Chinese marketing trends that you should not miss - WHITE PAPER | JANUARY 2020 - Crowd
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Chinese marketing trends that you should not miss WHITE PAPER | JANUARY 2020
China is perhaps the most digitally dependent
country in the world. It’s citizens have rapidly
adopted smartphone technology and it is now so
ingrained into daily life, that everyday commerce is
practically dependent on it.
With a flourishing economy and a burgeoning
consumer market, rapid commercialisation is
underway. China has the advantage of having a
population filled with consumers who are young
and eager to embrace digital in all its forms. These
features have made China a special market in the
World, which generates great benefits.
China represents an opportunity to Western
companies that cannot be ignored, however the
Chinese market does present some idiosyncrasies
which may surprise you.
1. You can rarely see cash
in China: mobile payments are
preferred.
n China, you can rarely see Chinese people
use cash to buy anything. Mobile payment is
the most popular method for purchasing both
online and offline, even in rural areas. Whether
in a big shopping mall or a street food vendor,
Chinese people just need to simply scan a QR
code, and the payment is handled by the banks
automatically.
WeChat pay and Alipay are the main mobile
payment methods in China, they are also now
available for overseas brands and companies. The
ability to accept mobile payments is essential to
those looking to do business in China.
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 2
2. 24 hour super-fast delivery
China’s e-commerce market is the world’s first it takes to deliver a parcel has decreased, from
trillion-dollar e-commerce market and the speed 9 days in 2017 to 3 days in 2018. This gives the
of delivery plays an important role. China is the delivery industry a lot of confidence to achieve
third-largest country in the world, the size the 24-hour delivery plan in the future.
of China is 39.5 times larger than the United
Kingdom. However, the speed of delivery is much The 24-hour delivery system also indicates to all
faster than any other countries in the world. the international brands, if you want a 24-
hour delivery time to be possible, it is crucial a
Now, Alibaba is working with a delivery company shop or storage space is opened up in China.
to build up a 24-hour delivery system in China. This again, increases the investment required to
In the past couple of years, the length of time set up in China.
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 3
3. Short video platforms enjoy
increasing popularity in China
It is well known that WeChat is the most popular
social channel with 1 billion users in China; with
the functions on WeChat covering every aspect
of users’ daily life, it is referred to as the ‘super
app’. However, the ‘fastest growing app’ in China,
called Douyin, is making huge gains in user
adoption since 2016.
Douyin is a short video channel, which has 5
million monthly active users. There are 5,724
government accounts and 1,344 accounts created
by brands. This is the best app to target Chinese
Source: Douyin
people who live in the tier one cities (Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou).
According to Datadance, in 2018 there are 118.6
billion ‘likes’ of the videos uploaded to the app,
from users who live in the tier one cities in 2018.
BMW has conducted two campaigns on Douyin
within one month for the new launched BMW X3.
The two campaigns have received 128 millions
views, 537 thousands likes, 396 thousands
followers, and 1.06 millions account visitors.
Nowadays, Chinese customers pay more
attention to how brands show their products
and what values they can deliver. Therefore,
Douyin becomes a popular platform for brands to
deliver brand values and product information to
customers, as well as interact with them.
Source: Douyin
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 4
4. The best time to boost your
brand awareness in China
Apart from the Chinese New Year, a range
of local Chinese festivals are organised and
attended throughout the year. These festivals
offer a great platform to international brands to
raise their brand awareness when breaking into
the Chinese market.
On the 20th of May, a festival for the younger
generation is held in China. The pronunciation of
“20th May” is similar with “I love you” in Chinese,
so the young generations regard this date to
be the best time to propose. A tradition of this
happening is also at Qixi Festival; held on
Chinese Valentine’s Day on the 7th of July (in
the Lunar Calendar). These are the two most
important festivals for couples and people who
are in a relationship to send each other gifts.
Most international brands launch new products Source: sohu.com
specifically for the festivals. For example,
Burberry launched Burberry Roses for the Qixi
Festival in 2017. The Single’s Day on 11th November which is the
biggest shopping festival in China. Most brands
launch their campaigns three months prior to
Single’s Day to attract clients, and increase
purchases on the day. According to Alibaba, the
turnover is 10 billion Chinese Yuan (around £1.1
billion) in the first two minutes into Single’s
Day. The total turnover is 213 billion Chinese
Yuan (around £22 billion) in 24 hours. This is
just one e-commerce platform in China, the
total turnover of all e-commerce platforms is
outstanding.
Source: sohu.com
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 5
Consumer behaviour in China The consumer economy contributed 78.5% to the economic growth of China in the first half of 2018. As the per capita income of the population has increased year after year, the market is undergoing fundamental changes at a very fast pace, and it holds tremendous potential. The most popular items bought by Chinese consumers include: furniture and household items, healthcare products and services, culture, entertainment, education and information. There has been a dramatic increase in the desire towards a good quality of life. Crowd have identified the top three consumer trends that are integral to grow your business in China in 2020. CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 6
1. Environmental Friendly
Products
Chinese consumers have gradually become
aware of the need to protect the environment
in their daily lives including their purchasing
behaviour. They prefer products that can be
recycled and made from natural materials.
For example, a Chinese tissue company, Bense
Life, mainly produces tissue made from bamboo,
reed, and bagasse without paper bleaching: a
more sustainable process. Although the colour
of the tissue is not beautifully white, Chinese
consumers like this brand because it represents
their willingness to protect the environment.
Sustainability of products is one of the key
features to attract Chinese customers.
Source: tranlin.cn
Source: tranlin.cn
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 7
Source: Xiaomiyoupin.com
2. Adopting a Minimalist
Lifestyle
There is an increasing group of Chinese middle
class citizens embracing a minimalist lifestyle,
which they claim provides them with a higher
quality of life. They strive to purchase fewer
products with greater quality, especially with user-
friendly, extremely simple but full of
aesthetic design values.
Xiaomi is a good case in point. It is famous for
simple design and affordable price and is enjoying
great popularity in China.
One of the important features in consumption
upgrading trend is that Chinese consumers
are longing to enjoy the best experience in the
fields they are interested in. They have growing
demands on professional products in outdoor
activity, sports, kitchenware, computer games, etc.
Source: Xiaomiyoupin.com
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 8
Before After
Source: sohu.com
More and more specialised products and
services are created to satisfy every niche
need. For example, a technology which digitally
enhances ID photos has been extremely popular
in China for several years. It does not simply
shoot photos but offer many premier services –
VIP appointments, delicate makeup, thousands
of clothes and unlimited photo retouching.
The young Chinese consumers are willing to
spend much more money to take a beautiful
ID photo due to the user experience and final
product satisfaction.
In China, there is a concept of the best quality
and performing belongings and technology is
worth any extra cost. A premium cost will be
spent for a beautiful piece of furniture, or the
newest and most innovative piece of technology.
Source: sohu.com
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 9
3. Luxury brands embrace the The whole event was referred
gaming industry to as “the most innovative event
in the world”, by the Chinese
The gaming industry is growing in popularity,
not only online in China but worldwide. Brands media due to the popularity and
are capitalising on this growing popularity, by
high footfall the CoCo Game
incorporating games with product promotion.
Center attracted. From this
For instance, ‘The Doll Catcher’ is a classic game,
campaign, Chanel wanted to
challenging the users capability of being
in control of a claw. This simplistic and exciting transform their image from a
entertainment with little cost investment, can be
traditional luxury brand to a
incorporated into a brand’s marketing efforts.
young and digital savvy luxury
Chanel was one of the first brands to take
brand. The transformation of
advantage of this trend. They set up the first
CoCo Game Centre in Shanghai. a brand image can affect the
trends for other, similar brands.
A brand, such as Chanel, should
offer a social space for their
customers as well as selling
them their products.
Source: COCO Game Center, @onewoori
Source: Fashion Marketing Journal
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 10How Technology is Central to Marketing in China 1. Mini Programme The mini programme is a micro-app built into WeChat. Since mobile-phone users do not want their phones to be filled with barely-used apps, but still require the functions from time to time, a mini programme is created to allow companies to set up their “app” within the WeChat environment. This way, people only need to have one app (WeChat) to use all kinds of different functions through the mini programme. As a result, an increasing number of companies build and promote their mini programme to catch up with new user habits, since fewer and fewer people are willing to download apps. E-commerce platforms benefit a lot from mini programmes. Everything can be performed on it, including product releases, making appointments, interactive games, product display, ordering and purchasing, bonuses and cash back. It is estimated WeChat has around one billion users. Due to the large number of users using WeChat, the mini-programme is crucial to allow the high flow and usage of the app. It is the best traffic entrancer to attract customers. Impulse buying is often generated from the campaigns run through WeChat via mini Source: WeChat; Crowd programmes. CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 11
WECHAT PROVIDES A PERFECT
E-COMMERCE CLOSED LOOP
FOR EVERY COMPANY:
— The sequence begins on the WeChat
official account where companies build their
brand images and increase brand awareness
— Followed by some impressive
advertisements displayed on the WeChat
official account to stimulate the customers
to buy the products, with a QR code of mini
programme attached right beneath the
introduction of the product
— The customers can easily jump to the
e-commerce platform without opening
another app, which hugely increases the
conversion rate of marketing
Source: WeChat; Crowd
The mini programme streamlines the whole user
experience and can convert brand awareness
directly to purchasing behaviour in a moment.
So many international brands have developed
great mini programmes to increase brand image
and drive sales. Gift cards with various themes
on the Starbucks mini programme, for instance,
have gained great popularity. It is easy to send a
gift for friends through WeChat.
There is a lot to explore on mini programmes,
a new business model built on a social media
platform and based on social connections.
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 122. Smart Mirror
Uniqlo in Shenzhen has placed two smart
technology products right on the in-store mirror.
The first one is an intelligent voice controlled
integrated device, called “the little smart U”. It is
made up of three subsystems: an AR camera
which scans and recognises the customers, a 79-
inch touch screen displaying various functions
and a set of 4D augmented reality cameras. The Source: toodaylab.com
device can automatically recognise a customer
when he or she stands in front of the screen. It
invites customers to touch the product menu Another smart product uses a flatscreen and
on the screen and click the clothes they prefer. is based on augmented reality technology. The
A prompt will give them access to a 4D VR static advertisement displayed on the screen can
dressing-up simulation. be transformed into a commercial short video on
a mobile phone by scanning the screen through
What differentiates this system with other smart a QQ (a social media platform) Scan. This is a
dressing-up devices is that this “little smart U” unique way to make the advertisement more
is able to recognise voice message and interact impressive and through rewarding interactions
with the customers based on that. The same with audiences, create more engagement with
functions can be applied on the Uniqlo App, the brand.
too. This smart application in Uniqlo helps the
customers find the products they prefer through
several clicks or voice messages. This shortens
their time in looking for clothes in different areas
in the shop.
It also provides a series of lookbooks matched
for them from accessories (socks, hats and
gloves) to clothes (shirts and jeans), and finally
stimulates more sales in store.
This innovative, modern approach to shopping
is more effective and saves time, as well as
boosting sales.
Source: toodaylab.com
CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 13Talk to us about your next marketing campaign WRITTEN BY LILLY LAY Manager in Southern China Lilly started up an NGO while studying in the University. Before gaining a master degree on Strategic Marketing, she had working experience in China and India and has great insights in cross-culture marketing. At Crowd, Lilly works with clients looking for opportunies in China and Chinese clients to expand their markets outside China. WANT TO KNOW MORE? mail lilly@thisiscrowd.com CHINESE MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS 14
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