Beyond Chinese New Year: a hidden potential - Your ultimate guide to Chinese Festivities and e-commerce trends - EGGsist
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中
国
网
Beyond Chinese New Year:
a hidden potential
络 Your ultimate guide to
Chinese Festivities and
e-commerce trends
节
指
南
Content’s table
Introduction .............................................................................................................3
Chinese Festival Guide .......................................................................................5
Chinese New Year ........................................................................................6
Valentine’s Day ............................................................................................10
Women’s Day ...............................................................................................10
White Valentine’s Day ...............................................................................12
Tomb Sweeping Day .................................................................................13
Double 5 Shopping Festival ..................................................................14
Mother’s Day .................................................................................................15
520 Day ...........................................................................................................16
Children’s Day ...............................................................................................17
Little Red Book Anniversary ................................................................20
DragonBoat Festival ..................................................................................21
618 Shopping Festival ..............................................................................22
Father’s Day .................................................................................................24
Suning 818 Shopping Festival..............................................................25
Qixi, Double 7 ..............................................................................................26
99 Wine Festival .........................................................................................27
Mid Autumn festival .................................................................................29
National Day of PRC ................................................................................30
Singles’ Day ..................................................................................................33
Double 12 Day .............................................................................................34
Christmas Day .............................................................................................34
Chinese Trends Guide ......................................................................................35
Livestreaming ..............................................................................................36
Niche brands................................................................................................38
Social Commerce ......................................................................................39
KOL and KOCs ...........................................................................................40
Fintech ............................................................................................................43
About EGGsist ............................................................................................45
© 2020, EGGsist Ltd. All rights reserved
#beyondCNY 2
Introduction
The Chinese market is an unmissable opportunity for brands aiming
to expand: the explosion of the upper-middle-class in China will be
the driving force for luxury brands, leading to an almost doubling of
luxury spending by 2025, when Chinese consumers are expected to
account for 40% of the global luxury market. Further, Chinese
consumers will contribute to almost two thirds of global growth in
luxury spending between now and 2025, with the post 80s
generation being the main contributor to this growing consumption
and the post 90s generation playing an increasingly bigger role.
Despite the fact that this market does provide a huge potential, it isn’t
necessarily easy for international companies to tap into it, as Chinese
consumers buyers journey is so unique. EGGsist has over 10 years of
experience in the market so is perfectly placed to help brands
develop a coherent, successful strategy in China.
Although most companies are now familiar with the Lunar New Year
and recognize its importance when it comes to targeting Chinese
consumers, many don’t realise that there is actually a multitude of
other festivities which brands can use. Major festivities are of course a
great opportunity for brands, but lesser known events are a lot less
saturated so can provide even more potential. Of course, in order to
make the most of these, it is necessary to plan your strategy well in
advance and with a good understanding of these events and how
Chinese consumers interact with companies. This report will give an
overview of the most important dates on the Chinese calendar which
brands should be aware of in order to launch the most successful
campaigns possible. The report will then go on to look at the main
trends for the near future in the Chinese e-commerce space: live
streaming, social commerce, fintech and KOLs.
3
20-21 Chinese
Festival Calendar 中国节日历
F Modern
J 14
e Valentine’s
a 25 春节 b 日
Day M 08 妇女节
n 日 Chinese r a 日 Women’s
u New Year u r
鼠
a day
2020 a c
r r h
y y
01 儿童节
日 Children’s
55
05 Day
Shopping
日 festival 06 小红书节
日 LRB
Anniversary
A 09 母亲节 J
04 清明节 M 14 端午节
p 日 Mother’s u
a 日
r 日 Tomb day n Dragon boat
y
i Sweeping e Festival
l Day
520 18 618
20
Modern 日 Shopping
日
Valentine’s Festival
Day
20 父亲节
日 Father’s
day
18 818 S 09 99 酒水节 O 01 国庆
A Shopping e c 日 National
日 p 日 Wine
u Festival t Day
t Festival
g e
u 七夕节 m 11 光棍节
25 21 中秋节 N
s b 日 Singles
日 Traditional e 日
t Mid-autumn o Day
Valentine’s r Festival v
day
F 12 春节
D J
牛
12 Double 12 e
e a 日 Chinese
日 Shopping b
c Festival n New Year
r 2021
e u
u
m a
25 圣诞节 a 14 Modern
b r
日 r Valentine’s
e Christmas y 日
y Day
r
Chinese Festival Guide 中国购物节指南
Chinese
春
SUN
25
New Year
January
Lunar new year is the most important of Chinese
traditional festivities and also a great moment for
foreign retailers to engage Chinese consumers,
both in China and abroad as millions choose to
travel internationally during the holiday season.
Brands can leverage this moment by creating
节
limited editions inspired by the festivity or with Chūn jié
other innovative solutions, but its fundamental to
do so with an understanding of the profound
cultural significance of the occasion. O2O, online to
offline interaction, is key when targeting Chinese
consumers so brands should leverage this strategy
to carry out effective marketing campaigns with
the highest conversion rate.
The Hongbaos 红包
One of the most important traditions of this
festivity is the giving and receiving of hongbaos:
red packets containing money which are
exchanged between friends and family, in
particular with kids. The red color of the packet
has a highly symbolic meaning as in Chinese
culture it represents happiness, good fortune and
prosperity. In recent years, virtual hong baos have
become increasingly popular, with apps such as
WeChat and AliPay giving users the option to
send hongbaos directly on the app.
For the 2020 lunar new year, Alipay launched a
campaign where users could personalise their red
packet with illustrations of their family members
and this is just one example of how this tradition
can be leveraged to engage customers and even
increase brand awareness.
#beyondCNY 6
What’s Alipay?
Born in 2004 as the main digital payment gateway for Taobao
(Alibaba group) today is considered the lifestyle super app by Ant
Financial with more than a billion users worldwide.
Ant Financial is the world's highest-valued FinTech
company, with a valuation of US$150 billion.
EGGsist, as Alipay Marketing Partner, supports
brands in their drive to store and drive to commerce
strategies in Europe and in the UK.
Another key fact about this festivity is that many
campaigns often take inspiration from the 12 Chinese
zodiac animals which are used to represent the years.
For instance, 2020 is the year of the rat and Gucci
released a campaign with a video shot at Disneyland
with the brand celebrity ambassador actress Ni Ni
playing around with Minnie and Mickey Mouse. Another
great example of how brands can use the zodiac sign is
Piaget’s 2019 limited edition watch featuring a pig, that
year's zodiac sign.
Such products are a great way to target Chinese consumers as many
are looking for gifts for loved ones during the holiday season. Although
these animals offer many opportunities in terms of limited editions and
campaigns, brands should not feel limited as innovation is also a great
way to stand out. An example is Prada’s 2020 campaign titled "Coming
Home" making no reference to the zodiac signs with a video showing
the model Chun Jing returning home to celebrate the holidays with her
family. Indeed, over Chinese New Year millions of people return home
to be with their relatives in what is widely regarded as the biggest
human migration in the world. The video tapped into something that
virtually all Chinese people know and experience so it is a great
example of how important it is to truly know a country and its people
in order to release campaigns that will resonate.
7 #beyondCNY
Source: Prada official website ‘Coming Home’ Campaign
EGGsist celebrated the Year of the Rat 鼠 with an O2O
Cocktail event!
This was an occasion to meet clients and partners and
an opportunity to network and promote O2O (online to
offline), a key strategy for Chinese digital marketing.
The event was held in the well known Deodato Arte
Gallery in Milan, who thanks to EGGsist implemented
Chinese mobile payment systems and joined the Alipay
CNY Global Campaign to offer discounts and coupons
to Chinese users interested in modern and
contemporary art.
During the event, the street artist Mr. Savethewall
performed a live performance in celebration of the Year
of the Rat and the Italian jewelry brand Gioielli DOP, in
partnership with EGGsist, launched an exclusive limited
edition bracelet with a silver little mouse charm.
The claim of the event was: 来欧洲购物，乐不思鼠！
#beyondCNY 8
The CNY2020 campaign on
Alipay was around the Chinese 5 Fortunes Wufu (五
福), meaning the five blessings, is a concept that signify
a grouping of certain good fortunes and luck in Chinese
culture such as: long life (长寿), wealth (富贵), health (康
寧), love of virtue (好德) and peaceful death (終命).
EGGsist supported merchants that joined the campaign
not only with digital advertising, banners and landing
pages, but also with offline activities.
The brands involved in the campaign received the
printed version of the 五福 cards, that could have been
scanned by Alipay users in store to connect with the
App promos and gamification activities.
Moreover to offer a sweet souvenir to clients, we
realized a fortune cookie produced by Mami Louise.
These are some of the examples that can be run during
a campaign period!
9 #beyondCNY
SUN
Valentine’s Day
14 情人节 Qíng rén jié
February
Although it is less important than the other two
Valentine's day as it is a recent Western import, more
and more young people are celebrating the 14th of
February as an occasion to spend time with their
significant other.
That’s why brands should plan ahead also this
campaign for the Chinese market!
Women’s
妇
SUN
08
Day
March
Celebrated on the 8th of March like in most other
countries, International Women’s day has been
adopted by various online e-Commerce platforms
as another occasion to increase consumption. This
is a great opportunity for brands to target female
女
节
consumers, but it is still largely untapped and often
overlooked by foreign brands in favor of more well
known festivities like New Year or Double 11.
Deep Dive: the importance of the
“she economy”
Women’s day is a great opportunity for brands to Fùnǚ jié
tap into a market segment with huge potential.
Females account for 75-78% of Chinese luxury
consumption and are responsible for 4.6 times as
many travel retail purchases as male travellers.
Indeed, Chinese females’ growing purchasing
power seems to be an unstoppable trend: the
country has the world’s highest proportion of
women in senior management positions and the
#beyondCNY 10second largest for female CEOs. This has led to the coinage of the
term “she economy” 她经济 (Tā jīngìj), with overall spending by
women increasing by 81% in the five years leading up to 2019,
reaching a whooping $670 billion. The idea of female emancipation
and independence have also gained more and more traction, in no
small part thanks to media representations of ‘female boss’ characters
in TV series such as ‘Ode to Joy’ and ‘All is Well’. Tapping into this
idea of female independence and power, Secoo created the shopping
event known as ‘Goddess Festival’ and Tmall’s equivalent takes the
name of ‘Goddess Festival’. Indeed, data from this past Women’s Day
show the importance of this event for companies and how it can be
leveraged to attract consumers.
Case study:
Tmall started a campaign focusing on women’s self care ‘Own
yourself, love yourself’, collaborating with brands like Lancôme and
L’Oreal, with the hashtag accumulating 600 million views and 2.12
million discussions. Total volume of sales on the platform also
increased by 100% compared to 2019.
+100%
TMall Total volume sales
vs.2019 Women’s Day
Source: TMall
11 #beyondCNY14 White
SUN
Valentine’s
March
白
Day 色
情
The tradition of White valentine’s day originated in
Japan in the 1970s but it has since spread around Asia
and is becoming increasingly popular in South Korea
and Taiwan. Although it is not yet a mainstream holiday
in China, it is gaining more and more traction and, in its
slightly adapted Chinese version, this is the day when
women gift their male companions, in some sort of
reciprocation of the gifts received on the 14th of
February. This is therefore a great opportunity for
brands to promote products for male consumers, both
to them directly or to their female partners who are
人
节
looking for gift ideas.
Case study
The British luxury fashion brand Dunhill provides a
successful example of campaign revolving around this
holiday: in 2019 they issued a limited edition backpack in
collaboration with the well-known fashion blogger Mr.
Bags, selling 200 bags in 36 minutes via WeChat for a Bàisé
total sales value of $196,014. Given Chinese women’s qíngren
increasing financial independence, brands would do well jié
to pay attention to this relatively new holiday as an
occasion to tap into their growing spending power and
promote products aimed at men.
#beyondCNY 12
Source: DunhillWhat’s WeChat?
WeChat, launched in 2011, began as an instant messaging app but
it has since evolved hugely and has become a ‘super-app’ which
Chinese people use to do virtually anything: from ordering food,
to calling taxis, to scrolling through other users’ posts. As of
January 2020 it had 1.165 billion monthly active users who on
average spent 66 minutes on the app everyday.
Brands can create their own official accounts (OA), mini
programs, e-Commerce, collaboration with KOLs, adv campaigns
and CRM services to mention few.
Tomb
SUN
04
Sweeping
April 清
Day
Tomb Sweeping day is the traditional Chinese festival
devoted to the commemoration of ancestors. To
celebrate, people typically return home to ‘sweep’ the
明
节
graves of their family members and burn fake paper
money or other objects to honor the dead. Clearly,
this is a very important and sensitive moment for
Chinese people and brands ought to be careful with
how they engage in marketing. Nonetheless, many
young people take this opportunity to travel to
nearby destinations or go on hiking and camping
trips so brands should take this into consideration: if Qīng
done in a culturally sensitive manner, this could also
be an opportunity to target Chinese consumers.
míng jié
13 #beyondCNYDouble 5
五
SUN
05
Shopping
May
Festival
The double 5 Shopping festival was held for the
first time in 2020, launched by Shanghai’s
五
购
municipal government in order to boost
consumption and stimulate so-called ‘revenge
spending’ after the Corona-virus induced lockdown.
The name derives from the fact that it started on
the 5th of May, focusing on the 5 most important
物
sectors for Shanghai’s local economy (emerging
markets, leisure and entertainment, automotive,
news & communication and everyday articles) and
lasting through 5 important festivities (workers day,
mothers day, children's day, fathers day and dragon
boat festival). Both online and offline retailers took
part in the festival, offering coupons, discounts and
organizing all sorts of initiatives to release new
products and attract consumers. In just four
minutes, the festival generated 100 million RMB in
revenue, indicative of Chinese consumers desire to
resume consumption and shopping.
节
Wǔ wǔ
gòu wù
#Shanghai jié
Shopping
Festival!
#beyondCNY 14Mother’s
母
SUN
09
Day
May
Mother’s day in China is celebrated on the 9th of
March and this is yet another opportunity which
companies can use to increase brand awareness
and engage with Chinese consumers.
亲
节
Brands should be aware of the huge importance
that family plays in Chinese culture and society as
this can help understand consumers and inform
marketing strategies. Filial piety is arguably the
most important moral virtue in Chinese society, its
character 孝 (Xiào) is made up of the character 老
(Lǎo), meaning old, on top and the characters 儿子
(Ér zi), meaning son, on the bottom. The character Mǔqīn
for son being below the character for old jié
symbolically represents the hierarchy in Chinese
society, where younger generations are expected
to respect, obey and care for the older ones. Given
this, mother’s day is a great opportunity to tap into
this fundamental aspect of Chinese culture and the
desire of sons and daughters to gift their mothers.
Case studies
Brands can use all sorts of campaigns to celebrate
this day, for instance in 2018 the Italian Luxury
brand Bottega Veneta adopted an O2O strategy,
encouraging customers to bring mothers to their
physical stores to access a personalisation service.
Dior also sold a limited edition watch and jewellery
collection exclusive to China and Gucci’s campaign
on Mother’s Day garnered hundreds of thousands
of views in a few days.
15 #beyondCNY520 Day
五
THU
20 网络情人节
May
Wǎngluò qíngrén jié
The 20th of May is yet another one of China’s
Valentine’s Day, born because the date 520 (五二零
wǔ èr líng) in Chinese it sounds very close to the
phrase “I love you” 我爱你 (Wǒ ài nǐ). 520 isn’t just a
二
day to express your love for your significant other,
it is also an occasion to give gifts to friends and
family so it is a great opportunity for brands to
advertise all sorts of products.
Case studies:
零
A successful case study for the 520 celebrations Wǔ'èr
comes from the beauty industry with Estee líng
Lauder releasing exclusive lipstick colors in
collaboration with the famous singer Hua
Chenyu. In just one day, 10,440 of the lipsticks
costing $117 dollars had been preordered on
Taobao, which shows the potential of 520 and
of collaborating with local idols to tap into their
loyal fanbase.
In 2020, Loewe also released a 520 campaign
collaborating with the famous Chinese high-end
flower shop ‘The Beast’. This collaboration is
part of another recent trend in the Chinese
market which can be of inspiration for foreign
companies: collaborations between brands in
different, seemingly unrelated, categories.
For instance, in April 2020, Rihanna’s Fenty
Beauty announced a collaboration with the well
known brand of bubble tea ‘Hey Tea’ and their
hashtag gained more than 14 million views in
less than ten days.
Other similar case studies include L’Oreal’s
#beyondCNY 16partnership with the hotpot chain Din Tai Xiang or Alexander Wang’s
collaboration with McDonald’s which sold out in a few seconds. These
sorts of partnerships are a great way to generate buzz, engage
customers and increase brand awareness especially in a country like
China where consumers love to share on social media.
Source: Fenty Beauty Source: Alexander Wang
Children’s
儿
TUE
01
Day
June
Although it is still not very well known outside of
the country, Children's’ day is celebrated in China
with a half-day off school for most kindergarten
and elementary school students, who spend time
with parents and friends. In recent years, Children’s
童
节
day has become an increasingly important festivity
in terms of shopping, so brands should be aware of
the potential that this day offers. Indeed, in 2018
the festivity generated a total of $1.5 billion in sales
and the luxury children’s wear market in the
country doubled between 2018 and 2019.
Értóng
Deep dive: Children as a driving jié
force
Understanding how willing Chinese parents are to
use their purchasing power for their Children is
17 #beyondCNYcrucial to fully appreciating the importance of
this market segment and this day for
companies. The one-child policy which ended
in 2015 led to the birth of a so-called ‘Little
Emperor Culture’, where children receive lots
of attention from their parents and
+38%
Predicted Child Fashion
grandparents, who are willing to go to Market growth in 2020
extreme lengths to make sure that they have a
successful life. Furthermore, competition in
China is extremely heated and traditional
culture has always placed huge emphasis on
education. This has led to the flourishing of
the private education sector, expected to
reach a market value of $744 billion by 2025
according to Deloitte, and its online market
which reached $37 billion in 2018 and is
expected to continue to grow at a 20%
2X
growth rate in coming years by the Luxury children’s wear
consultancy firm Iresearch. market have been
doubled between
Parents aren’t just focused on the more 2018 and 2019
traditional aspects of education and are
increasingly looking beyond exam-oriented
skills: they want their children to develop
artistic talents, be good at sports, and in
general are constantly looking for innovative,
experiential activities, ranging from cooking
lessons with foreign chefs to creative courses
at modern art museums in their cities. This
idea of education is so deep rooted that even
when choosing toys, Chinese parents take this
into consideration and a survey showed that
36% of parents thought education was the top
consideration when choosing toys.
China has had many food safety scandals,
most notably in 2008 when melamine was
found in baby formula sickening hundreds of
thousands of babies. Coupled with the
widespread belief that foreign products are
more likely to follow stringent guidelines and
rules, this means that there is also a great
opportunity to market organic, high quality
#beyondCNY 18food products. In terms of
What’s Weibo? fashion, the ‘Mini-Me’ trend is
Weibo is the largest also something that brands can
microblogging platform in leverage: the research centre
China with 520 million monthly Decision Dog predicts the
active users as of January parent-child fashion market will
2020. Users access content on grow by 38% in 2020. A great
the algorithmic feed or on the example campaign tapping into
‘hot topics’ page and brands this trend is a Baby Dior
can use the platform via campaign from 2019 featuring
display ads, boosting posts in famous child actors or children
collaboration with KOLs and of celebrities, which increased
by sharing content through the company’s Weibo
their own profile pages. engagement as well as sales.
Although most campaigns for
children’s day promote products
aimed at younger consumers, brands shouldn’t
feel limited as strategies can also be crafted to
attract older customers willing to celebrate this
day as a fun way to reminisce about childhood.
For instance, the talent incubator Labelhood
set up a pop-up where clients could shop the
latest collections as well as take pictures with
balloon animals, eat gelato. Another example is
that of the liquor brand Jiangxiaobai
partnering with the ice cream brand Suibian to
create a limited edition alcohol infused ice
cream for ‘older kids’ to celebrate.
In general, now that the one child policy has
ended, the higher fertility rate means that the
WeChat mini program
potential market for companies to tap into is
growing, with sectors ranging from tourism to
food and beverage to fashion having the
possibility to benefit.
Scan The QR code and discover Emerald
Green BABY!
19 #beyondCNYLittle Red Book
SUN
06
Anniversary
June
66周年庆 Zhōunián qìng
Little Red Book is without a doubt a key player in the Chinese internet
ecosystem, particularly when it comes to shopping, beauty and
fashion. Their app anniversary falls on the 6th of June and it has
become an important shopping festival which brands can use to
target users. Companies can partner with KOLs (the equivalent of
influencers in the West) or use advertisements on the platform to
make the most of this event.
What’s Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)?
Xiaohongshu is a social commerce app where users can interact
with others’ reviews and purchase products with 85 million
monthly active users as of June 2019. It is mostly known for its
content on cosmetics, fashion and lifestyle and its user base is
comprised mostly (85%) of young females.
#beyondCNY 20Dragon
端
MON
14
Boat
June
Festival
The dragon boat festival is another of China’s
traditional festivities that has been celebrated for
午
节
millenia, and it falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar
month to remember the death of the poet Qu
Yuan. Legend has it that Qu Yuan, who was also an
official of the Chu Kingdom, killed himself by
drowning in the river Miluo. The locals did they all
they could to try and save him by rowing on boats
but when they realised they had failed, they threw
rice dumplings into the water to attract the fish so Duānwǔ
they wouldn’t eat the body. jié
21 #beyondCNYToday, millions of Chinese celebrate by
attending Dragon Boat Races and eating 粽子
‘Zòng zi’ (the rice dumplings from the legend)
with friends and families. If approached in a
culturally sensitive way, this festivity can be a
great marketing opportunity for foreign
brands. For instance, in 2019 Lego released a
dragon boat race set, and Starbucks started a
limited time campaign with Icy dumplings
playing on the concept of the Zòngzi in
celebration of this festivity. Starbucks’
campaign also tapped into another growing
trend amongst young Chinese consumers:
sustainability. Millennials and younger
generations in China are particularly
concerned with the environment and
sustainability, and data from Tmall’s fashion
forecasting division trend center has shown
that sustainability will increasingly become a
key factor in shopping. Starbucks tapped into
this phenomenon by giving a free tote bag
made with recycled plastic bottles for each 10
piece set bought, and this is something else
which brands can keep in mind when devising
a China strategy.
618 Shopping
FRI
18
Festival
June
The chinese ecommerce company JD created the 618 shopping
festival in 2010 in celebration of its anniversary, and it has since
become the second biggest commercial festival by revenue after
Singles day, with the participation of other competitors including
Alibaba, Pinduoduo and Secoo. Data from this year’s edition has been
a clear indication of how important the Chinese market is for luxury
brands even after the Covid-19 outbreak, with luxury brand sales
growing 100% year on year on JD.com. 178 luxury brands participated
officially, almost double the number that took part in the 2019 edition
of the ‘11.11’ shopping event. The event also showed great signs of
#beyondCNY 22recovery for international brands as the total value of orders settled
through Alipay on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s dedicated cross border e-
commerce platform, had a 43% year-on-year growth.
Crucially, although this is a ‘crowded’ space, brands should not
assume that newcomers have no chance of succeeding. Chinese
customers are very willing to look beyond industry incumbents as is
proven by the sunscreen brand Supergoop, which entered the
Chinese market right during the pandemic outbreak but which still
had a very strong performance during its 6.18 festival, ‘beyond our
wildest imaginations’ according to the president Amanda Baldwin.
What’s Secoo?
Secoo is the biggest Cross-
Border e-Commerce and
live-streaming platform,
dedicated to Fashion and
Luxury.
23 #beyondCNYFather’s
父
SUN
20
Day
June
Although it isn’t a traditional Chinese festivity,
celebrating Father’s Day on the third Sunday of
June is becoming an increasingly common trend
which brands should be aware of. As with mother’s
day, the idea of filial piety and the importance of
亲
节
family in general in Chinese culture is something
that can really help companies create marketing
campaigns for this celebration.
Deep dive: The expanding male
beauty sector
Fùqīn jié
Campaigns for Father’s Day have been released
both by luxury menswear brands and by ones in
the beauty industry, indicative of another trend in
the Chinese market which companies should be
aware of: male beauty. Euromonitor data has
shown that the Chinese male beauty market is
growing at more than double the global average
(13.5% vs. 5.8%) and Alibaba’s Tmall describes this
as the "Male Beauty Era".
Further, the number of Chinese men buying
personal care products is increasing at a faster rate
than that of women (31% vs 29%) and make up
purchases by men doubled in 2019. Brands are
2X
Male make-up
purchases doubled in
2019
#beyondCNY 24
Source: Alibabastarting to recognize the huge potential of this market, but there is
still a lot of space and opportunity for foreign brands: according to
Tmall 91% of brands on their platform have received enquiries about
male products but only 45% actually offer such products.
A white paper published by L’Oreal and Tmall Innovation Center
revealed three main trends: the increasing sophistication of men’s
grooming regimen, the desire for male-specific products rather than
uni sex ones, and the willingness to pay more for premium, higher-
end products.
Suning 818
WED
18
Shopping
August
Festival
818 发烧节 Fā shāo jié
The 818 Fever Shopping Festival was set up by Suning to celebrate its
anniversary on the 18th of August with a wide array of promotions
and discounts. Suning specialises in electronics and in the 2019
edition it shipped more than 1 billion RMB worth of home appliances,
computers, telecommunication goods and consumer electronics in
less than 2 minutes. Suning’s strategy focuses specifically on O2O
(online to offline) and the idea of smart retail, with both physical and
online stores participating in the festival. This is an especially great
opportunity for brands in the electronics sector to tap into the
Chinese market, who can adopt sophisticated strategies merging
online and offline to attract consumers.
What’s Suning?
Suning is an online e-commerce company selling all sorts of
products, but specializing in electronic devices and appliances. In
recent years Suning has become one of the leading omni-channel
retailers in China, purchasing thousands of physical stores as part
of its focus on O2O (online to offline).
25 #beyondCNYQixi,
七
WED
25
Double 7
August
Qixi, also known as double seventh (it falls on the 7th
day of the 7th lunar month on the Chinese calendar),
is one of China’s multiple equivalents of the western
‘Valentine’s day’. Like most traditional Chinese
festivities, Qixi is inspired by a legend which in this
夕
节
case tells the story of a weaver goddess (Zhinu) and
a cowherd (Niulang) who fall in love, get married and
have children only to be separated by Zhinu’s mom,
the Heavenly Queen Mother, who disapproves of her
daughter marrying a mortal. A group of magpies are
so moved by the couple’s love and their being apart
that they form a bridge across the Milky way, allowing
the two to reunite. The Queen Mother decides to Qīxì jié
grant the family one reunion a year on the seventh
day of the seventh lunar month, which is now when
millions of Chinese people express their love to their
significant others.
Case studies:
Qixi is a great opportunity for
brands to develop marketing
campaigns around the idea of
love and affection, and many
examples from past initiatives
prove the potential of this
festival. For instance, in 2019
Chloe partnered with the well
known KOL (Key Opinion
Leader, similar to the concept of
influencer in the West) Mr. Bags,
to create a limited edition bag,
selling out all 199 (each cost
$2000) in just 7 hours.
Source: Chloè
#beyondCNY 2699 Wine
超
THU
09
Festival
September
The increasing popularity of wine amongst China’s
burgeoning middle class led Alibaba to create the
first ‘9.9 Wine Festival’ in 2016. The festival is held on
the 9th of September, 9.9, as the number ‘9’ in
Chinese, 九, is pronounced jiǔ, very similar to the
级
pronunciation of the character for alcohol, 酒 Jiǔ. In
2018, the market for imported wine in China was
valued at €2.5 billion according to the EU SME centre.
Although China is becoming an increasingly mature
market, there is still huge potential for growth as less
酒
than 3% of the population currently drinks wine.
Players in this sector must also understand that wine
consumption in China is very different
from that in the West and plan
marketing strategies
水
节
accordingly. For instance, wine
2.5b€ is especially popular
amongst Chinese
consumers for its health
the value of imported and beautifying properties,
wine according to more so than for its taste or
EU SME Centre social nature.
Chāojí
What’s EU SME?
jiǔshuǐ
The EU SME centre is a European Union Initiative jié
providing support services to European small and
medium-sized enterprises wanting to do business
in China. As a service provider for the EU SME
Centre, EGGsist has supported several companies
in their digitization projects.
27 #beyondCNYDeep dive: the food and beverage space
Other than beauty, luxury and fashion, food and beverage is also a
sector with huge potential for international brands in China. As
China’s middle class is becoming more and more sophisticated,
people increasingly care about the quality of what they eat and drink.
Consumers look for healthy, organic foods subjected to the highest
standards and foreign brands can tap into this desire by using online
channels. A great platform that is very suited to merchants in the
Food and Beverage space is Kaola, the biggest cross-border e-
commerce platform in China, purchased by the Alibaba group in late
2019 for a whooping $2 billion.
Cross border e-commerce is a particularly good opportunity for
foreign brands to reach Chinese consumers with a lower entry cost to
do business, enabling consumers to pay in RMB. International
companies can sell goods online through platforms like Kaola or
Tmall, enjoying preferential duty rates without the need to register a
company in the country or apply for specific product licenses. Cross
border e-commerce is thus a fast track way of accessing Chinese
consumers with a lower capital investment and inventory risk.
Kaola is especially well known because of the options it offers to
users to buy items in bulk to obtain discounts and for its products in
the food, beauty and baby and maternal care sectors.
What’s Kaola?
Kaola is the biggest cross-
border e-commerce
platform in China. In late
2019, it was purchased by
the Alibaba group for $2
billion. Kaola is an
extremely convenient
platform for foreign brands
wanting to tap into the
growing Chinese middle
class as it handles logistics,
stocking, online operations
and post sale services.
#beyondCNY 28Mid Autumn
中
TUE
21
festival
September
The Mid Autumn Festival, falls on the 15th day of
the 8th lunar month and is widely recognised as
the second most important traditional festival in
China after the Lunar New Year. The festivity was
born to celebrate the harvest and worship the full
秋
节
moon, a symbol of reunion in Chinese culture, so it
is also known as the ‘Moon Festival’. The day is
usually celebrated by reuniting with family over
dinner, admiring the full moon and exchanging
traditional mooncakes (月饼), another symbol for
reunions, with friends and loved ones. In recent
years, more and more foreign brands have started
Zhōng
to appreciate the significance and potential of this
holiday and many have created special mooncake qiū jié
gift boxes to celebrate the festival. Notable
examples include Fendi and Tiffany, which both
took inspiration from traditional Chinese crafts in
their design, with the gift boxes also as acting as
lanterns.
This can be a great opportunity to raise brand
awareness and demonstrate an appreciation and
understanding for Chinese culture and traditions.
29 #beyondCNY
Source: Heison Ho/Hyperbeast Source: Jing DailyNational
中
FRI
01
Day of PRC
October
National day is the celebration commemorating the
foundation of the People’s republic of China (1949),
for which the whole nation gets a seven day long
华
holiday known as ‘Golden Week’. This is a peak
moment for Chinese outbound travel, with more than
7 million Chinese tourists traveling abroad in 2019
and millions more within the country. Top
人
民
destinations within Europe include big cities like
Paris, London and Milan, but Chinese travelers are
increasingly on the lookout for destinations off the
beaten path like quaint villages in the countryside or
Eastern European countries.
Although the Coronavirus pandemic has certainly
hampered travel, brands should continue to plan their
strategies for Chinese travelers as they will certainly
共
和
continue to be key players in this industry. Indeed,
Chinese domestic tourism has already started to
rebound, with 115 million trips taken for labor day in
May 2020.
Deep dive: engaging Chinese
travellers
Internet usage in China has often been described as
国
国
‘mobile first’ or even ‘mobile only’, with 99.3% of the
total internet user base on a mobile device. The
pervasiveness of mobiles has led to the extraordinary
growth in mobile payments, which reached a total
transaction value of 331 trillion yuan in 2019 up from
just 25 in 2014. Mobile payments in China are so
widespread that all sorts of merchants, from luxury
brands to street stands, offer payment on the two
main platforms, Alipay and WeChat. Because of this,
庆
节
when it comes to engaging Chinese consumers
abroad, offering mobile payment services is
#beyondCNY 30fundamental, with 93% of Chinese tourists saying they would spend
more if mobile payment were accepted and considering this a
significant factor in determining where they shop overseas. According
to a Nielsen report, 82% of the interviewees who used Chinese mobile
payment platforms saw an increase in sales volumes towards Chinese
consumers as well as online visibility.
These mobile payment platforms also provide marketing services to
brands. For instance, when users are abroad, the most viewed page
on Alipay is the ‘City Page’, and brands can feature their banner on
here to drive consumers in-store.
Recent data shows that 70% of online bookings are done
through Online Travel Agencies (OTA), which shows
the importance for players in the tourism industry to
70% get on these platforms. One of the most important
OTAs is certainly Alibaba’s online travel booking
agency, Fliggy. This is a great platform for
Of online bookings international brands as Fliggy belongs to the
are done through Alibaba ecosystem, meaning it is fully integrated
Online Travel with Alipay and can rely on a huge amount of
Agencies data to accurately target and engage users. Fliggy
is also renowned for its innovation, and it has
recently launched a live streaming service which
institutions such as museums can use to interact with
31 #beyondCNYChinese users before or after their trip, encouraging them to visit.
Through this ‘Cloud Live Tourism’ campaign, Fliggy partnered with
tourism boards from France, Germany, and the UK, with the tour of the
Palace of Versailles garnering more than one million views on Weibo.
Fliggy is therefore a great tool for players wanting to attract the
millions of Chinese with an insatiable desire for international travel.
Furthermore, Fliggy is also an OTM, online travel marketplace, giving
travel merchants the opportunity to use the platform’s impressive big
data resources to market to users and implement drive to store
campaigns. Another great way of targeting Chinese travellers is
through the use of mini programs, basically apps within the
‘superapps’ WeChat or Alipay which are more convenient both for
users and brands as they are easier to develop, deeply integrated and
load more quickly. For instance, EuroPass launched 欧洲通, a WeChat
mini program aimed at improving Chinese users travel experience in
Europe, from tourist attractions to hotels, restaurants and shopping.
Businesses can be featured on the city’s page in order to engage
Chinese consumers before or during their travel, using drive to store
and O2O strategies to increase foot traffic.
EGGsist is EuroPass business partner in Europe and in the UK.
What’s Fliggy?
Fliggy is Alibaba’s online travel booking agency (OTA) which also
functions as an online travel marketplace (OTM). Fliggy offers
services both in domestic and international travel and as of 2019
the platform had more than 200 million registered users.
Europass mini program 欧洲通 32
#beyondCNY for WeChatSingles’
光
THU
11
November Day
Singles Day is the world’s biggest shopping event and
it is also known as ‘Double 11’ because it happens on
the 11th of November. Originally born as a celebration
of “singledom” because of the many 1s symbolizing
the single life, it was adopted by Alibaba in 2009 as a
棍
节
way to sell discounted products and has since broken
record upon record in terms of online sales revenue.
The 2019 edition racked up a total of $25.3 billion in
gross merchandising value, an increase of 39% vs. 2018
edition, and a total of 812 million orders, up by 23%
compared to 2018. During the 2019 Single’s day,
Alibaba continued its focus on ‘New Retail’, concept
coined by former executive chairman Jack Ma Guāng
referring to the idea of disruption of traditional retail gùn jié
through integration of online technology. Although
this shopping festival has undoubtedly become very
crowded with players, it still has great potential for
foreign companies and is a great opportunity to
increase customer engagement, in particular by
leveraging Alibaba’s technologies to meld online and
offline operations.
25.3bn US$
Total 11.11 GMV sales
33 #beyondCNYSUN
Double 12 Day
12 双十二 Shuāng shí'èr)
December
Just a month after the world’s biggest shopping extravaganza,
companies have another occasion to attract Chinese customers:
Double 12 or 12.12. The event was initially created by Alibaba in order
to help retailers sell leftover stock from Single’s day, but it has since
evolved and has become an occasion for smaller retailers who
struggle to stand out during 11.11. Double 12 also places greater focus
on O2O through integration with Alipay, so it has become particularly
popular with overseas retailers who can integrate with Alipay to reach
Chinese customers on their mobile phones.
Christmas
FRI
25 圣诞 Shèngdàn Day
December
Although Christmas is an
imported festivity and
therefore not felt by the
population as much as the
more traditional occasions
like the Lunar New Year, it is
becoming an increasingly
important date which more
and more young people
celebrate. For this reason,
December is also a great
opportunity to hold
Christmas themed campaigns
such as Ferragamo’s 2019
Christmas campaign on
Alipay powered by EGGsist.
#beyondCNY 34Chinese Trends guide
中国趋势指示Livestreaming
With the coronavirus outbreak severely hindering
fashion weeks around the world, live streaming has
网
络
become more and more popular globally, but this is
actually a trend that has been present in China for a
number of years. Already in 2016, a report published
by L2 showed that 49% of beauty brands had live-
streamed on Tmall and that two-thirds of global
cosmetics brands use this strategy in China.
There continues to be huge potential for growth:
according to iiMedia Research, the audience for
livestream content in China increased to 504 million
in 2019, more than half of the total 854 million
netizens, and it is estimated the figure will reach 526
直
播
million by 2020, doubling in size to over $13.5 billion
Further, during the 2019 edition of Singles Day,
Taobao live contributed to $2.8 billion of total sales
and this year’s 618 campaign by Tmall saw more than
300 performers participating in livestreams.
Secoo, the biggest luxury and lifestyle CBEC and live
streaming platform also recently joined the live wǎng luò
streaming world through a partnership with the short zhí bō
video platform Kuaishou. The two launched a 24
hours live streaming channel which sold more than
$14.8 million in the first 5 hours through themed live
streaming rooms such as fashion, handbags, vintage.
13.5bn$
worth products sold
by Secoo in just 5
hours through live-
streaming session
#beyondCNY 36Indeed, live streaming is an especially valuable opportunity as it can
be leveraged by brands in all sorts of ways. For instance, companies
such as Prada, only use live streaming to build brand awareness or to
improve the consumer experience via talks and interviews, whilst
others use this method to sell directly to consumers. Because of the
huge amount of content online, companies must ensure they have a
well planned, thought out strategy to livestream in China and decide
what exactly it is that they want to achieve, whether this is increasing
brand awareness or driving sales. To this end, choosing the right
partners is also a difficult task but is paramount for the successful
execution of a livestream.
Livestream and luxury: a insuperable duo
Chinese viewers are very demanding when it comes to the quality of
the livestream and some famous luxury brands have received
criticism over poor video quality and planning. Indeed, choosing the
right platform is also crucial to the success of this strategy and Secoo
is particularly adept at collaborating with luxury brands thanks to its
excellent track record when it comes to authentication of goods and
the physical space they will be dedicating to livestreaming as part of
their partnership with Kuaishou. Further, brands must also make sure
that they choose the right livestreamers for their audience: more
views don’t necessarily mean that the content creator will be the
most suited for the specific target audience. EGGsist is here to help
you navigate this complex space and make the most of this market
thanks to our understanding and expertise in the Chinese e-
commerce world.
What’s Kuaishou?
Kuaishou is the
second largest short
video platform in
China and it is
especially popular
with citizens in tier 3,
4 and above cities.
37 #beyondCNY
Source: China Social MediaNiche brands
Understandably, some brands feel overwhelmed by
the huge market that is China, and perhaps not ready
小
众
to compete with large, household names like the big
luxury players. However, recent market trends
actually show that smaller, niche brands also have
huge potential in the country. Indeed, the hashtag
#niche (小众 Xiǎo zhòng ) has been used more than
one million times on Little Red Book and, with luxury
shoppers becoming increasingly young and
sophisticated, they are no longer simply looking for Xiǎo
products with logos from well known brands. Indeed, zhòng
middle and upper class Chinese love the idea of
finding something that makes them stand out and
reflects their individuality and originality.
A great example of this is the
Bulgarian shoe and handbag
brand ‘By Far’ which, despite
Chinese love being an emerging 5 year old
the idea of finding brand, has had great
something that success in China, with many
makes them stand out products selling out in less
than a week.
and reflects their
individuality and Platforms like Tmall have
originality also realised the potential of
niche brands: a spokesperson
said that Chinese consumers are
always on the lookout for new
brands. Overall, the increasing market
sophistication of Chinese consumers means
that niche brands have more of a chance to
compete in what is already a very crowded
space. Thus, smaller brands should make use
of their competitive advantages such as their
individuality and the possibility to be more
adventurous when planning strategies to
engage with Chinese consumers.
#beyondCNY 38Social Commerce
Social commerce refers to the integration of social media and e-
commerce, and it is becoming an increasingly important trend in
China which brands need to understand in order to come up with a
successful strategy. Social commerce is a particularly effective way of
driving sales as users are able to interact with others’s suggestions
and feedback and buy the recommended products all on the same
app. A study published by Nielsen China shows that 80% of impulse
purchases in China were made because of social recommendations
from friends, family members or online content, showing how
powerful social commerce can be. Indeed, iiMedia Research predicts
that the country's social commerce market will reach 2,419 billion
yuan in 2022. Social commerce is particularly useful as it allows
interactions between users, influencers and merchants on a single
platform, making the purchase journey a seamless experience and
encouraging users to consume.
Lots of different social commerce
What’s Douyin? apps exist in the Chinese
Douyin is a social network ecosystem including Taobao’s
centered around short Weitao, video based platforms
videos, the Chinese version Douyin and Kuaishou and the
of Tiktok, with 475 million ubiquitous WeChat.
monthly active users as of
January 2020, 77% of which One of the most well known social
are under 35 years old. commerce platforms is Little Red
Brands can use the platform Book, born as a platform where
in a variety of ways such as users shared reviews on all sorts of
with challenges, music and things ranging from clothes to
dancing or live streaming food to tourism, it has since delved
adv campaign. into the world of social commerce
as users can find out about
products and purchase them
directly on the app. Word of mouth is particularly influential when it
comes to Chinese consumers and Little Red Book uses this in its
online iteration which is why brands should undoubtedly keep an eye
on this platform. In March of 2020, Little Red Book had 77 million
monthly active users, and as of 2018 the user base was 86% female
and more than 50% were younger than 30.
39 #beyondCNYKOL and KOCs
KOLs, key opinion leaders (bloggers,
online personalities, internet
网
红
celebrities), have been key players
in the Chinese market for years and
their role is very similar to that of
influencers in the West: they are
able to encourage others to do or
buy certain things because of their
online following.
followers than their counterparts Wǎng
in the West, and collaborating with
figures who have an audience that hóng
trusts them can be key for a
brand’s China strategy.
Companies have been forming
partnerships with KOLs for years,
as they can help increase brand
awareness and reach users across
all sorts of platforms including
WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu,
Douyin and Alipay. A study by
McKinsey has shown that Chinese luxury shoppers on
average come in contact with a brand or product 7 or 8
times before purchasing it, a lot more than the average
American consumer for which the number is only 4.
KOL content can be one of these touchpoints and
therefore a great way to increase sales. Furthermore,
a Westwin study from 2018 showed that KOL
recommendations were the most influential factor
for consumers when purchasing a product.
Smaller KOLs
Micro KOL are often actually
even more effective
It is widely accepted that Chinese KOLs have
and result in a
even more sway over their when purchasing a
product. higher ROI.
Although many brands tend to think of KOLs as
only being useful if they have huge amounts of
followers such as celebrities, smaller KOLs are often
#beyondCNY 40actually even more effective and result in a higher ROI. This is
because these ‘micro-KOLs’ are more able to interact with their
followers, which creates a closer bond with followers. Together with
the more ‘authentic’ feel that micro KOLs have, this means that
followers are a lot more inclined to follow their recommendations.
KOC, Key Opinion Consumers
Further evidence that a bigger following doesn’t necessarily equate to
a more successful strategy can be found in the rise of the ‘KOCs’, or
key opinion consumers.
As the name suggests, these are pre existing consumers who like to
use social media platforms to share recommendations with friends and
family and they therefore only have some hundreds to few thousand
followers. They mostly focus on product reviews and usually on one or
a couple of specific sectors which they are especially interested in.
Both micro KOLs and KOCs show that, as Chinese consumers become
increasingly sophisticated and aware of dynamics behind paid
sponsorships, they don’t just blindly trust the recommendations of
massive celebrities but rather are looking for authentic endorsements
which they know they can trust. Brands should keep this in mind when
choosing the appropriate partners for your marketing strategy and
EGGsist is ready to help you select the perfect fit for your products.
Kol Case Studies
Fashion: Burberry collaborated with the KOL Yvonne
Ching who has 6 million followers on Weibo, holding a
livestream where the blogger visited the brand’s store
Fashion in Shanghai. This racked up 1.4 million views with
many products selling out, and is therefore a great
example of how useful collaborating with a KOL can be.
41 #beyondCNYBeauty: When the Chinese cosmetics company Proya
released a black sea salt bubble mask, its marketing
Beauty strategy leveraging KOLs was hugely successful and
the product became number one on Douyin’s beauty
and skincare list. The product itself was particularly
suited to the platform centered around video content as
bubbles start to pop out of the mask accompanied by a
popping sound, making the product very interesting and
unique. The brand worked with various KOLs, both male
and female, with varying follower numbers ranging from
top-tier to mid-tier. This helped to reach a wide range of
consumers and drove an impressive increase in sales.
Food: A great example of KOL food partnership is that
between the Shanghai coffee shop chain “Ocean
Grounds” and a mid-range KOL known as Maia. The
Food brand set-up a pop-up location in a natural park near
Shanghai and invited the KOL to a special brunch in the
location. The KOL post garnered 1.19 million views on
Weibo and lots of engagement by followers who
commented asking more questions about the trip and
the experience.
Foreign KOLs: Another interesting fact about KOL is
that foreigners KOL, who speak fluent Mandarin gain
Foreign huge followings on Chinese social media. One example
KOL is Quentin, a French KOL who became famous because
of his impressive Chinese speaking skills and now has
2.1 million followers on Douyin, 1.3 million on WeChat and
1 million on Weibo. Quentin has collaborated with a
number of companies including Huawei, Columbia, Louis
Vuitton, Supreme, Marriot Hotels and the Los Angeles
Tourism & Convention Board, showing how KOLs are a
great resource for brands in all sorts of sectors.
#beyondCNY 42
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