Introducing Qyer (穷游网), the multi-function Chinese app for all things travel related. China is really good at creating one-stop-does-all apps and Qyer is yet another perfect example of that. You can research travel destinations, book tickets/travel/accommodations, participate in discussion forums, share your own travel tips and experiences, and best of all: connect with other travelers and even make plans to travel with them!

Based on a report released by the company (conducted in association with iResearch Inc.) in March 2020, the app currently has over 80 million users and an overwhelming 75.6% of the users are between the ages of 24-40. Female users consist of 64.5% of total users. Furthermore, it is important to note that despite the characters in the app’s Chinese name 穷游 (qióng yóu) translating to “budget travel”, a majority of the users are well educated, earn at least 10,000RMB a month, and are from top-tier cities.  For reference, the national average monthly income for city dwellers is 3,653RMB.

Qyer was founded in 2004 as a Chinese outbound travel app, poised to help students overseas create a community to connect and share travel stories. Since then, it has really gained traction with domestic Chinese travelers and, given the travel bans due to the current global pandemic, most of its use has pivoted to domestic travel within the last year.

Find a Travel Mate with the Biu Ban Function

A function on Qyer worth mentioning is “Biu 伴” (biu bàn), the lovechild mentioned in the first paragraph. Users can find travel partners by simply posting a free ad with the destination, dates, and details of a trip they’re planning to take. Others on the platform who are interested can respond to the ad. And boy do those responses roll in.

My very first experience using the Biu 伴function was for a trip to Xiamen, China back during the summer of 2019. Within 24 hours of posting my ad, a group of five of us (strangers from all over China) had booked our train/plane tickets as well as Airbnb and were planning to meet in Xiamen two weeks later. I’m happy to report that it was an amazing trip, and we all stay in touch to this very day.

But we all know that with most good things, there are caveats. My first experience using the app was so smooth but then a couple of the experiences I had following that one were less than stellar. Long story short, scammers are real so users should exercise good judgment in filtering through messages and not sharing personal information too quickly. And for what it matters DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY RANDOM APPS OR SEND MONEY! The app does allow users to report violators and I have received messages from the system that accounts have been locked due to “suspicious activity” so at least Qyer is actively addressing those concerns.

What Data from Qyer Reveals About China’s Travel Industry

Chinese Outbound Travelers’ Favorite Destinations

Well, let’s take a look at some infographics published in the company’s 2019 Chinese Travel Trends Report:

Here we see the top 10 countries Chinese travelers tend to visit: Japan, Thailand, Italy, France, USA, England, Spain, Malaysia, Germany, and Russia.

Although travel bans are still in place due to Covid-19, many believe that we are in the final stretches of the pandemic. Travel is projected to resume soon and based on a forecast from the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, 100 million border crossings from mainland China are estimated for 2021. When the light turns green, we can definitely expect to see a healthy number of Chinese travelers in the countries mentioned above.

Qyer Users’ Preferred Accommodations

This next infographic shows that a whopping 72.5% of Qyer users between the ages of 25-35 opt for mid to high level hotels when traveling. Understandably, those a little younger (between the ages of 18-24 and likely college students) choose to stay in youth hostels and are willing to embrace simple accommodations.

However, what is most noteworthy is that 41.3% of users are now giving considerable consideration to homestays like Airbnbs, especially the more unique ones. Another factor that helps millennials and Gen Zs make decisions on where to stay is how “Instagramable” an accommodation is. Note to homestays: Play up the aesthetics so that the visitors will want to take a bunch of photos. They’ll be your best form of marketing!   

Qyer Users are Seeking Athletic Experiences

Given that Qyer users are a younger demographic, it comes as no surprise that they love fitness and physical activities. Approximately 44% of users report of having regular workout routines and look to stay active when traveling. Top activities include skiing, diving, cycling, hiking, paragliding, surfing, skydiving, running, and hot ballooning.

To an older demographic, these activities may appear riskier, but for the users on Qyer, travel is no longer just about visiting tourist attractions. They’re looking for the experiences and they’re willing to embrace the adrenaline rush that comes with doing so.

Removing Barriers to Travel

China is a driving force in the global outbound tourism industry. As the quality of life improves for its citizens across the board, China and its travelers will continue to make huge impacts for the industry for years to come. Apps such as Qyer allow us to take a closer look into the trends that Chinese travelers are setting as well as the experiences and services that attract them most.

The average age of the Chinese leisure traveler is decreasing. Travel is no longer just for retirees who have finally saved up enough time and money to follow a megaphone wielding tour guide around from attraction to attraction with 30+ other retirees.

No, travel is just as attainable to the 20-something year old working professional from Shanghai who has a week off and was inspired by a Korean drama to go paragliding through the mountains of Interlaken, Switzerland with friends he/she has never met before.

The post Chinese App Qyer Solves the Problem of Not Wanting to Travel Solo appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

China pickup truck sales broke records in 2020, experiencing a 10% jump in sales year over year to 452,000 units. The numbers are not that impressive compared to the US, but it is still very significant because the industry is in very early stages.

Why Weren’t Pickups Popular Before?

In China, pickups, known as pika, have been long regarded as a utilitarian tool. They often lack the comforts of other passenger vehicles and weren’t something that the average middle class or wealthy Chinese urban consumer would consider purchasing. They’d much rather opt for the newest SUV or sports car. This is very unlike in the US, where pickups are seen everywhere and considered the “Cowboy’s Cadillac”.

What Changed

Over the past few years, China’s outdoor sports and sports tourism industries have boomed as Chinese consumers become more health conscious. Hiking, camping, fishing, rock climbing and off-roading are some of consumers favorite outdoor activities. Interest in these sports has also led to an increase in sports tourism, as city-dwellers get out of the city to nearby destinations for the weekend or go on long road trips during holidays.

While this trend started taking off prior to the Covid pandemic, it has really boomed over the last year as consumers are restricted to traveling domestically. Places such as Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Ningxia have become very popular as people look to get out into the great outdoors away from other people.

As a result, pickup trucks became the number one choice for people who wants to travel across China. It allows them to carry supplies and tents into the beautiful no-man’s land.

As young people become more interested in a free and active lifestyle, their perception of pickup trucks has shifted. This shift is also influenced by their exposure to western culture. From traveling abroad or watching movies, they see pickup trucks as the ultimate freedom symbol. The go anywhere and haul anything rugged look fits the new generation’s lifestyle like a glove.

Several Chinese brands have jumped on this opportunity and are creating trucks designed for the China market.

Top China Pickup Truck Brands: Great Wall

Brands like Great Wall and Maxus are leading the way with both design and innovation. Great Wall is China’s No 1 off-road vehicle and SUV manufacturer formed in 1984. Trucks are sold under the Great Wall brand and SUVs are sold under the Haval and WEY brands.

it used to be imitation over innovation for the brand. When I was growing up, if you couldn’t afford a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Land Rover then you would buy a Great Wall. Why? Well from far away it looked just like either of them. However, things have changed since then. Great Wall has invested deeply in research and development, partnering with several European leading manufacturers such BorgWarner and Robert Bosch Gmb to improve quality and reliability.

On top of that, the brand has never lost focus on off-road ability. The company first appeared on the world stage in 2010 at the Dakar Rally. In 2012 the team finished 6th.

The Great Wall Cannon

The latest model Cannon became an instant hit in the China pickup truck world. The brand analyzed the market and found that the majority of the consumers will buy aftermarket parts to modify a regular truck. Their goals are to make it look better and outfit it for the outdoor activities they would like to do. However, modifications are mostly illegal in China, unless it is factory installed. Nowadays, the factory modified cars are the most popular amount young buyers. Because of this, the brand decided to “modify” the truck with snorkels and rugged off-road fenders and even a wench.

The Cannon is the top selling consumer truck model in China right now. It is also the only brand that has a full electric version currently on sale. In February 2021, a total of 15,127 Great Wall pickup trucks were sold. This is an increase of 611% year-on-year, with a market share of 51%.

Top China Pickup Truck Brands: Maxus

Under the SAIC corporate umbrella, Maxus is a relatively young company founded in 2011. Maxus originally focused on commercial vans but since 2013, the company started to add SUV’s and pickup trucks into its lineup. Its latest pickup truck model is the Maxus Bull T90.

The Maxus Bull T90 is filling the gap left by other popular mid-size trucks such as the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger, which are not currently selling in the China market.

Right now, it has the highest output in the midsize pickup truck class in China. The unique feature of this truck is it can be optioned with 2 liter inline 4 cylinder diesel engine with compound Turbo (sequential Bi-Turbo) and produces 500 Newton meters of torque (around 370 ft-lb).  This setup reduces Turbo lag dramatically using the smaller Turbo to spool up the bigger Turbo. No other mid-size pickups in the China market are using this technology.

This horsepower and torque might not seem like much compared to the US where big brands are competing with big V8s and even V10s, but it is plenty for China where mid-size trucks are more popular. This is largely to do with government regulations and the government’s goal to transition to electric vehicles by 2035. Therefore it is highly unlikely that the Chinese manufacturers will put effort into creating models with larger displacement engines.

Outside of Mainland China, Maxus has already established a strong presence in Asia, Australasia, and the Middle East region.

Government Restrictions

Besides the image, a key thing that has stopped many consumers from purchasing a pickup are the regulations. China has many regulations around when and where you can drive them. For example, major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou restrict pickup trucks from entering the city limits during the day. In major Chinese cities there are also restrictions on how many cars a person can own. Typically it is one vehicle per person, and you have to win a license plate lottery before even being able to buy one. Therefore people will be less likely to choose a car that they can’t drive all the time since they can only have one car.

This means that, right now, people from second and third tier cities and the rural areas are most likely to consider pickups, because there are less restrictions compared to major first tier cities.

However, even with the restrictions, we are starting to see more consumers in 1^st tier cities purchasing pickups anyway. For example, a couple will have one car that they can drive within the city (increasingly choosing an electric SUV) and then the truck which they can use on weekends to drive out of the city into rural areas.

As more and more consumers are choosing pickup trucks, and the central government is trying to boost economy and promote outdoor sports and domestic tourism, it is also encouraging certain cities and local government to ease restrictions on pickup trucks.

The Market is Still in The Early Stages

Even though China has become the world’s second largest market for pickup trucks, the numbers are still far behind the US. However, the market has huge potential. Like we just mentioned, there are currently many roadblocks in place that are preventing the Chinese pickup truck market from fully taking off.

We definitely won’t eliminate the possibility of China become the largest market for pickup trucks in the future.

The post As Outdoor Sports and Domestic Travel Booms, China Pickup Truck Market Becomes World’s Second Largest appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

But things are rapidly changing, and the Chinese tropical island of Hainan is now being referred to by many as “the next Hong Kong”. But what exactly does this mean and why is it happening? 

Let’s take a look: 

Isn’t Hainan “China’s Hawaii”?

Hainan has often been referred to as China’s Hawaii. A large tropical island with beautiful beaches, it’s not hard to see why. While it has always been a top domestic travel destination, in 2020 Hainan tourism took off. 

Domestic tourism in China flourished in 2020 as China quickly brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Citizens weren’t able to travel abroad, so they started to explore what China had to offer. 

As China’s only domestic tropical island destination, travelers who would have usually opted for international beach destinations such as Thailand or the Maldives rushed to Hainan.

So, if Hainan is “China’s Hawaii”, why is it now also “the new Hong Kong”?

Free trade, tax free zones, and business incentives! 

The Master Plan for Hainan

On June 1, 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China issued the “Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port“, proposing the principle of zero tariff and low tax rate, and increasing the tax-free shopping quota for Chinese citizens to 100,000 RMB per person per year (up from the previous 30,000 RMB), while expanding the types of duty-free goods. 

China wants to make Hainan a shopping paradise for Chinese consumers, and its working. Social media platform Xiaohongshu has numerous posts of consumers sharing their “shopping guides” for the best deals in Hainan. I asked Kejie, my fellow content creator here at China Marketing Insights, if she had ever been to Hainan and she immediately responded, “No but I really want to go. Its a shopping Heaven.”

The plan also includes plenty of incentives for businesses and workers. Not only can consumers purchase products duty free, but businesses can also import products and raw materials tax free. The goal is to incentivize cross-border trade, not only to increase import and export capabilities, but also to boost trade on foreign and domestic investments, data, capital, and talents. 

And by 2025 China wants to reduce the corporate tax rate by 15% for enterprises that are registered in Hainan. And employees of these companies residing in Hainan will also have an income tax cap of 15%, much lower than many other provinces, especially the more you earn. 

The government will also allow foreign personnel to act as legal representatives of statutory institutions, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises and ease restrictions on work permits for foreign personnel.

People who live on the island also get to enjoy the duty free and tax-free benefits as long as the things they buy don’t leave the island, which may motivate more people to move there and enjoy a higher quality of living for less. A great example of this are cars. An imported car in China is subject to taxes and tariffs that can easily add up to 40% or more of the car’s value. So for example, purchasing a $40,000 vehicle in other parts of China would be $65,000, but in Hainan should still be $40,000. 

Isn’t one Hong Kong enough? Why build another one?

There are many reasons, but the simple answer is more ports and free trade zones equals more growth. If you look on the map, Hong Kong is a lot smaller then Hainan, and at this point a lot more expensive. So, for businesses, there is not a lot of room for growth in comparison to the largely untapped Hainan. 

Number two…. Well I am not going to dig into the political issues here, you can do a simple Google search if you don’t know what I’m talking about, but politics are also a major factor. In 2019, tourism to Hong Kong saw a dramatic drop due to anti-government protests. 

Hainan, on the other hand, has always been completely part of China, there is no debate about that, and it is fully aligned with Chinese government, so building duty free shops and tax-free trade zones on Hainan carries much less risks and push-backs.  

Third, Hainan has become one of China’s most popular domestic travel destinations, adding in duty free shopping zones and dramatically increasing duty free shopping limits will ensure that travel to Hainan continues to prosper even after the COVID pandemic has passed and international travel has reopened. 

What does it mean for brands?

With China boosting domestic travel to ease the economic impact from the pandemic, more Chinese consumers are choosing to travel within the country, domestic flights have picked up from a low of 5,824 flights to 7,003 daily flights (up 20%) on average per week. 

Many international hotel chains have resorts in Hainan and more are sure to come. 

Pre pandemic we have already seen a steady increase in the housing market in Hainan, more people are moving to Hainan to retire because of the Sandy beaches and good air quality. For brands that want to thrive in China, Hainan might be a good starting point.

Conclusion

I do not think of Hainan as a replacement for Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been a long established economic, finance, and trading hub of the East, and that did not happen overnight. However, Hainan is more moldable in comparison, and there is more room for growth, any mistakes that Hong Kong made in the past, Hainan can learn from and avoid it, so that the speed of development for Hainan will be dramatically shortened compared to Hong Kong.    

The post Is Hainan the next Hong Kong? appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

But unfortunately this year, because of recent COVID-19 outbreaks in certain regions of China, the Chinese government is encouraging everyone to stay in their cities where they work and not to go back to their hometown during this Spring Festival so as to try to keep the virus from spreading out of those regions. Flights booked for the Chinese New Year Holiday can be returned or changed for free. If you are determined to go home, you need a nucleic acid test confirming you are negative for COVID-19 before boarding.

Under those restrictions, many people, particularly young people, are choosing to stay in the same city where they study or work during the Spring Festival instead of going home, and this group of people is being called Yuán Nián Rén (原年人). This is short for 原地过年的人 or people who are staying in their current location during this Spring Festival.

As a result, many brands have created special offerings for this group.

Travel Agencies Creating Local Guides

Alibaba’s online travel agency Feizhu (飞猪) launched guides to help people figure out how to spend the CNY holiday locally in whatever city they are stuck in. The guides include popular restaurants, scenic spots, hotels and other entertainment spots. 

Hotels are also encouraging Yuan Nian Ren to come have a staycation.  

Restaurants Creating Special Menus

Many restaurants also launched a Chuxi (除夕, the night before the first day of Chinese New Year) menu featuring special dishes from other regions. For example, if you are a Nanjing person in Guangzhou, you can also have traditional Nanjing dishes on this important evening. 

People are also looking for pre-made New Year’s dinners on food delivery platforms such as Ele.me. According to Ele.me’s parent company Alibaba, the search volumes for “new year’s eve dinner” for delivery on Ele.me surged 400% YoY in January. 

Even restaurant chains like KFC are offering pre-made new year’s food.

Single Portion and Instant Foods in High Demand

Other than special Springs Festival dishes, the demand for one-person portion food and instant foods has also increased as many people are spending the holiday alone. 

According to Alibaba’s live streaming focused media outlet Taobangdan (淘榜单), three instant food products have been selling especially well on Taobao live streams this Spring Festival: instant Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙, a shark fin soup), which is a traditional dish for CNY, 2. Zi Hai Guo (自嗨锅), a self-heated instant food and 3. fish maw and chicken soup. The total turnover of these three products grow 45.64% compared with the same time last year. 

Another example is domestic meal replacement brand Misszero (超级零) who has partnered with Ele.me to release a guide giving people ideas for how to spend their time when celebrating CNY without their family. On Misszero’s Tmall flagship store, from February 5 to 17, customers can get 20 RMB off any purchases over 75 RMB. A very good and rare deal!

RIO, a Chinese alcopop brand, recently launched campaign with the slogan 一个人的小酒 meaning “one person’s cocktail” or could also be interpreted as “alcohol to have when you’re by yourself”, which appeals to many young people’s situation at the moment.

Brands Are Staying Open

For many people, it is the first time for them to stay alone during the Spring Festival. This is very similar to the Coronavirus lockdown at the beginning of 2020. What do people usually do when stuck at home? Online shopping. 

Usually during the Spring Festival in China, businesses and logistics companies will shut down so that employees can all go home and be with their families, however, with this year’s situation, and to cater to the potential increase in online shopping that brands are expecting, some brands are choosing to stay open. 

One example is Chinese beauty brand Florasis who has promised its customers that during CNY, it will work with logistics company SF Express and customers will still be able to receive their Florasis parcels. Customers can also chat with customer service from 9am to 12pm every day. 

Well, this is great news for customers, but it is also concerning for employees of brands that are choosing to stay open like this. China has an exhausting work culture and Spring Festival is essentially the only time of the year when employees can typically fully detach from work for a whole week or two and come back refreshed. If so many businesses are staying open throughout the holiday, we are likely to see increased cases of burnout this year.

Read more: 春节不返乡？“原年人”成热词，这些飞猪商家火了

The post Who are Yuán Nián Rén (原年人) and Why Are Brands Catering to This Group During the Spring Festival? appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

Thanks to the upcoming winter Olympics and a lot of promotion from the Chinese government, winter sports – particularly skiing and snowboarding, have become very trendy in China this year with related content popping up all over top social media channels such as Douyin, Kuaishou and Xiaohongshu. “Skiing” related searches on Xiaohongshu have increased 150% YOY. 

One of the most popular resorts is Chong Li (崇礼), which will host the Winter Olympics in 2022. 

Short-term stay rental prices for condos near the mountain have skyrocketed, for example an upper mid-tier 2 bedroom condo went from an average of 16k RMB for the ski season 23k RMB. In the past, it was typical for the price to shoot up during peak times such as the Spring Festival, but this year this has become the regular price. 

Consumer Group

The majority of people (78%) going skiing are still very new and just want to experience this activity. 

According to Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency, currently 80% of skiers are first time learners and over 90% of them ski only one or two times every winter. A 2020 skiing report (中国冰雪旅游消费大数据报告2020) found that the majority of people who go skiing are coming from southern cities in China. 

And the skiing trend isn’t limited to outdoors. You may be surprised to learn that Chengdu (成都), Guangzhou (广州), Hangzhou (杭州) and Wuxi (无锡) – all southern cities, are some of the biggest clients for snowmaker machines as their ski resorts are indoor ones and people have a large demand for this activity in those cities.

New Brands Rising to Meet the Demand

Along with people’s increasing passion for skiing and snowboarding, is an increase in purchases of equipment. According to a winter activity report published by CBNData and Tmall Sports, in December 2020, the sales volume of ski equipment was 13 times higher compared with the same time in 2019. 

In 2019, there were 824 skiing companies that manufacture and sell equipment, which was a 15% growth compared with the number in 2018. In November 2020, the number rose to over 5,000. 

Compared to other countries’ winter sports industries, China is still in the early stages. In terms of the skiing equipment market, according to Snow Sports Industries America, the US market was valued at $4.3 billion USD in 2016. In China, however, in 2018, the skiing equipment market was only $492 million USD.

In China, on Taobao, there are mainly two types of ski equipment stores. One is multi brand stores that sell western brands, such as “冷山雪具” “肆加贰雪具库”, the other is domestic brands, such as NANDN (南恩), Vector or Nobaday. 

The Flashy Side of the Industry – Luxury brands and Group Buying Wannabe Socialites

For some Chinese skiers (or wealthy skier wannabes), ski equipment is like bags. They are desperate to own the highest-level products from professional ski equipment brands such as K2, Burton, Nitro to luxury brands such as Dior, LV or Balenciaga. 

Just like with special limited edition sneakers, there is already a second-hand market for hard-to-get items. For example, Burton has a ski suit called AK457, which is only sold in Japan. A coat whose original price is 3,000 to 4,000 RMB can be sold for 15k RMB on second hand platforms such as Xianyu.

While some consumers are certainly buying these products for their personal use – others just want them for the photo op. You might remember the Shanghai Debutante story we shared earlier in the year where influencers were pooling money to rent luxury cars and hotel rooms and buy clothing that they could use to take pictures. 

Well now that phenomenon has extended to skiing and snowboarding.

Some of the images that we mentioned in the beginning are probably taken by influencers group renting or group buying those luxury brands’ snowboards. Other than snowboards, these influencers also rent other high-end ski equipment to take photos. 

Local Brands are Also Booming

As mentioned above, there are already several domestic brands making a name for themselves including NANDN (南恩), Vector or Nobaday. 

Compared with international brands, these Chinese brands are most well-known for either their goggles or helmets, and their prices are way lower, with an average of 200 RMB, while for brands such as Burton, it costs around 1,000 RMB for a pair.

Among these brands, Vector has done a great job of niching down on a specific consumer group. 85% of Vector’s consumers are females. After carrying out surveys, they learn that when Chinese females are skiing, they also want themselves to look good. To be more specific, they want to look slim and have bright skin. 

So when the team of Vector designed a gaiter for women, they thought not only about warmth and comfort, but how to make it look slimming and make it in colors that are good on Asian skin tones. In their marketing, they often promote that this gaiter makes your face look slim compared to gaiters from other brands. 

Majority of Sales Still Offline

Another key point to note is that the majority of Chinese consumers prefer to buy ski and snowboard equipment offline so they can try it on first. Take the example of the multi brand retailer 冷山雪具, online business only contributes 20% of its total sales, the other 80% is coming from its 27 offline stores.

Read more: 爆红的滑雪，新的万亿市场？

The post Sports Bra, Abs, and Designer Snowboard – This Winter’s Must-Have Photo Op appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

COVID19 is going to have a very positive impact on Chinese domestic tourism. One destination that is super trendy on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu right now is Zhongwei in Ningxia province, which has been given the nickname China’s Route 66 and China’s Morocco.

The images are stunning and if I hadn’t read the titles and captions I would not have known they were in China. I predict this is going to be a hot spot for this year’s Autumn Festival and National Day holiday.

Check out the video to see why Zhongwei earned these nicknames!

The post Ningxia Zhongwei “China’s Route 66” and “China’s Morocco” Trending on Xiaohongshu appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

Hi everyone and welcome back to another edition of The Pulse, where I share a collection of noteworthy China marketing campaigns and content trends.

I cover quite a few topics in this July episode including:

• Trending domestic travel destination in Ningxia nicknamed “China’s Route 66” and  “China’s Morocco”
• The massive growing demand for edible Bird’s Nest and the two brands that ranked 1 and 2 in Taobao’s Pharmaceuticals category during this year’s 618 shopping festival
• My tips for how brands can leverage the super popular reality show “Sisters Who Make Waves”
• Some examples of how brands besides Perfect Dairy are using private traffic
• Nayuki Tea’s very transparent food safety article
• A great example of how brands can be leveraging the fan economy done by C-beauty brand Colorkey
• How top live streamer Viya is expanding her presence to other social platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu and capturing people’s hearts

I filmed videos to go along with this episode and provide more visuals. I have linked to the ones that are already published and as we edit the rest of them I will continue to link them up here!

The post The China Marketing Pulse: July Edition appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

For many sale associates in China, famous Taobao live streamers Austin (李佳琦) and Viya (薇娅) are their idols. These two former sales associates have shown what is possible, using their sales skills to become nationally recognized figures, a path that many sales associates dream of following. 

In April, Chinese department store INTIME began giving their sales associates a chance to make their dreams come true, collaborating with Alibaba to launch the “淘柜姐” or “Tao Saleswoman” plan, in which Intime sales associates are invited to be live streamers on Taobao. INTIME shared that they started this program 1. To boost sales and 2. To give their sales associates an opportunity to boost their incomes. It appears to be working. 100 INTIME saleswomen live streamed during the recent 618 shopping holiday, resulting in a 133% increase in sales YOY. 

Due to their skills, knowledge, and experience dealing with customers, sales associates are the perfect e-commerce live streamers and naturally have a leg up over those without a sales associate background. 

While I previously haven’t heard much about INTIME, from what I read it seems like an innovative retailer that is really looking towards the future. It is the first department store in China to have its own technology team, with over 200 people, a size equal to a mid-sized Internet company. It has its own app called Miaojie (喵街) which allows users not only to view product information, but to also see how many parking spaces are available at a store. 

INTIME equips its sales associates with data analytics tools reminding them when to stock up on certain items and predicting what products are likely to be in high demand based on hot topics, weather, holidays and other statistics.  

Read more: 商场导购转型“淘柜姐”？银泰百货要孵化自有带货网红

Will Selling Second-hand Items Become Celebrities’ Subsidiary Business?

Move over Douyin and Xiaohongshu, second-hand e-commerce platform Xianyu (咸鱼) has become the hot new place for celebrities to interaction with their fans. According to Xianyu, there are 56 celebrities actively selling on the platform. Customers buy these items either because they are discounted luxury products or because the celebrity has worn or used it before (明星同款).

The Top 5 items sold by celebrities are: skirts, shoes, bags, sweaters and gowns. According to the celebrities, most of the items come from cross-border online shopping, Daigou or are presents given to them by brands. Similar to ordinary users, they have been worn or used. Other than these items, celebrities sometimes sell lesser-known items. For example, Zhang Yuqi (张雨绮) once sold a candle fire extinguisher. Some celebrities even start selling used items from their own brands. Though they are sold at a steep discount, it appears to be a good way to promote their brands. 

Among top-tier celebrities, Shen Mengchen (沈梦辰) has earned the most selling second-hand items. According to the platform she has earned around 450k RMB. Among the top 10 celebrities on the platform, several of them are C list celebs whose ability to earn is less based on their celebrity status and more on the orginal value of the item being sold, for example a Hermes bag. 

But not all celebrities are in it for profit. Celebrity Jing Tian (景甜) donates all proceeds from Xianyu and regularly posts the amount which has drawn a lot of positive attention. 

The Xianyu platform gives fans the opportunity to own a piece of their favorite celebrities and, as seen by Jing Tian, can also be used to build a positive public image. But if it is used improperly, it could also provoke controversy as anything to do with money is sensitive. I think this is also an interesting opportunity for brands. 

Read more: 明星为什么都爱在咸鱼上卖二手？

What type of Travel Content is best for which Chinese Social Media Platform?

The tourism industry continues to boom as Chinese peoples’ incomes are increasing. Young consumers are leading this trend with 70% of travellers 35 years old or younger. Many of these consumers are getting inspiration and travel info from travel influencers and this article shares some typical characteristics of travel content on several major Chinese social media platforms. 

Douyin: To date there are only 3 travel influencers on Douyin that have more than 5 million followers. Though vertical videos typically do best on Douyin, a lot of travel content is horizontal. Many travel influencers on Douyin tend to post travel vlogs. Quality travel content is still in the early stages on Douyin but with its geotagging features the platform holds a ton of opportunity for the travel industry. 

Kuaishou: Again, travel videos tend to be vlog style. Influencers are mostly hiking and travel guides recording their lives abroad. 

Bilibili: Travel influencers on this platform typically live in a big city or another country, they understand its culture well, and share their experience to audience. They are also more like vlogs.

Xiaohongshu: Posts tend to be travel guides referred to as gonglue(攻略). 

Read more: 旅游短视频的钱景在哪？

China Influencer Marketing Podcast: Easternization & Understanding Young Chinese Consumers with Zak Dychtwald, Author of “Young China”

In this episode, we hear from Zak Dychtwald, author of the book “Young China” and Founder of the think tank Young China Group.

He and I dive deep, trying to understand young Chinese people and what they are all about. Zak shares some of the defining characteristics of the post 80s, post 90s and post 00s consumers, how they differ from older generations, as well as common misperceptions international companies have about this highly sought-after consumer group.

If you’re working for an international brand in the China market or one that’s looking to enter the China market, I highly suggest you listen to this episode and check out some of the videos of Zak’s speeches that I have linked below.

Listen online here, on iTunes here, and on Ximalaya FM here.

Influencer Spotlight:

Farfetch and Tmall are Taking Influencer Collaborations to the Next Level

While e-commerce platforms collaborating with influencers to drive sales is nothing new, e-commerce platforms in China appear to be taking influencer partnerships to the next level. Recently, Farfetch joined forces with renowned WeChat influencer Mr. Bags to launch a co-branded Mini Program store, while top e-commerce live streaming beauty blogger Austin Li became the first KOL to launch a Tmall Global Influencer Store.

Read more (In English) 

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