How Chinese Retailers Are Reinventing the Customer Journey
China’s retail sector is both enormous and rapidly developing, with an estimated value of $5 trillion by 2020. It is also heavily computerised. And, as a result of the epidemic, digital has become a strategic priority for all retailers.
The authors draw from their research on Chinese retailers to explain five lessons that Western companies can learn from China as they develop their own digital market offerings:
- Create single entry points where customers can access all their potential purchases.
- Embed digital evaluation in the customer journey.
- Don’t think of sales as isolated events.
- Rethink the logistical fundamentals.
- Always stay close to the customer.
Link: https://hbr.org/2021/09/how-chinese-retailers-are-reinventing-the-customer-journey
Luxury Brands and 11/11
Alibaba is actively promoting innovative digital retail solutions for luxury brands and is gradually expanding its virtual services and experiences. While the majority of luxury purchasing still takes place in physical stores, online and omnichannel expansion has constantly expanded – according to Bain & Co, China’s luxury internet penetration will increase to 23% in 2020, up from 12% the previous year.
Gucci, Vacheron Constantin, and Maison Margiela, for example, recently teamed with Tmall Luxury Pavilion to expand services previously only available in physical stores, such as membership benefits, sales associate consultations, and after-sales services.
This year’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the world’s greatest retail extravaganza by sales, has over 200 luxury businesses offering a variety of services ranging from bespoke engraving to cleaning and repair services. Other highlights include a digital exhibition, an art presentation by a virtual influencer, Chopard and Cartier showcasing their items in 3D, AR try-on, and top executives joining firms’ live streams.
Link: https://www.alizila.com/alibaba-janet-wang-china-luxury-innovation-1111-shopping-festival/
China Brands Go Global
Report selected 100 Chinese brands present abroad and analyzed them. The purpose of the top 100 Chinese brands list was to look at consumer brands that have the most direct impact on global consumers – both in terms of sales and (more significantly) in terms of brand/audience impact and potential.
While many of the enterprises have their own websites, the vast majority of sales are made via ecommerce sites such as Amazon and AliExpress. While most brands have official accounts on three or more channels, social media is used more to enhance performance, such as digital advertisements (CPC), rather than to cultivate customer affinity. Brand content and organic growth are underserved because the focus is solely on advertising. Most brands have a small number of followers and a poor level of engagement.
Big event sponsorships: While these high-profile, high-budget endeavours are remarkable, they are often premature vanity projects for brands that have yet to gain traction in the market. These approaches are hoped to be fast-tracks to brand equity.
Link: https://www.talktototem.com/china-insights/china-brands-going-global
WeChat Brand Channel
It’s a partnership between WeChat Pay and Channels; with this step, traffic from offline channels/mini programmes will be sent to WeChat Channels. There are five major benefits of using the Brand Channel.
- Turn to Channel’s video after offline payment: When users complete the payment, they will see the Brand Channel button and watch the videos
- Reserve the live stream after payment: The brands can add this feature to the payment page, so the users can make a live stream reservation during their payment
- Brand hongbao: The brands can send hongbao by QR code, when the users scan the QR code, they will receive the hongbao and use it when they pay the bill. On the receipt page, the users can get in the brands’ channels and explore the dedicated video
- Turn to Channel’s video after mini-program payment: The brands can add the Channels’ content in the mini-program page, so when the users browse the page, they can see the video amongst the products
- Coupons: The brands can combine the video to the coupon, so the users can watch the video when they get and use the coupon
Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ZtJ5Pji6KwcPTMwS51PNEQ
WeChat update version 8.0.16 supports one-click to close personalized advertising
WeChat version 8.0.16 shows an updated pop-up window with revised privacy protection guidelines to advise users of changes to privacy guidelines and information sharing disclosure.
The “personal information and permissions” entry has been added to the bottom of the “WeChat – I – Settings – Privacy” interface.
You can now turn off “personalised advertising” with a single click in WeChat’s “personalised advertising management” and set the switch to “closed.”
It’s important to note that turning off “personalised advertising” does not imply that you’ll never see advertisements on WeChat again. Instead, you will turn off the display of ads that are relevant to you, but you will continue to get broad commercials.
Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/fV5k4jVUCtvpzjO3UGFVXA
One mobile phone number can register multiple WeChat ID
A new function appears in WeChat version 8.0.15, which allows users to quickly register another WeChat signal without an additional mobile phone number.
You must also carry out real-name authentication of WeChat payment if you need to transfer, send, and receive red envelopes and other operations in WeChat without binding your mobile phone number. You are not required to bind your mobile phone number if you need to transfer, send, and receive red envelopes and other operations in WeChat without binding your mobile phone number.
Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/h5Tlo2NIsfVLlZMpISRbFg
Meta’s chief of Metaverse tells us what the future holds for the former Facebook
Meta aims to build solutions to social media problems that have yet to be solved in the future.
Meta has big aspirations for the metaverse. On Instagram, there’s a huge universe of artists, and there are a lot of people creating stuff on Facebook. Virtual commodities will undoubtedly play a significant role in Meta’s metaverse.