China marketing latest trends: July 2022
This is a series from our weekly newsletter in which we cover consumers, marketing, platform, economic and tech trends that brands in China need to know. Get the latest TRENDS newsletter edition sent directly to your inbox instead of having to visit our website next time.
TL;DR
This week we're covering three trends;
Concern over price & quality become mainstream
Rising popularity of urban outdoor sports
Douyin (TikTok) mini-series brings new opportunities for brands
Concern over price & quality becomes mainstream
During this year's 618 period (one of China’s largest online shopping festivals), an article called “Easy-to-Follow Shopping Strategy” (可“抄作业”的购物攻略) listed recommendations and price ranges for different product categories in detail received more than 7,000 likes and 1,000 comments on Xiaohongshu.
Discussion in the comments section of the post centered on the cost-effectiveness of each product with some users recommending higher-quality products to each other.
This increased attention toward cautious spending began trending in 2021 with more young consumers waking up to the dangers of living paycheck to paycheck or becoming “credit card slaves” (信用卡奴).
This year, after the long-term lockdowns and continued uncertainty in many cities, (mainly Shanghai and Beijing), deep-rooted concerns about the outlook for the economy as a whole and on an individual level threaten to exacerbate this trend.
Expect to see this shift impact consumer behavior in the following ways;
1) Psychological fatigue from shopping festival promotions (happening for several years now will accelerate faster)
2) Compared with impulse consumption, young people pay more attention to sustainable consumption which means practicality and cost-effectiveness of products
3) Spiritual needs (rewarding self and social identity) have become important motivations
4) Consumer information obtained through multiple channels, with acquaintances and KOLs high on the trust barometer
*Side Note*
Due to this trend, Taobao highlighted their “Copy Others’ Shopping Cart” (一键复制购物车) feature during 618.
Users can easily check what other people (especially influencers and celebrities) are buying and purchase the same items, and also share the link of their own shopping cart to friends through WeChat, Weibo, or inner messages on Taobao platform.
The rising popularity of urban outdoor sports
On June 9, LIFE WEEK, the most respected cultural observation magazine in China, published a WeChat article titled "Recent Beijing Youth: They Love Fishing, They Seem Like Billionaire”, which highlighted the growth of fishing, a traditional "hobby for the elderly” as a up-and-coming activity among the younger generation.
Indeed, with the deepening impact of China’s Zero-Covid policy, outdoor sports such as camping, skiing, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, and frisbee are emerging. Young people who cannot travel freely, seek to keep their distance from crowds, and are in urgent need of physical and mental relaxation have begun to choose a pond or a wilderness to find joy and satisfaction in life. Due to the hot sales of related equipment and clothes/accessories driven by this trend, as well as the establishment of small communities, a unique and active consumption ecology is forming.
Douyin (TikTok) mini-series brings new opportunities for brands
Mini-series on Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) are opening up an entirely new field for brand collaborations.
Take the popular series “Twelve Chinese Zodic Signs” (地支迷阵) as an example — it is the first vertical screenplay of the virtual idol Liu Yexi who has become a sensation on the platform. The number of views in the first three episodes exceeded 180 million, the total number of likes exceeded 8 million, and the topic reads exceeded 1 billion.
Domestic brands like Vivo mobile phones and Xiaopeng motors took the lead in collaborations with the show. Product placements were revealed in the plot, and the brands also cooperated with the virtual idol in subsequent series. Their official accounts interacted with each other on Douyin and generated traffic in the millions.
We believe that there will be more Douyin mini-series like this launched in the future. With the characteristics of the short video social media platform, the diversification and innovation of brands cooperation will be very worth looking forward to.
