Market Updates
Get the latest China Marketing & E-commerce news with our monthly Market Updates.
Chinese Women Hold Up Most of the Travel Industry
Chinese women don’t just hold up half the sky, they’re holding up entire industries. A growing proportion of travel consumers and decision-makers in China are now women, according to a report released by Ctrip. The report states that women travel more than their male counterparts, and also spend more as well. And social media is playing a pivotal role in their travel decisions. Hence, it is important for marketers to think out of the box with creative campaigns to stand up in the lucrative sector.
Pinduoduo eyes high-end buyers in cross-border e-commerce launch
Social e-commerce platform Pinduoduo is expanding into China’s booming cross-border e-commerce business in an effort to meet growing consumer demand for quality goods. The expansion comes as Chinese e-commerce giants are raising stakes in their globalization initiatives, aiming to bring in more imported products – seen as higher quality – to increasingly selective customers. It is charging zero commission at present for key accounts including consumer brands and online retailers. Global FMCG giants including Nestle, Unilever, and Beijing-based Japanese consumer goods retailer Wandougongzhu have filed their applications and are waiting for approval.
How Vipshop’s WeChat E-Commerce Mini-Program Added Users but Not Revenue
More and more companies have adapted their business models in China to include a Wechat shop, especially WeChat mini-program shops lately. But brands have to keep in mind what makes selling on WeChat potentially profitable. Namely the social sharing feature, creating a sort of Facebook/Groupon mash-up. And that is not something that is created overnight, it is not an “easy win”, not even for the big guys. In June 2018, Vipshop launched a new B2C selling mini-program called Yun Pincang (云品仓), which invites an individual customer to become an “advocate” of a product. User numbers of this mini-program have grown by an impressive 38.3%. However, it yielded lower-than-expected revenues. So it still remains to be seen whether Vipshop can turn its increased user growth into increased revenue via WeChat. And how that might happen.
4 China Marketing Experts: How can brands use travel influencers?
Working with travel and tourism Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) isn’t a new marketing strategy for travel brands in China. But how brands use KOLs that frequently travel for work, business or leisure is a relatively new question. Parklu asked four travel and hospitality industry experts on how they’re seeking an edge by working with traveling influencers outside the travel and F&B space to explore new opportunities offered on platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin. Read more to find out the answer!
Where Are WeChat Mini-Programs Headed in 2019?
WeChat Mini-Programs took off in 2018, with thousands of brands and retailers diving in to explore business opportunities. This article summarizes survey results from 8,000 WeChat Mini-Program users and links use habits to implications for brands and retailers. Nearly 70% of users are optimistic about Mini-Programs future development, and over 40% think mini-programs can replace stand-alone apps someday.
How Maybelline Got the Chinese New Year Right
Every year numerous brands create special limited-edition products to celebrate Chinese New Year, and brands often look to influencers to help promote these products. This year, cosmetics brand Maybelline launched their new “Red on Fire” lipstick series. To do so they created a custom mahjong set, with the traditional symbols on the tiles replaced with lipstick, New York City icons, and the Maybelline M logo on the back. The campaign was a huge success with hundreds of bloggers across all major Chinese social media platforms posting about it. Nowadays, product seeding is a smart way to keep KOLs up to date about new products. But for brands that want influencers to post about their product, the presentation is key for an eye-catching campaign that stands out from the crowd.
ByteDance looks beyond entertainment with a move into education
Beijing is tightening it’s cyberspace controls. This also means short video app operators are required to more heavily censor their content. Perhaps as a result of that, ByteDance, the company behind Douyin and Tiktok, is developing a more serious side to its business that the fun-loving younger generation may not care for – online education. The move is the company’s latest attempt to expand into the education sector. It has even acquired certain patents to “explore the education business”. Is this going to be the next success story for ByteDance? Let’s wait and see what happens!
Gen-Z with Chinese Characteristics
Generation Z was born between 1998 and 2016 meaning the first ones are now turning 21 this year. In China this generation is often referred to as the “spoiled generation”, due to being the only child in their family. The urgency to market to them is mounting, and both brands and retailers need to understand how this generation is different from previous ones. This article references a report based on interviews with 15,500 respondents from 9 countries of Gen-Z members aged 16 to 21. It has some interesting takeaways. Check it out!
Chinese Women Hold Up Most of the Travel Industry
Chinese women don’t just hold up half the sky, they’re holding up entire industries. A growing proportion of travel consumers and decision-makers in China are now women, according to a report released by Ctrip. The report states that women travel more than their male counterparts, and also spend more as well. And social media is playing a pivotal role in their travel decisions. Hence, it is important for marketers to think out of the box with creative campaigns to stand up in the lucrative sector.
Pinduoduo eyes high-end buyers in cross-border e-commerce launch
Social e-commerce platform Pinduoduo is expanding into China’s booming cross-border e-commerce business in an effort to meet growing consumer demand for quality goods. The expansion comes as Chinese e-commerce giants are raising stakes in their globalization initiatives, aiming to bring in more imported products – seen as higher quality – to increasingly selective customers. It is charging zero commission at present for key accounts including consumer brands and online retailers. Global FMCG giants including Nestle, Unilever, and Beijing-based Japanese consumer goods retailer Wandougongzhu have filed their applications and are waiting for approval.
How Vipshop’s WeChat E-Commerce Mini-Program Added Users but Not Revenue
More and more companies have adapted their business models in China to include a Wechat shop, especially WeChat mini-program shops lately. But brands have to keep in mind what makes selling on WeChat potentially profitable. Namely the social sharing feature, creating a sort of Facebook/Groupon mash-up. And that is not something that is created overnight, it is not an “easy win”, not even for the big guys. In June 2018, Vipshop launched a new B2C selling mini-program called Yun Pincang (云品仓), which invites an individual customer to become an “advocate” of a product. User numbers of this mini-program have
4 China Marketing Experts: How can brands use travel influencers?
Working with travel and tourism Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) isn’t a new marketing strategy for travel brands in China. But how brands use KOLs that frequently travel for work, business or leisure is a relatively new question. Parklu asked four travel and hospitality industry experts on how they’re seeking an edge by working with traveling influencers outside the travel and F&B space to explore new opportunities offered on platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin. Read more to find out the answer!
Where Are WeChat Mini-Programs Headed in 2019?
WeChat Mini-Programs took off in 2018, with thousands of brands and retailers diving in to explore business opportunities. This article summarizes survey results from 8,000 WeChat Mini-Program users and links use habits to implications for brands and retailers. Nearly 70% of users are optimistic about Mini-Programs future development, and over 40% think mini-programs can replace stand-alone apps someday.
How Maybelline Got the Chinese New Year Right
Every year numerous brands create special limited-edition products to celebrate Chinese New Year, and brands often look to influencers to help promote these products. This year, cosmetics brand Maybelline launched their new “Red on Fire” lipstick series. To do so they created a custom mahjong set, with the traditional symbols on the tiles replaced with lipstick, New York City icons, and the Maybelline M logo on the back. The campaign was a huge success with hundreds of bloggers across all major Chinese social media platforms posting about it. Nowadays, product seeding is a smart way to keep KOLs up
ByteDance looks beyond entertainment with a move into education
Beijing is tightening it’s cyberspace controls. This also means short video app operators are required to more heavily censor their content. Perhaps as a result of that, ByteDance, the company behind Douyin and Tiktok, is developing a more serious side to its business that the fun-loving younger generation may not care for – online education. The move is the company’s latest attempt to expand into the education sector. It has even acquired certain patents to “explore the education business”. Is this going to be the next success story for ByteDance? Let’s wait and see what happens!
Gen-Z with Chinese Characteristics
Generation Z was born between 1998 and 2016 meaning the first ones are now turning 21 this year. In China this generation is often referred to as the “spoiled generation”, due to being the only child in their family. The urgency to market to them is mounting, and both brands and retailers need to understand how this generation is different from previous ones. This article references a report based on interviews with 15,500 respondents from 9 countries of Gen-Z members aged 16 to 21. It has some interesting takeaways. Check it out!
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