Douyin. This goes to show that

You may know WeChat is the biggest social network in China. But did you know WeChat’s ecosystem is a massive job creator? Tencent reported WeChat helped create 29 million job opportunities last year. Of these 29 million jobs, companies using WeChat’s platform and tools to work, hire, and communicate generated 3.62 million jobs, while WeChat’s in-app mini-program ecosystem created 5.36 million jobs. If you’re keen to understand more about China’s social media networks, get in touch and we can organize a briefing for your team or company.

Alcohol client partners, some good news! Nearly half of consumers have returned to bars in China’s 4 most developed cities. Although safety concerns still linger, there are some positive read-throughs: bar patrons are keen to socialize, let off steam and support local venues. Our team is available to do on the ground channel checks across major cities, to give you proprietary insight into consumer mindsets and post-pandemic nightlife habits.

The world is watching China’s economic performance closely. It is a couple of months ahead of the rest of the world in coping with the virus and then trying to reopen businesses. Its successes or stumbles could offer lessons to others. We’re encouraged by improving physical retail and online retail sales. What are your priorities as economic activity normalizes?

China opens 46 new cross-border e-commerce pilot zones. If you weren’t convinced about China’s commitment to significantly increasing the number of imports it brings into the country each year, this article should change your mind. China has been rolling out a series of measures to support CBEC development. Among them are major preferential policies that apply in the CBEX pilot zones. The country aims to have imports of goods and services surpass $30 trillion and $10 trillion, respectively, over the next 15 years. Just for reference, in 2017, China’s total imports of goods reached $1.84 trillion, a 15.9% year-on-year growth, and 2018 imports reached $2.13 trillion, according to Statista. Have you considered China as a growth market for your brand yet?

Little Red Book’s hashtag 城市野餐计划 (“Picnic Plans for the City”) has over 18 million views, a figure that will well and truly grow over the summer. Though heading to parks for an outing on a sunny day is hardly novel, the activity is becoming more visible as strict quarantine and social-distancing rules are relaxed amid declining coronavirus cases. Sales of picnic-related products have soared, with some vendors noting high demand for products such as picnic blankets and tents, according to multiple media reports. The picnic trend has been partly popularized by online influencers sharing photos of their neatly curated experiences on social media sites including Little Red Book.

Limited capacity, face masks and plastic gloves to ride: The opening of Disney Shanghai offers a glimpse of how other parks may cope. The Chinese government has limited capacity at the park to 24,000 people daily, fewer than one-third of its pre-outbreak capacity. The limited number of tickets sold out within hours, suggesting that people are willing to resume public activities.