Jay, Author at The WeChat Agency

1.Chinese youth have a new zoo fascination. How are brands engaging?

The zoo craze in China aligns with youngsters’ pursuit of a slower nature-connected lifestyles as zoos are becoming increasingly humanized and animal centered, making them more appealing to visitors.
This new craze offers a wide range of new opportunities for brands to connect to the Chinese youth emotions and new aspirations.
Zoos are being transformed into complex leisure parks, offering a diverse range of experiences to satisfy different demands, both online and offline.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/posts/chinese-youth-have-a-new-zoo-fascination-how-are-brands-engaging

2. The ascent of social commerce this 618: Douyin, Xiaohongshu

Douyin’s ecommerce arm grew rapidly, achieving significant sales and engagement during the 618 Shopping Festival, challenging established platforms like Tmall.
Many beauty brands achieved higher sales on Douyin than on Tmall, with several brands surpassing $13.7 million (100 million RMB) in sales.
Xiaohongshu saw a 5.4-fold increase in order volumes from live streaming sessions during 618, driven by a strategic reorganization.
Both Douyin and Xiaohongshu exemplify the shift towards interest-driven e-commerce, as such to boost sales brands need to leverage social media to enhance consumer engagement and sales.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/posts/the-ascent-of-social-commerce-this-618-douyin-and-xiaohongshu

3. Bye Barbie, hello Dune: China’s key fashion trends for 2024

In 2024, Chinese fashion trends are heavily influenced by nature, with plant-themed wear and Tyndall styles gaining popularity.
Despite a shift towards natural aesthetics, global pop culture still significantly impacts Chinese fashion microtrends, inspiring bold, empowering outfits.
Although microtrends are transient, brands can speak to Chinese consumers’ desire to immerse themselves in nature by hosting outdoor activities and developing products with features that enhance outdoor experiences, such as UV protection.
To capture the girlcore trend, brands can partner with Chinese designers who specialize in hyper-feminine aesthetics, such as Shushu/Tong, to create exclusive collections.
With retro styles like grandpacore in fashion, brands can consider teaming up with China’s elderly fashion KOLs, but they should be mindful of the government’s crackdown on online displays of wealth.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/posts/china-online-fashion-trends-summer-spring-2024-

4. 3 Trends of Little Red Book Marketing in 2024

Livestreaming is booming: Little Red Book stores are seeing a big rise in sales thanks to livestreaming. More brands are using livestreaming to connect with customers, and it’s driving significant sales growth.
Foreign brands need to localize more: There’s a growing trend of national pride among Chinese consumers, so foreign brands need to localize their content more than ever. This means adapting their messaging and visuals to resonate with the Chinese audience.
Rich user engagement: Little Red Book boasts a much higher level of user engagement compared to other platforms like Instagram. This means brands can get valuable feedback directly from consumers, helping them understand niche markets and manage any potential crises.

Link: https://walkthechat.com/3-trends-of-little-red-book-marketing-in-2024/

5. Pet Economy in China: Brands celebrate ‘Children’s Day for pets’ to leverage their influence

Pet consumption has been tapped and segmented, comparable to half of the parent-child consumer demand
On the day after Children’s Day, Taobao launched the “Guardian Old Babies Programme” in conjunction with Midas Pet Nutrition and Royal Canin.
In big cities, pets are becoming the centre of young people’s lives, and pet-friendly businesses are more likely to be supported by young customers.
Recently, Taobao also started to look for a “spokescat” across the entire network. After several rounds of fierce competition, the final winner of the “spokescat” will join Alibaba to become the first cat employee and get a 1.02 million RMB (approx. 0.14 million USD) cash prize.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/works/pet-economy-in-china-brands-celebrate-childrens-day-for-pets-to-leverage-their-influence/

6. Blending Sports With Travel, Chinese Fans Set Sights on Paris 2024

Chinese sports enthusiasts are combining their passion for athletics with travel plans to Europe for the Paris 2024 Olympic.
Social media and travel platforms play a significant role in this trend, with packages like Fliggy’s “Riverside Package” including a premium view of the opening ceremony and opportunities to interact with Olympians. Flight bookings to Paris surged by 240% and hotel reservations by 180%, driven by the growing trend of sports tourism.
Two users’ journey to Paris travel plan highlighted in this articles: “ …the influential role of social media in boosting sports fandom, with more individuals appreciating and following specific sports. ”

“I searched for numerous posts and guides on Xiaohongshu (the lifestyle app), which helped me navigate these challenges…”

Here are some insights for planning digital content this summer, focusing on connections to Paris 2024. Paris travel recommendations, with its food and culture will be popular, and a lot of memes will circulate on digital platforms during the event. Platforms like Xiaohongshu will prioritise related topics and boost their visibility, so we can prepare relevant posts accordingly and advise our clients to pay special attention to them.

Link: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1015299

1. Shanghai takes the lead as Chinese coffee consumption averages 16 cups per year

China’s coffee industry amassed a staggering 265.4 billion RMB (approx. 36.66 billion USD) in scale last year, with an average per capita annual consumption of 16.74 cups
Coffee Carnival is running in Shanghai between 30 April to 4 May, alongside over 50 esteemed local coffee shops.
Additionally, takeaway, payment, and social media platforms initiated the “Drinking in the City” campaign in Shanghai, poised to invest nearly 100 million RMB (approx. 13.8 million USD) into the consumer market.
With a net increase of 118 shops, marking a 14% year-on-year rise, the total count of Starbucks outlets soared to 7,093.

LINK:https://daoinsights.com/news/shanghai-takes-the-lead-as-chinese-coffee-consumption-averages-16-cups-per-year/

2.What’s driving China’s unstoppable second hand luxury market?

China’s secondhand luxury market is tipped to grow to $30 billion (217 billion RMB) in 2025 from $8 billion (58 billion RMB) in 2020, with Gen Z and millennials (under 40) together accounting for more than 80 percent of the total number of secondhand luxury consumers
From a luxury brand point of view, perceived value on the secondhand market can have direct repercussions on reputation and desirability in the eyes of consumers.
Brands should not see the secondhand market as an adverse phenomenon, but encourage customers to trade in or resell their pre-owned items through authorized channels, ensuring that the brand retains control over the quality and authenticity of the products in the secondary market.
Luxury brands must monitor and manage their perceived value in the secondhand market, as it can impact their reputation and desirability among consumers. Digital marketing efforts should focus on maintaining brand authenticity and highlighting the enduring quality and heritage of their products.

LINK:https://jingdaily.com/posts/what-s-driving-china-s-unstoppable-secondhand-luxury-market#8548723daa5e

3. Decoding China’s $170 billion ‘romance economy’

China commemorates love on three separate holidays: the Western Valentine’s Day on February 14, the uniquely Chinese 520 Day on May 20, a celebration derived from internet slang where the numbers “520” phonetically resemble the words for “I love you” in Mandarin, and the traditional Qixi Festival, which usually falls in August.
China’s Gen Z consumers are a key element of the “romance economy,” responsible for 54% of related orders according to the “Romantic Economic Big Data Report” released in 2022.
Survey data from iiMedia Research in 2023 revealed that regardless of their relationship status – single, in a relationship, or married – over 90% of participants were eager to celebrate romantic festivals by presenting gifts to family and friends.
Notably, jewellery ranks as the number top gift category for coupled-up individuals on China’s romantic days.
Traditional gifts like flowers, personal care items, and beauty products remain favorites and “gift boxes” persist as a preference for consumers on seasonal occasions.
“Love-brain” (恋爱脑) has recently emerged as a trending term online. It centers on the idea that individuals often lose their emotional or financial rationality when in love. This phenomenon prompted the creation of the phrase “scolding to cure love brain” (骂醒恋爱脑) as a response. And in turn, this has sparked a new type of service.

LINK: https://jingdaily.com/posts/decoding-s-china-s-usd170-billion-romance-economy

4. Xiaohongshu: Unlock new opportunities in Chinese beauty market

Customers are getting more connected to Chinese culture and caring about value, which makes domestic beauty brands more popular. Younger consumers are stepping up as key players in the domestic beauty market.

Emergence of quality Chinese cosmetics: Domestic beauty annual sales surged around 10%, outperforming foreign cosmetics with a commanding market share of 50%.
Co-create content with the brands: Hundreds of celebrities and top KOLs embarked on the offline and online collaboration with a lot of brands.
Create a personalized IP Matrix: Xiaohongshu collaborated with more influential media like CCTV network and created more personalized IP/topics for brands.

LINK: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4oAwT-Q0mtbWHGQtRYSPLg

5.ByteDance surprises AI rivals with ultra-low cost Doubao model:

ByteDance has surprised the artificial intelligence industry with the ultra-low cost of its Doubao model
The company said it is capable of processing 2 million Chinese characters, equivalent to 1.25 million tokens, for RMB 1 ($0.14).
OpenAI’s most advanced multimodal model, GPT-4o, also unveiled this week, comes in at $5 per million input tokens handled.

LINK:https://technode.com/2024/05/16/bytedance-surprises-ai-rivals-with-ultra-low-cost-doubao-model/

6. Which fashion campaigns for China’s 520 Day hit the mark?

Luxury fashion campaigns for China’s 520 Day focus on limited edition collections, celebrity endorsements, and creative storytelling, often in the form of mini videos.
Brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent tapped into Gen Z’s preferences by incorporating traditional Chinese elements and leveraging digital platforms for greater engagement.
520 Day’s fusion of traditional Chinese culture with commercialism highlights the evolving landscape of celebrations and consumer behavior, emphasizing the importance of cultural resonance and meaningful experiences in luxury marketing strategies for brands looking to better connect with consumers.
These strategies aimed to blend cultural significance with contemporary marketing, enhance brand appeal and foster emotional connections with consumers.

LINK: https://jingdaily.com/posts/which-fashion-campaigns-for-china-s-520-day-hit-the-mark

7. 2024 May Day Holiday: The rise of small cities tourism and AI companions

Amid an economy yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, this year’s May Day break underscores a notable trend towards tourism in lesser-known destinations.
On social media platforms like Xiaohongshu (RED), many young people are keen to explore counties and even aim to ‘visit Top 100 Counties of China’ as a novel approach to May Day travel.
Hong Kong has shifted its focus to cultural and artistic events, as well as large-scale concerts.
It is also worth mentioning Japan. With the Yen reaching a 34-year low against the US dollar during the holiday period, this made it more attractive for overseas tourists.
‘AI companion’ emerged as a new trend in travel. This involves using AI technology to offer personalised travel assistance services, crafting tailored itineraries and services.

LINK:https://daoinsights.com/opinions/2024-may-day-holiday-the-rise-of-small-cities-tourism-and-ai-companions/

Exploring Prospects: An Overview of Recent Developments in China

Discovering Opportunities: Exploring China’s Recent Updates