A Strong Comeback for Alibaba and Other E-commerce Giants

According to reports, Alibaba’s Singles Day campaign this year saw strong sales growth across several key categories, underscoring the event’s power to attract Chinese consumers. Despite economic pressures, categories like electronics, beauty, health, and wellness led the way, showing resilience in consumer spending habits. This year’s campaign was streamlined, focusing on key promotional periods rather than an exhaustive shopping marathon, which helped drive concentrated engagement.

Key Stats

• Electronics and beauty products were among the top-performing categories, tapping into the high demand for lifestyle upgrades.
• Douyin expanded its influence in the e-commerce sector, capitalizing on live-streaming and short videos to drive user engagement and sales.

Leveraging Emerging Trends: Live-Streaming and Social Commerce

Live-streaming continues to be a central strategy, with platforms like Douyin and Taobao Live driving significant conversions. Singles Day 2024 showed that Chinese consumers are more likely to interact with brands through short videos and live-streams, where influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) provide real-time product reviews and demonstrations.

For international brands looking to enter the Chinese market, integrating live-streaming and social commerce into their strategy could provide substantial returns. Platforms like Douyin and Taobao allow brands to connect directly with Chinese audiences and build trust, a crucial factor in China’s competitive market.

Consumer Shift Towards Value-Driven Purchases

Singles Day 2024 revealed a notable shift in Chinese consumers’ preferences, with a strong focus on value-driven purchases. Consumers were on the lookout for high-quality, reliable products at competitive prices. This shift opens the door for international brands that emphasize quality and long-term value, offering them an edge over local brands in specific categories.

This year’s results indicate that price sensitivity is on the rise. Brands that can highlight the cost-benefit balance of their products may resonate well with budget-conscious consumers who still prioritize quality.

Environmental Responsibility: The Growing Influence of Sustainable Shopping

Sustainability was also a key theme, with platforms making strides to minimize the environmental impact of their Singles Day operations. Alibaba promoted “Green Singles Day” initiatives, focusing on reducing waste and encouraging sustainable choices. As Chinese consumers become increasingly eco-conscious, brands that incorporate green messaging and eco-friendly products into their campaigns may see enhanced engagement.

Lessons for Brands Eyeing the Chinese Market

1. Engagement Through Short-Form Video: Douyin’s success this Singles Day is a lesson in the power of short-form content. For brands targeting Chinese consumers, having a strong presence on video platforms can drive both awareness and conversions.
2. Focus on Value and Quality: Chinese consumers are more value-driven than ever. Brands that offer affordable, high-quality options can stand out, especially in competitive categories like beauty and electronics.
3. Sustainability Matters: Environmental responsibility isn’t just a trend; it’s a growing expectation. Brands should consider how their products and messaging align with Chinese consumers’ eco-friendly preferences.
4. Leverage Influencers: KOLs and live-streamers were instrumental in driving Singles Day sales, highlighting the importance of authentic endorsements. For international brands, collaborating with influencers is key to building trust and boosting sales.

The Future of Singles Day and Opportunities for International Brands

Singles Day has become more than just a shopping holiday; it’s a social and cultural event that sets the tone for consumer behavior in China. As the festival grows, so do the opportunities for brands to leverage Singles Day insights to better understand Chinese consumer trends.

By tapping into the growing areas of short-form video, live-streaming, value-focused purchases, and sustainability, international brands can make a significant impact during Singles Day and beyond.

The post Singles Day 2024: Unwrapping China’s Biggest Shopping Bonanza appeared first on Digital Crew.

What Is 618 Shopping Festival?

The annual “618 Shopping Festival” is the most important consumer battleground in the first half of the year. It has become a critical market for all e-commerce platforms. The “618” pre-sale this year also began as early as May.

This year’s “618” included improved user shopping experiences with more simple promotion restrictions, as well as richer lists, more effective logistics, and more thoughtful after-sales services. This was supplied by each e-commerce platform, attracting more consumers to participate in the online buying binge.

Let’s examine how e-commerce platforms, categorie, and brands fared at the 618 festival this year.

Top 3 Ecommerce Platforms

The top three platforms remained the same as in years prior, with TMall leading the way, followed by JD and PDD. Furthermore, the GMV of traditional e-commerce platforms this year reached 582.6 billion yuan.

Top 3 Live streaming Ecommerce Platforms

Live streaming eCommerce platforms fared well, with a GMV of 144.5 billion yuan. The departure of Li Jiaqi and other DianTao Live Streamers changed the hierarchy of live streaming eCommerce platforms in 618, with DianTao dropping behind TikTok and KuaiShou to third place.

Alibaba

Taobao streamlined the preferred rules and marketing complexity in June, this year. For every 199 or 1000 yuan spent, the discount for cross-store sales was reduced by 20 yuan or 50 yuan.

There were six brands with revenues exceeding one billion yuan in a single category, among the 35 categories counted in a third-party research company Nint’s report.

A total of 108 brands had sales in excess of one billion yuan. Apple, Midea, Haier, Xiaomi, and L’Oreal were among the top five in overall sales. Apple is the only brand with more than 10 billion yuan (US$2.23 billion) in sales and has emerged as the clear victor.

JD.com

JD’s data suggested that the “post-95” generation’s spending power is increasing, with pre-order sales increasing by 75% year on year. Meanwhile, the product variety offered on JD.com during this year’s shopping festival climbed by 20%. The demand from China’s sixth-tier cities increased by more than 100% year on year.

Home appliance sales increased by 200 percent year on year, while order volume for new products tripled. Tablet, home printer, and mechanical keyboard sales climbed by 100, 170, and 400 percent, respectively.

JD Health’s overall order volume in the healthcare area increased by 186 percent year on year. In the first 10 minutes…

Several brands, including Xiaomi, Midea, Haier, Lenovo, Apple, HONOR, Huawei, SONY, Asus, Siemens, sold more than RMB 100 million yuan worth of products in the first 10 minutes of the 618 shopping festival. According to JD’s data, the most popular search keywords in the first 10 minutes were smartphones, air conditioners, Chinese sticky rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival (which occurred on June 3 this year), infant formula, and toys. Over a hundred home brands on JD.com saw their sales jump in the first 10 minutes.

JD Worldwide provides Chinese customers with cross-border imports. In the first 10 minutes, nearly 150 international brands saw sales increase by more than 200%. Sales in roughly 100 subcategories increased by more than 100% year on year. Nintendo, Swarovski, and a2 milk powder are the top three selling brands.

JD.com recorded a total transaction volume of RMB 379.3 billion yuan (US$56.7 billion) for JD 618 Grand Promotion 2022 as of 23:59 on June 18th Beijing time; above the previous year’s RMB 343.8 billion yuan.

Tik Tok

Douyin e-commerce witnessed a total of 28.52 million hours of live streaming during 618 last year. From June 1 to June 18 2022, it reached 40.45 million hours, an increase of more than 40% over the same period the previous year.

115.1 billion short videos integrated with shopping carts were viewed. During the 618 event, the “search” option was really useful. Douyin mall saw a 514 % increase in sales year on year,  and the number of engaged retailers climbed by 159 %.

Sales Categories

In terms of overall sales categories, household appliances and electronics fared well and climbed at a 6.7 % year on year growth rate. While skincare, fragrance, and makeup declined 18.9 % and 22.1 %, respectively, year on year.

At the event, companies ranging from pasta producer Barilla to shampoo company Ryo offered “stock up” bundles featuring bulk orders of their products.

During 618, the GMV of Household Appliances/Electronics was 87.9 billion. Midea, Haier, and Gree were the top three most popular brands.

In Closing

618, which debuted in 2010, is China’s second-most important shopping event, trailing only Alibaba’s Single’s Day shopping event on November 11. Over the last decade, the event has evolved from a JD-created rival event to a vital mid-year shopping campaign for all e-commerce giants.

This year’s event shows us that Chinese consumers are back. With One-Stop Digital Marketing Solutions, Digital Crew enables international brands to thrive in the Chinese market, especially during these shopping holidays. Get in touch with us today.

The post 2022 Proves Why 618 Is Downright Crucial For Ecommerce Brands In China appeared first on Digital Crew.

Wechat is a powerful platform that has enabled 1.6 trillion RMB in transactions through micro programs (MPs) alone (in 2020). Membership schemes, gift cards, O2O retail, and even an online store are all possible with mini programs. All of this is available to followers without the need to download anything from the app store.

However, in terms of bringing in traffic that you do not already own, WeChat does not compare to a platform like Tmall. The brand is responsible for acquiring every single follower. Meanwhile, Tmall is where you will most likely acquire the majority of your customers. It is designed to entice new customers into stores.

Tmall and WeChat differ in a variety of other ways as well. Let’s take a look…

Pros & Cons Of WeChat

Pros:

1. Its Free:

Using WeChat is free and does not incur any costs. It means that as long as it is connected to the internet, it will provide all of its services to users. This is one of the reasons it has hundreds of millions of daily active users.

2. Sharing Is Easy:

WeChat makes file sharing a lot easier. You can send or receive documents up to 100Mb. It supports PDF, Slideshows, and other file extensions.

3. WeChat Pay:

WeChat Pay is a convenient and efficient alternative to cash payments. Users can pay by scanning the QR code, confirming the amount, and paying after the payer confirms the password. It is a fast and efficient method of transaction. Furthermore, it is secure. WeChat now permits non-Chinese users to use its services.

4. The Magic Of Moments

WeChat, like other similar applications, supports basic messaging. Aside from that, there is a feature called “Moments” that allows users to share their stories and status updates with their friends. You may also share your location with your pals and play mini-games with them.

Cons:

1. Concern About Privacy:

Tencent has access to all of your personal information. Furthermore, Tencent works with the Chinese government. As a result, it is safe to assume that the government is monitoring your activity on WeChat. However, keep in mind that you consented to its policies when you created a WeChat account.

2. Security concerns

To share messages, WeChat does not employ end-to-end encryption mechanisms. As a result, it is possible that a third party will see or misinterpret your message.

Pros & Cons Of Tmall

Pros

1) Because Tmall is such a well-established, top-of-mind marketplace brand, U.S. retailers can enter the market quickly and focus on selling. Retailers who run their own online store typically have longer time horizons. They concentrate their efforts on targeting Chinese consumers through direct brand exposure, sales, and brand building, while preserving greater control over their online operations. Their e-shop is an excellent beginning point for a multichannel strategy and stationary expansion, and sellers may integrate their chosen online payment methods into their website.

2) Because Tmall is a well-known brand among Chinese customers, using the platform to sell your products might help you quickly gain part of that trust for your own brand.

3) Tmall has partners who can assist you with anything from trade rules to translation.

Cons

1) Does not offer a diverse choice of SKUs at competitive prices.

2) You would not have your own storefront on the platform. Instead, you sell your products through a Tmall store.

Mini Programs

Mini Programs (MP) are light apps that operate on top of a mobile app. Top Chinese digital businesses have created and managed their own mini-program frameworks, with the most prominent being the WeChat platform and Alibaba (Alipay platform; Taobao platform). As of October 2020, more than half of China’s top 100 mobile apps had generated mini-programs.

Digital Crew is a Tmall & WeChat marketing partner that can help you set up and grow. Get in touch with us with any further queries you may have regarding these 2 platforms.

The post Tmall Vs WeChat – Where Should You Start Your Ecommerce Business In China? appeared first on Digital Crew.

The Shanghai-based startup bills itself as the internet home for ACG (Anime, Comics, and Gaming) aficionados. The company offers a platform for China’s Millennials and Generation Z to consume pre-made content as well as produce their own videos.

It’s one of China’s fastest-growing social networks, with a thriving community that marketers can’t afford to overlook. Let’s take a closer look at why.

Chinese Internet Audio & Video Market

While Youku (owned by Alibaba), iQiyi (owned by Baidu), and QQ Video (owned by Tencent) appear to dominate China’s online video business, short-form videos receive the most of the attention these days. It reaches 83% of the Chinese internet population, while other video formats and live streaming account for +70 and +60%, respectively.

Another intriguing trend in China’s internet audio and video business is the increase in users paying for this type of content (as we will see with Bilibili), with more than 45% of users paying. 60% of these users were born after 1990.

Bilibili User Statistics

Bilibili’s unique selling point is its ability to build a highly sticky community in the ACG culture niche market. Because of its rapid user growth, the company has moved into a variety of new industries, including advertising, mobile gaming, and e-commerce.

China’s  Young & Dynamic Gen Z Demographic

More than 80% of users are classified as Gen Z, or those born between 1990 and 2009. The average age of current Bilibili users is 21 years old, and the average age of newly registered users is 19.8 years old, with the majority of them living in second-tier cities and below.

All of this is exciting for businesses interested in China’s Generation Z customer, and even more so when considering Bilibili’s user engagement.

Aside from anime and gaming, Bilibili also has beauty, fashion, entertainment, advertising, and digital sectors. Users on Bilibili enjoy live streaming, which opens up potential for companies to collaborate with popular KOLs who are active on the platform.

Whatever industry a brand is in, there’s probably a way to use Bilibili’s strong content culture for customer acquisition and engagement.

Original & High Quality Content

Bilibili is a one-of-a-kind video portal that features both mainstream and non-mainstream anime, as well as original documentaries. In comparison to other video uploading services, this site stands out due to its extensive content offering.

This is due, in part, to Bilibili’s lower investment in original anime production compared to Youku and Tencent. As a result, Bilibili is able to license a wider range of anime than its competitors, which China’s Generation Z customers like.

Bilibili unveiled over 50 new Chinese anime titles during ANIME MADE BY BILIBILI 2021-2022, which took place on November 20 in Shanghai last year. The annual news conference highlights Bilibili’s past accomplishments as well as new plans for Chinese animation. To better encourage industry talent, the business recently developed the “Light Catcher Initiative.”

The great quality of the content is at the heart of Bilibili, and it is the key reason why its user base is not just loyal, but also motivates them to become premium customers.

Strict membership rules ensure passionate and knowledgeable members

Currently, the Bilibili Site is China’s sole large-scale video-sharing platform with rigorous access requirements.

If a new user wishes to become an official member, they must first take a 100-question quiz covering topics ranging from corporate history to Japanese manga artists. Although such a rigorous access method inhibits overall user growth, it essentially ensures the quality of Bilibili users.

These high-end users have strengthened the dynamics of the Bilibili-Platform community culture, which is shown vividly in Bilibili users’ usage time and retention rate.

Core Advantages Of Bilibili

1) High conversion, with the News Feed Ads on the homepage and Traffic Native Ads over the whole website

2) Special CPT(Cost-Per-Thousand) advertising space with competitive daily payment

3) Supports external connections, entry of e-commerce and direct mail for a single product, entry of games, product recommendation by the uploaders, and the conversion driven by fans.

4) Orientation for specified video keyword

A Highly Interactive Same-screen Social Experience Called Danmu

The most distinctive feature of Bilibili is Danmu. This is a user dialogue system designed for Niconico in which time-synced comments are superimposed directly on top of the video as it plays.

Here’s a picture of Danmu.

The Danmu system offers a dramatically social viewing experience akin to being in a boisterous movie theatre: during critical times in a video, reactions flood over the video in a dense tidal wave, frequently completely covering over the source content.

People visit Bilibili for the community as well as the videos. It provides Bilibili an advantage because customers report feeling as if they are viewing their favourite episodes with friends.

Bilibili Target Sectors

One of Bilibili’s primary value propositions is its ability to capitalize on trends that are important to younger Chinese consumers. The platform has its origins in China’s ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) subculture, which has been popular among young Chinese consumers, and it has now extended into more general lifestyle categories such as food, travel, and fitness. With that growing user base has come a torrent of brand investment, particularly in the IT, food and beverage, and sports sectors.

China’s ACG community is expanding steadily across all age groups. Bilibili has also become one of China’s most popular beauty marketing platforms, thanks to its creators’ makeup lessons, cosmetics reviews, unboxing videos, and other content. The number of beauty businesses with an official Bilibili presence more than doubled between June 2020 and June 2021.

Growing visitor volumes on video platforms have prompted organizations to reassess their traditional digital marketing efforts and shift their focus to this medium of communication. Most businesses in China have already adopted ByteDance’s Douyin and WeChat’s Channels. But, there is still an unexplored video platform that luxury brands can look to leverage. That platform is Bilibili.

Ads & Mini Programs

There is also the option of placing ads in KOL channels or running typical display ads to market products on Bilibili. This assists advertisers in gaining the attention of their target demographic.

Since Alibaba’s investment in Bilibili in April 2019, the platform’s focus has shifted from user acquisition to e-commerce. This is primarily due to the introduction of new e-commerce miniprograms on Bilibili, which are now the most efficient way to sell on the platform.

Bilibili also started a mini-program in 2019 where celebrities sell cosmetics.

Some Tips To Summarise

1) Users can purchase things by clicking on the “commodities” column on the homepage, rather than going to third-party websites. So, make sure you open a store in this column.

2) Creators of content can include links to their products in “Danmu” or under the videos.

3)Collaboration with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) or Key Opinion Customers (KOCs) might be an excellent way to market your company on Bilibili.

4)The collaboration between Taobao and Bilibili gives the latter the opportunity to investigate “content-related e-commerce,” allowing Bilibili to employ Taobao analytics tools to improve the user experience.

And finally, when it comes to your Bilibili marketing strategy, we say- If you’re going to do it, do it well. To generate winning video content, you need a competent team. If you want to see viral videos on your channel, you must have the correct director, scriptwriter, actors, equipment, and storytelling. Contact us today to get started.

The post Bilibili Marketing – A 2022 Guide appeared first on Digital Crew.

Initially, almost all of Weimob’s revenue came from SaaS — because it thought it could be a CRM for WeChat retailers. It is referred to as a major 3rd party solution provider for WeChat.

In the first half of 2021, Weimob’s revenue and gross profit were 1.383 billion yuan and 766 million yuan, respectively, up 44.5% and 81.8% year on year.

It generates the majority of its revenue by serving targeted advertising to merchants on WeChat. Weimob offers some of the same solutions as Youzan, including all of the software packages for offline establishments, for example – hair salons.

You can open a mini program shop for your brand using Weimob’s Weimall function. It enables you to do a lot of things like membership management, all kinds of social promotions, and live streaming.

Do Not Confuse With Weidian

There is a third company called Weidian, which translates to “Mini Store” in Chinese. We thought we’d mention it because it’s so easy to confuse it with Youzan and Weimob.

Weidian also has a SaaS business that helps retailers sell on WeChat, and it was the first of the three to be formed. Weidian was also unique, in that it made it simple to sell not only your own items, but for other people as well. Remember that WeChat is where individuals have their close connections and friends, thus direct selling is a smart approach to use the existing social network.

Weidian completely overlooked WeChat’s use of offline QR codes and other methods to increase mini program acceptance and online engagement. To their credit, Youzan and Weimob were quick to offer group buying and other promotional services. Speaking of QR codes, The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) recently issued a guideline prohibiting the use of personal recipient QR codes for business services beginning March 1, 2022. That is unquestionably a setback.

Is Tencent Sitting idly by and just waiting for third party solution providers to grow?

You might be wondering if Tencent is just sitting back and watching as all these players try to establish businesses on the WeChat platform it so carefully built. No way, no how!

Tencent invested in 8% of Weimob and 7% of Youzan at roughly the same time. It already had shares in Weimob, so this was only adding to its holdings, but it had never owned shares in Youzan previously.

Apart from overhauling its own mini program solution, it also launched an easy-to-use, one-click store opening function in 2020. It also developed Xiao’e Pinpin, a group buying mini program, that also allows you to build up stores for individual WeChat groups you’re in.

In Summary

The main take away from this Ecommerce SaaS Evolution series is this – marketplace e-commerce platforms like Taobao, Tmall, JD, and Pinduoduo may not see much movement in their dominance for a time, but there are other platforms emerging in China e-commerce that are more ‘decentralised’. Or, as Chinese marketers refer to it, private traffic.

The leading companies, such as Youzan and Weimob, have essentially mimicked everything these platforms provide, such as social selling and gamification features. Furthermore, they allow you to combine it with everything else you do on WeChat. They also offer all of these solutions for connecting your offline and online presence. WeChat mini programs are all about driving internet traffic to offline stores and vice versa.

That is what WeChat excels at, and it represents a big opportunity if you ask us. You can also provide a plethora of additional services, as Shopify does.

Get in touch and get started with WeChat mini-programs, Youzan or Weimob right away.

The post E-Commerce Saas Evolution: The Weimob – Youzan Connection appeared first on Digital Crew.

When it comes to decentralized e-commerce, where the business owner has complete control over all data and the entire consumer experience, we’re really talking about WeChat e-commerce.

WeChat Ecommerce Market Size

Today, WeChat e-commerce is mostly conducted through mini programs, and in 2019, this totaled slightly more than USD $100 billion (GMV). This includes significant contributions from centralized marketplaces such as Pinduoduo. It should be noted that this is less than what Alibaba and JD accomplished in the same year’s 618 Shopping Festival alone.

Nevertheless, it is rapidly expanding and Covid has only aided the company. WeChat announced in 2020 that GMV for the first eight months in 2021 had more than doubled year on year, as users reached 400mm DAU. The lower cost of client acquisition is also appealing to businesses.

To understand WeChat Ecommerce, you must first grasp the distinction between public and private traffic.

Public Traffic Vs Private Traffic

Digital traffic and interactions within marketplaces such as Tmall and JD, as well as social content platforms such as TikTok and Xiaohongshu, are examples of public traffic. All brands who use these platforms for e-Commerce typically share traffic on them. In addition, most platforms have distinct traffic distribution rules.

Marketplaces that serve several companies are obviously not going to provide you all of the information they have. Sure, you’ll know who bought from you and what they bought, but you’ll have limited access to other information. The most crucial thing to remember is that the customer’s relationship is with the channel or marketplace, not with you. For example, on Alibaba, you don’t really build up loyalty with the merchants you buy from. Instead, you become a more enthusiastic supporter of Alibaba.

Private traffic, as you might expect, is the polar opposite. Private traffic is traffic that the brands have complete control over. This includes traffic to your own website, your own mini-program or an official WeChat or Weibo account. Furthermore, this is traffic that allows you to create a direct relationship with consumers and generate a higher long-term return on your investment.

We have already covered why private traffic is all the rage in China right now.

It’s All About Building Private Traffic

In terms of B2C, the two major marketplaces, JD and Tmall, account for more than 80% of the market share. However, that is not where internet consumers spend their time or learn about brands. According to McKinsey, 50% of online customers use social media to learn about brands, and 25% use it to make purchasing decisions.

That is hardly surprising given that people spend half their time online, on social media and social networks such as WeChat.  So, if you’re a business, you have to wonder if it makes sense that you are spending your money on Tmall rankings, when your users are spending half of their time on WeChat and Weibo learning about new products. You need to meet them there.

This Series is about the evolution of solutions that work on top of WeChat and builds private traffic. We have previously covered WeChat itself, and its own e-commerce efforts over the years.

To know more about our WeChat marketing services, get in touch with us.

The post Ecommerce SAAS Evolution – An Introduction To Decentralized Ecommerce In China appeared first on Digital Crew.

The Predecessor – Weixin Xiaodian

It all started when WeChat introduced a new feature called 微信小店 in Chinese. We’re not sure what the English name was; it didn’t appear to have one. In any case, you could only use this particular feature if you operated an active WeChat Service Account. Furthermore, WeChat Service Accounts were only available to businesses with a valid license.

Service Accounts are a subset of WeChat official accounts. It differs from the regular public accounts that you subscribe to, which are used to push out Content. Anybody with a Chinese ID can sign up for a public account. Service Accounts are designed to allow you to interact with the brand in a limited way, such as talking to a chatbot, asking inquiries, performing very simple transactions, and so on. You can only publish content a few times each month.

This was the first version of the WeChat Mini Shop and was known as Weixin Xiaodian. Essentially, you could set-up a shop within your Service Account. WeChat Pay was, of course, integrated, and the overall experience was satisfactory. However, the experience was really basic. You couldn’t do anything even remotely complicated, like loyalty cards or coupons, without hiring a developer.

But why would someone use this? Doesn’t appear to be very beneficial, does it? Keep in mind that we’re still talking about 2014. Many of WeChat’s features had not yet been implemented. Most crucially, there were no mini-programs. That wouldn’t happen until January 2017.

The Launch Of Mini Programs

WeChat eventually released a feature that allowed you to update your Service Account WeChat Store directly into a mini program. However, because it was still free, it featured very limited templates and customization options. And if you needed something unique, you could always pay a developer. It wouldn’t be that expensive either, because small applications are a fraction of the cost to build, compared to full-fledged native apps. They were created with this cost in mind.

It was still exclusively for companies to utilise, because you had to qualify for a Service Account first.

The WeStore Is Created

However, WeChat announced in 2020 that it was retiring 微信小店 and launching a new product called the WeStore.

The WeStore is significantly more democratic than Weixin Xiaodian, which was solely open to businesses. You can open a shop on WeStore if you have a Chinese ID card. If you are a company, you can upload your licences and bank account information and open up to 3 stores.

Personal stores can be controlled directly from your smartphone, whilst commercial accounts may be handled from a desktop and allow up to 500 individuals to co-manage the store, with the flexibility to define different access levels for different staff.

The WeStore also enables live streaming, which is a popular trend in China right now, as well as fundamental shop functions such as order management, transaction progress, coupons and promotions, customer service, and so on. Even better, it’s completely free! You don’t have to pay anything except a 0.6% transaction fee for payments. All you have to do is put in your time to set it up and manage it.

In Closing

We won’t know how the WeStore performs for a while because it’s so new. However, it makes a lot of sense for a specific type of merchant. For starters, there is no better deal for a solopreneur starting out than a free WeStore.  Especially if they are currently marketing actively within the WeChat ecosystem and have followers and a community there.

However, unless it becomes far more flexible, the technology as now is unlikely to get any real commercial users. It’s just not as advanced as what Youzan, for example, provides.

For more information about setting up your own WeStore, get in touch with our team at Digital Crew, a WeChat Marketing Agency.

The post Ecommerce SaaS Evolution– WeChat appeared first on Digital Crew.

Asia accounts for half of the top 10 mobile Internet consumer markets in the world (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam). 90% of consumers in the region use smartphones to access the Internet, and they use applications for more than four hours per day on average, an hour more than any other region in the world.

With Asian consumers spending an increasing amount of their time online, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between “real” and “digital” life, making the growth of the metaverse a big lure for customers in the Asia Pacific market.

Gen Z’s Attraction To The Metaverse

In Asia, “Generation Z” and millennials are immersing themselves in digital consumption in ways that their counterparts in other areas cannot imagine: content consumption, product buying, socializing, and gaming.

More than 55% of the world’s 3 billion gamers live in Asia.  Driven by numerous elements such as gaming, social networking, entertainment, interactive technology and a larger spectrum of creators, economic benefits have been rising and have established a dominating position.

Generation Z is the largest generation of internet users in Asia and China, and they are anxious to express their uniqueness. For them, the virtual world is a place to go to define their identity and seek acknowledgment that the actual world may not be able to provide because of restrictions imposed by family and social standards. With the rise of the metaverse notion, the virtual influencer opened up a 3D dimensional world for Gen Z to conceive, explore, and shape human identity through various metaverse lenses.

Metaverse Trends In China

Companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent have joined a wave of trademark registrations and investments in the metaverse domain after Mark Zuckerberg referred to it as “the next chapter for the internet” during the Facebook Connect conference in October.

1️. Opportunity for AR, Meta Horizon Workrooms, to the gaming ecosystem
2. Online commerce might transform it into a virtual space with brands and products pulled from the physical world.
3. Businesses with a huge following may offer limited-edition digital products to loyal customers.
4 Home consultations in the metaverse may be undertaken for service businesses
5. Brands can collaborate with an influencer to host a live event in the metaverse to increase fan and brand interaction.
6. Digital video users in Asia-Pacific are expected to cross 2 billion next year

“万物皆可园宇宙” (every business can tap into the metaverse technology) has become a famous phrase on Chinese social media.

Alibaba’s Hosts An Art Exhibition & Symphony Concert

Alibaba hosted a “Metaverse Art Exhibition” on its Tmall/Taobao mobile app for its presale ceremony this year during Double 11, the world’s largest online shopping festival. The campaign featured eight exclusive collections in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) from various brands including Burberry, Procter & Gamble, and Kiehl’s.

The “Double 11 metaverse symphony” was another highlight of the presale promotion. Ten big brands were represented by virtual instruments (in the form of NFTs) and staged a spectacular digital symphony concert on Shanghai’s Bund. Guerlain, for example, was converted into a translucent bassoon packed with golden content.

Along with the melodic rhythm, an animated bee spun around the instrument, communicating Guerlain Skincare’s brand message of healing. Furthermore, some of these musical instruments were marketed to consumers as digital collections, which helped to reinforce the brand’s presence in the minds of consumers.

The Double 11 Art Exhibition and Metaverse Symphony are examples of Alibaba’s early forays into metaverse and NFTs in B2C marketing. Though far from mature or sophisticated, the participation of both Chinese domestic and foreign businesses indicates a promising future for China’s e-commerce platform’s capacity to integrate metaverse technology into its retail and marketing operations.

Check out our planner to inspire & guide your marketing plans during other major festivals this year.

Virtual Idols In The Metaverse

Even before the term “metaverse” became widespread, virtual idols could be seen on Chinese social media. When we look at Red, we can easily notice AI idols like Angie Ling, AYAYI, Ji Yuanmei, and so forth. They keep their presence up to date by publishing life vlogs such as daily make-up, traveling, hobbies, and attending exhibitions. They work with various firms and post their product and service reviews in their blogs to build brand awareness and attract potential buyers, with the majority of them having a follower number of about 10k to 100k.

Among all other virtual idols, a new AI lady named Liu Yexi stands out and recently outperforms all of her virtual counterparts. She gained two million followers overnight on Chinese Tik Tok with just two short videos.

The concept of an AI female appearing in a cinematic setting has wowed social media audiences far more than a normal Vtuber (virtual idols who post vlogs on social media).

As things evolve and become more mainstream, your company will need a metaverse plan. Collaborate with Digital Crew to decrease the barrier to entry and make people’s experiences in the Metaverse as smooth and as simple as possible.

The post Metaverse In China – Trends (2022) appeared first on Digital Crew.

Xiaohongshu is largely used by young Chinese females to provide reviews on cosmetics, beauty items, fashion, and so on. You’ll notice a lot of Xiaohongshu KOLs pushing various items and sharing their thoughts on them.

Why are KOLs necessary?

KOLs are considered trustworthy. Users pay attention to high-quality content shared on a brand account, but they will always value user-generated content more. Many consumers rely on KOLs to help them cut through the noise and make speedy purchasing decisions.

KOLs understand how to develop the appropriate type of content for the platform. They can write in a conversational, informative tone that appears genuine.

KOLs confirm desirability. If a consumer goes to Xiaohongshu to investigate your goods and finds little to no user-generated content about it, they become dubious about the product’s quality. KOLs also aid in the discovery of new audiences for your business.

The 3 Types of  Xiaohongshu KOLs 

1. Loyal platform users who organically developed an audienceThese influencers, whether micro or top-tier (explained below), are likely to have a solid understanding of the platform, and a strong connection to its audience.
2. Other platform influencers – Example: Weibo and WeChatAs Xiaohongshu grows in popularity, an increasing number of established influencers have launched accounts on the platform. Working with them has the advantage of allowing them to post material for a single campaign across several platforms; however, unless they’ve been on Xiaohongshu for a long time, they may not be as effective as a ‘homegrown’ influencer.
3. CelebritiesMany celebs, both from China & the West, have joined Xiaohongshu. Chinese celebs use it to connect with fans; content is generally more behind-the-scenes and casual, compared to what you see on their Weibo accounts.

Here is a classification based on follower count & average cost:

Gifting & Price Negotiation

Because RED is an open forum for product evaluations and suggestions, product seeding is an excellent approach for brands to obtain exposure on the network. Gifting is an excellent way for brands to engage KOLs for product seeding, especially for brands that are new to the market.

There will always be KOLs that refuse a non paying gig, but with enough effort, marketers can always discover KOLs who understand the value in your product or brand and are prepared to conduct free content seeding in exchange for gifting. If the collaboration is easy and the content is compelling, try working with them on subsequent sponsored campaign as well.

This content will be far more authentic than a paid collaboration. The table above shows the typical pricing range for KOL content if you pay for it.

In Closing

Dealing with Xiaohongshu KOLs  for content seeding is less expensive than working with WeChat KOLs, who charge exorbitant fees. Working with the correct KOLs to provide interesting content, similar to Weibo and WeChat, is the key to a successful campaign.

At Digital Crew, a multicultural marketing agency in Sydney, we help you leverage your brand presence among KOLs through our advertising strategies that include sponsored posts, product reviews, KOL giveaways and other KOL campaigns. Get in touch with us today.

The post KOLs on Xiaohongshu – What You Need To Know To Get Started in 2022 appeared first on Digital Crew.

The points covered in this article are intended for Cross Border e-commerce beauty brands that are entering the China market for the first time or who want to improve their current operations. Let’s get started.

Driving Traffic Costs Time & Money

China is vast, but it is also complex, with e-commerce and social media ecosystems that are vastly different from those in the West. Let alone the purchase patterns and consumer behaviour. It takes 2-3 years for businesses in the cross-border e-commerce market to become profitable. That is a long time for a small brand to invest in a market and not see a return.

Among the 1.4 billion people in China, 894M of them are shopping online. Ecommerce transactions are increasing at a rapid rate and sales are expected to increase by 50% by the year 2025.  But, before you are swayed by these figures, be sure you are prepared to invest.

The main reason for the long period is that building your brand and credibility in a market with a lot of very powerful gatekeepers (Tmall/Taobao) is slow and expensive. Social networks in China require you to pay KOLs for improved visibility and an increase in the number of followers. You will also need to incur media spends to boost your reach.

Finding The Right Commercial Partner

When operating in China, most small to medium-sized beauty companies require the assistance of a suitable commercial partner:

a) Trade Partner – This involves the least amount of commitment and gives your brand the maximum control. However, it is a commercial arrangement that does not necessarily leave the operator with enough leeway or motivation to maximise your business’s potential.

b) Distributor — a traditional distributor that signs you up for a three-year exclusive arrangement has advantages such as stock risk and committed volumes, but you lose a lot of control over your brand in China. It can be a terrific connection if you trust this person to run the business, but finding the right fit is difficult.

c) Incubator/accelerator – These are often Trade Partners or distributors who want more skin in the game. They want to reap the benefits of your success in China, and they want more influence over the brand in China in the long run.

The Commercial Partner Checklist

You will almost certainly be listed on Tmall, so ensure that your commercial partner has a good rating and has been approved by Alibaba. It is also critical that they have a positive relationship with the Tmall global team in the beauty category.This will have an effect on your store traffic.

Find out what their key area of expertise is, what their industry emphasis is, and who their major clients are. Examine their team’s composition as well as their skill set. Strike a healthy balance between performance fees and account maintenance fees. While you want to incentivize them to push sales, you also want them to do what is best for the business, so a balance must be achieved. For example – if they can only make money by pushing sales, they will continuously force you to offer discounts.

What about Brand Marketing?

A distributor will not invest in efforts that do not directly result in a return on investment. Because of this, as the brand, you may need to approach brand marketing differently by onboarding a quality Chinese digital agency.

A good marketing agency should be considered for:

1. Strategy, setup, and ongoing management of social media platforms. They should also be able to carry out social selling campaigns.

2. High-quality online content that will appeal to your target audience. Look for a company with a Beauty-focused copywriting team. They must be engaged in and understand what the consumer wants in order to adjust your global content so that it resonates locally across all of your platforms.
3. Are they just focused on e-commerce KOLs to drive sales, or do they recognise the importance of brand building KOLs? Do they have an in-house staff that works directly with these KOLs, or do they have to outsource? Can they carry out KOC product seeding programmes, which are incredibly beneficial for small businesses but necessitate a lot of hand-holding?

   

4. SEO, SSO, and SEM. They are all critical components of your Chinese marketing plan . Check to see if your agency can carry out a simple yet effective search campaign. Key words must be utilised consistently throughout every communication, and KOLs and KOCs must likewise employ these keywords.
5. Ensuring that your message is extended beyond your own social and e-commerce platforms. Chinese consumers require more touchpoints than most other nations – 8 touchpoints before purchase vs. 4 in the West on average – so make sure your brand is visible to them!

Your Brand Bible For The Chinese Beauty Market

To get the most out of your marketing budget in China, you must be focused and consistent. Furthermore, all of your stakeholders must be on the same page.

The brand bible we are referring to here is a master document that serves this purpose & includes:
-Brand Messaging hierarchy:  brand promise, positioning statement
-Value proposition
-3 key messages that make you unique
– The core target audience
– Keywords

While your brand promise, positioning, and value proposition don’t need to be altered, the 3 key messages you are promoting in China may differ from those at home. So, research what will resonate best with your Chinese audience. Because China has such a large population, you must target the right people and provide the right message. Choose your key words for China based on this , and use them consistently in every communication.

Managing Your Stakeholders – Inhouse

Even if you have the best trade partner in the world, you will still require someone to supervise, assist, and provide them with information. Hiring an in-house professional who can work directly with the agency on a daily basis is recommended.  Focus on someone who is Chinese with a strong marketing background in Mainland China, as they are effectively your brand custodian.

Digital Crew is a Chinese digital marketing agency in Melbourne that assists beauty brands in entering the Chinese beauty market in the most effective and optimal way possible. Contact us today to get started with your launch.

The post Entering The Chinese Beauty Market – A Guide For Small To Medium Sized Brands appeared first on Digital Crew.