A Means of Expressing One’s Personality

For Generation Z, cars are more than just transportation, they’re also a way to express themselves. This often means that Gen Zs have a very clear understanding of what type of vehicle they’re going or willing to purchase.

According to the report, the first thing they consider when purchasing a vehicle is safety, with 55% of Gen Z buyers saying they are choosing a vehicle based on the vehicle’s safety ratings. Although Gen Z buyers have a lot say in what type of car they want to purchase, oftentimes their parents or grandparents are the ones that are paying the bill. So to them, safety is number one concern for their loved ones and the top thing that needs to be taken into consideration.

But then after that, the second most important thing for Gen Z is design and styling. 49% say they choose a vehicle based on design and styling, which is 19% higher than millennials (Gen Y).

Interestingly, performance and handling is all the way down at #5.

Data also shows that 75% of Gen Z car owners use their car for daily commute, and 73% for family related use and 73% for road trips.

An Important Extension of Their Personal Space

Apart from practical use, many Gen Z buyers are under the influence of social media and the desire to project a certain personal image, so to them a car is so much more than just means of transportation.

In fact, 47% of Gen Z thinks that a car is an important extension of their personal space where they can find their own peace of quiet.  36% of Gen Z thinks that a car allows them to express themselves. Just like fashion, with aftermarket customizations and brand image, owning a cool car can be perceived by others as stylish and trendy.

Intelligence is Key

According to Ipsos’s survey, the top 6 automotive topics are smart transportation, automotive entertainment, automotive customization and DIY, racing, road trip and car models (hobby).

Among them, 40% of Gen Zs are interested in smart transportation. To many Gen Zs, a car isn’t just a driving appliance, it needs to be intelligent. Self-driving, intelligent voice recognition and in-car artificial intelligence are some of the top features that Gen Z buyers are looking for when searching for their next vehicle.

The trend of “China-chic” (GuoChao) is also influencing the automotive industry.

The China-chic trend in the fashion industry has raised awareness of appreciating traditional Chinese culture. However, it did not stop there, it also expanded the concept of “Made in China” among Gen Z consumers to many other types of products.

Generation Z grew up in the “take-off” stage of China’s economy and witnessed the development and rapid growth of domestic brands. Many Gen Zs are increasingly more confident in buying domestic brands over foreign brands. Research shows that Generation Z’s preference for domestic car brands is only second to German car brands that have 100 years of making automobiles under their belt.

47% favor domestic brands over foreign brands, and the top 5 reasons are technology, cost effectiveness, reliability/quality, design and functionality.

Interestingly, when compared to the top 5 reasons of purchasing foreign brands we can see some similarities. This further shows that from the Gen Z buyer’s perspective, the gap between foreign and domestic brands are shrinking.

Gen Z are Drawn to New Energy Vehicles

The internal combustion engine has deeply influenced many generations as the way a vehicle should be powered. Oftentimes the type of engine a car had was one of the deciding factors for purchasing a vehicle.

However, with China tightening down on environmental controls, many Gen Z automotive buyers see new energy vehicles as the alternative. Research shows that 39% of Gen Z buyers are choosing alternative energy vehicles. Among them, 61% said they purchased them for environmental protection reasons.

Many new energy vehicle brands are targeting Gen Z buyers as their primary marketing audience. Brands like Tesla have greatly elevated the reputation of new energy vehicles. With its technology and fast acceleration, many Gen Z buyers sees new energy vehicles as the future of transportation.

SUVs with multi-purpose attributes have become Gen Z’s favorite vehicle type

SUVs have always been popular among the Gen Z demographic. Research shows, 44% of Gen Z automotive buyers prefer SUVs. According to the survey, many Gen Z buyers prefer SUVs because of their high ground clearance, spacious interior, and ease of entry and exit for elderly family members. Owning an SUV enables Gen Z owners to go on road trips where the road conditions may not be ideal.  

If you’re enjoying this series, check back soon for more takeaways from the report!

The post Key Takeaways from the Gen Z Automotive Preferences Insights Report: Part 2 appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

Ubras was founded in 2016 and it didn’t start to take off until 2018, the year that it officially launched one-size-fits-all bras. During Double 11 in 2020, Ubras broke 300 million RMB in sales and became the number 1 brand in the underwear category on Tmall.

Why have one-size-fits-all bras become so popular in China? Who is buying them? Today we’ll share some key findings from a recent report co-authored by Ubras and CBNData.

Why Have Ubras one-size-fits-all, no underwire bras become so popular?  

The report breaks down the Chinese bra market into three phases. Phase 1, No unique products or brands, consumers didn’t think much, just filling a need. Phase 2, the desire to be sexy. This was a peak period for global lingerie brands like Victoria’s Secret. Phase 3, focus on personal experience. Consumers demand comfortable products that make them feel good, and there is less focus on what others think. 

Many Chinese female consumers, especially those that are married or in relationships, are in phase 3. According to the report, 87% of Chinese women seek a comfortable lifestyle. 44% of them purchase things for their own personal experience and enjoyment – not to please others.

Because of this, consumers have started to love bras without underwire and there is a lot of potential for growth in this industry.

There are many bra brands providing no underwire bras, but the fact that Ubras bras are one-size-fits-all also had a very strong appeal for consumers. The report shared that a lot of women struggled with purchasing bras online because they couldn’t figure out what size to buy.

Who is purchasing Ubras one-size-fits-all, no underwire bras?

In terms of age and location, post-85s and post-90s from first and second tier cities are the main consumption groups. When it comes to consumption ability, those with middle and higher consumption levels are more likely to try out Ubras’ products. The majority of them have a high education level such as a master’s or PhD.  

Married females consume more one-size-fits-all bras than unmarried women. Pregnant females value comfort and thus they love wearing those bras as well.  

Besides those groups that we mentioned, teenage girls are also wearing one-size-fits-all, no underwire bras bought for them by their mothers. Because those bras don’t restrict the growth of their breasts. Therefore, mothers of teenage girls are a key target market as well.

Consumers’ difficulties and expectations when buying bras

The report shared many of the difficulties that women cite when purchasing bras. These include: uncomfortable, too many choices, straps falling off, get misshapen after washing, digs into ribs, difficult to purchase online but not convenient to try on offline, and more.

When buying one-size-fits-all no underwire bras, consumers expect to wear bras in different occasions, such as staying at home, doing sports, travelling, working and during pregnancy. They have also become more than a bra, but a fashion item. Many consumers love wearing Ubras one-size-fits-all bras like a crop top with high-waisted pants and shorts. To promote this trend, Ubras held a campaign on Weibo and Xiaohongshu encouraging women to share how to style a bra as part of their outfit. At the time the report was published, the Weibo hashtag #文胸外穿# had over 1.2 million views and the hashtag #文胸外穿搭配指南# had over 25 million views! On Little Red Book, the topic #文胸外穿搭配# had over 40K posts, and the topic #无尺码内衣外穿# had over 20K posts.

The future of the market

Though the market is still in its early development stage and the majority of its customers are new clients, customers already have formed the habit to repurchase one-size-fits-all bras.

According to the report, Ubras sees a lot of potential for growth among millennial and GenZ consumers in lower tier cities, as well as workers who are just entering the white-collar workforce in tier one and tier two cities.

Each consumer group has different product demands. For example GenZ cares more about whether or not the product is fashionable. Lower-tier city consumers seek a cost-effective product and care more about design. Young white-collar workers in big cities want something sexy and trendy.

There is also growing demand for larger cup sizes. The current one-size-fits-all bra is actually best suited for cup sizes A-C, but many larger cup size consumers were also seeking comfortable bras, so Ubras has created a “one-size-fits-all plus” version.

Learn More about Ubras

Besides these findings, we’ve also mentioned Ubras’ marketing strategy which makes it become the top runner in the industry in our previous article, and its recent scandal regarding feminism. For brands that want to bring new products or service for consumers, Ubras is a good example to learn from.

Get the Full Report here: 2021女性无尺码内衣白皮书

Find a summary of the report here: 不是所有无尺码内衣都叫无尺码

The post Ubras x CBNData Ones-size-fits-all Bras Report 2021 appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

The majority of consumers purchasing meal replacement products are females under the age of 35, and the largest consumer segment are those aged 25 and under, also known in China as post-95s. Most of these consumers are located in 1st and 2nd tier cities. Post-95 females are very willing to try out new products that will help them improve their appearance and control their weight. 

The number of brands in the meal replacement and weight loss market has more than doubled since 2018 and is a mix of Western and Chinese brands, with some of the popular Chinese meal replacement brands being Miss Zero, Dongchi, Wonderlab, and Easy Fun and brands such as ChocDay and Yuanqi Senlin who are known for their sugar free products.

When it comes to choosing meal replacement and weight loss products, the report identifies four key trends of popular brands: 

1. Low sugar, low carb
2. Packed with superfoods
3. Trendy, convenient packaging and localized flavors
4. Provide professional meal plan consultation

Sugar Free and Low Carb

Low sugar and low carb diets have been a very popular trend in China in 2020. A search for “low sugar” on popular social media platform Xiaohongshu has over 120K results and low carb has over 60K results. Consumers are interested in low sugar diets not only to lose weight but because a low sugar diet is believed to help with anti-aging. 

According to the report, the top 3 best-selling sugar free meal replacement products in China in 2020 were Miss Zero’s three-day calorie burn meal plan (三日燃卡餐), Slimfast shakes, and Dongchi’s 21-day sugar free meal plan. 

High Nutrition Foods

Top foods and ingredients that consumers are seeking out include oats, inulin, marine collagen peptides, white kidney beans, chicken breast, and red dates. 

Chicken breast has become very popular among health-conscious post-95s, especially those into fitness who are looking to have a more defined body shape. Protein bars have also become popular among these young consumers in 1st tier cities. 

Trendy, convenient packaging and localized flavors

Young consumers want it all – healthy, low calorie, and delicious. But their definition of delicious is different than western consumers and many Chinese brands that are catering to local tastes are finding success. For example, while the traditional chocolate meal replacement shake is a best-seller, flavors such as milk tea, red bean, and matcha are also very popular among post-95 consumers. 

For pre-packaged meals, products inspired by Chinese food tend to do well, such as pepper chicken, pickled vegetable soup, mapo tofu, etc.

When it comes to packaging, consumers definitely care about design. They want it to look good, and be convenient. Single serving, easy to grab and go packaging is attractive. 

Professional Meal Plans and Meal Plan Consultants

Consumers want results, and as such, purchasing meal plan sets has become very common. Three-day meals sets are the most popular. 

Additionally, brands that offer professional meal plan and weight loss consultants to customers are seeing an impact on repurchase rate and positive reviews. For example, Chinese meal plan brand Miss Zero offers professional nutrition consultants that can help consumers figure out the best meal plan to meet their goals. 

Among online reviews, around 80% of those that mention “nutrition consultants” are positive. 

Where the Industry is Headed 

The meal plan and diet product industry is expected to continue experiencing rapid growth in 2021. Brands will continue to develop products that meet the key concerns of Chinese consumers. Besides weight loss, some of the top needs include: aid sleep, women’s health, improve Qi and blood, healthy skin and hair, help with digestion. 

Read more: Z世代的餐盘新“食”尚：要好吃、要曲线、也要健康

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/npDUvnNI_b8stRH–p0pwg

The post Gen Z Consumers Driving the Growth of China’s Meal Replacement Industry appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

Their strengths lie in their deep understanding of Chinese consumers and cultural trends, their ability to execute campaigns and produce new product lines at an incredible speed, and their willingness to experiment with new content formats and platforms.

International brands still very much have a place in the market; however the growing strength of Chinese brands is forcing them to step up their game, stop being complacent, and put in increased effort to understand Chinese consumers and Chinese culture.

Here at China marketing Insights, we see this as a good thing!

This report is a collection of Chinese brands that we have been following and shares some of the key tactics each brand has used to become successful.

We are currently finishing up Part 2 of this report which will feature several industries including food & beverage, health & fitness, pets, toys, multibrand retailers, automobiles and more! 

The post Chinese Brand Report Part 1: Fashion & Beauty appeared first on China Marketing Insights.

For this whitepaper, Data100 surveyed 3106 people in 1st-4th tier cities across China. The survey was done in May 2020 so the results are very recent. The report is full of interesting data and trends in live streaming viewer/consumer demographics and it explores the competition between various platforms and gives some predictions for future trends.

• In 2019 China’s e-commerce live streaming industry was worth 433.8 billion RMB; in 2020 it is estimated to reach almost 1 trillion.
• Around one fourth of China’s internet users have watched an e-commerce live stream.

• This slide shows how consumer shopping behaviors have changed since the start of COVID19. The number of people who have purchased products while watching a live stream has grown 6%, through a WeChat Official Account or WeChat group 4%, and through a short video 2.6%.
• At the same time, purchases through e-commerce apps decreased 1.9% and webpages 0.4%.

• Among platforms, Taobao live stream is the clear winner with 77% of consumers saying they have heard of it, 68% have watched it, and 61% have bought something through it.
• Douyin came in 2nd place with 67%, 52% and 39% respectively, showing the conversion rate is still much lower on Douyin.
• Next was Kuaishou, Jingdong, Pinduoduo, Xiaohongshu, VIP.com, Mogujie, Douyu, and Huya
• Interestingly the report did not include WeChat mini program live streaming

This report is 33 pages long and filled with a ton of other insights!

The post Whitepaper: E-commerce Live Streaming Post COVID-19 appeared first on China Marketing Insights.