Tech news in China

August 4, 2022

Chinese TikTok re-bets on “Zhongcao”, a key to China’s e-commerce consumer culture

With the release of the brand-new independent recommendation app “Kesong,” Chinese TikTok Douyin is re-testing the “Zhongcao” business model. The action is a part of the video-sharing site’s larger strategy to develop into an interest-driven, omnichannel e-commerce ecosystem. Although “Zhongcao” makes it easier for content-focused platforms to capitalize on China’s e-commerce craze, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of user experience.

https://daoinsights.com/works/chinese-tiktok-re-bets-on-zhongcao-a-key-to-chinas-e-commerce-consumer-culture/

Tencent To Close NFT Platform Huanhe a Year After Launching

Major Chinese tech companies have started launching NFT-related platforms since last year. In addition to Tencent’s Huanhe, Ant Group introduced Topnod (JingTan in Chinese) on its AntChain in late 2021, and e-commerce behemoth JD introduced Lingxi, an NFT platform, in December. 

In China, NFTs are known as digital collectibles, but there are some important differences, such as limitations on the resale of these NFTs. Huanhe is supported by blockchains managed by Tencent and its partners. Buyers are concerned that the closure of Huanhe may also mean the end of collectibles purchased through the platform.

https://technode.com/2022/07/21/tencent-plans-to-close-nft-platform-huanhe-a-year-after-launching-report/

The Good Old Days: Why Nostalgia Amplifies Brand Collabs In China

According to a 2021 Mintel study, 77% of Chinese consumers enjoy items that bring back fond memories, such as childhood snacks. In difficult times like the COVID-19 pandemic, nostalgia is an easy way to elicit endorphins while reassuring customers. 

China has experienced a consistent flow of nostalgic food and cartoon collaborations in 2022, whether as a direct result of difficult times or not. International brands are also embracing the trend. L’Oréal released a line of cosmetics in April 2022 with the IP of the well-known Chinese cartoon (Black Cat Police Captain) from the 1980s. The line’s marketing even included the wistful theme song. 

https://jingdaily.com/brand-collaborations-nostalgia-wins-china-team-wang-loreal/ 

High-Tech Hues: Alibaba Algorithm Will Have Chinese Shoppers Looking Their Best This Fall

Retail trends are predicted before they occur thanks to a partnership between TWTA and Alibaba’s research arm DAMO Academy powered by AI. For instance, the information indicates that vibrant, lush orange and soft cyan blue will be popular colors in the fall and winter. The algorithm translated colors into digital codes after learning from a vast collection of product photos on Alibaba’s marketplaces and more than one million photos from fashion shows in order to identify patterns and forecast trends for both businesses and consumers.

https://www.alizila.com/high-tech-hues-alibaba-algorithm-has-chinese-shoppers-looking-their-best-this-fall/ 

A Guide To China’s Top Livestreaming Apps

More and more businesses are utilizing the e-commerce potential of live streaming, whether it be for performance art exhibitions, video games, or private luxury consultations.  Here are the top four live streaming platforms in China that luxury brands should be aware of because algorithm-driven short-video apps now account for the majority of online advertising.

Douyin

Due to its low entry barrier for product sales, Douyin’s live broadcast feature is especially well-liked among young consumers. Popular KOLs’ promotion of products can result in immediate sales. The app has successfully established a business model that functions as a personal and commercial platform thanks to additional alluring features like Douyin’s VIP Room, Flagship Store, and Global Choice. 

Kuaishou

Luxury brands have historically paid close attention to apps like Douyin and Bilibili, but with 578 million MAU and nearly $40 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021, Tencent-backed Kuaishou is becoming more and more difficult for major brands to ignore. Millions of users still rely on the app to buy cheap food and beauty products on a daily basis. 

YY live

YY Live offers a devoted user group of paying subscribers for a large number of content creators, even though it doesn’t have as many MAUs as top platforms Douyin and Taobao Live. The social network is positioned as being more focused on entertainment than strictly e-commerce by the platform’s hosts, who highlight streaming and chat features with virtual currency that is later converted into real money. 

Taotao live

Taobao live, which was introduced in 2016, draws both Chinese and foreign audiences with a mix of entertaining and business-related content. Taobao’s wide selection of reasonably priced goods contributes to some of its success in the fashion industry. Taobao makes it simple for livestreamers to maximize the speed and agility of the number of products they can try on, review, and sell to devoted audiences. Taobao pairs with an incredibly quick supply chain response. 

https://jingdaily.com/livestream-ecommerce-platforms-douyin-taobao/

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Weekly China Updates

July 12, 2022

JD.com Announces Renewed Strategic Cooperation With Tencent

Tencent will keep providing JD.com with main entry points on its WeChat platform in order to maintain traffic. It also includes collaboration in areas like membership services, marketing and advertising, technology services, and communications.

The deal will carry out business cooperation in the areas of e-commerce portals, cloud technology and cloud services, membership systems, online conferences, enterprise services, smart retail and advertising, supply chain, and other areas. It will also strengthen technical exchanges and cooperation in artificial intelligence and other fields.

JD.com and Tencent are collaborating strategically for the third time at this time. The contract is extended for another three years.

Link: https://pandaily.com/jd-com-announces-renewed-strategic-cooperation-with-tencent/

Navigating Douyin — A Guide For Luxury

The mainland’s TikTok has already solidified its position in the market despite just having launched its e-marketplace in June 2020; it is currently ranked among the top five e-commerce applications with the greatest market shares.

600 million DAUs are on Douyin. The innovative consumer journey that Douyin delivers is what makes it so intriguing since it is completely changing the e-tail landscape. By connecting interest to final transactions, the software completes the cycle.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/douyin-guide-for-luxury/ 

Head & Shoulders Father’s Day Campaign Taps Into Paternal Pathos

Despite the fact that Father’s Day is not a recognised holiday in mainland China, it is nonetheless observed there in accordance with Western custom. On this day, the majority of Chinese advertisements are usually more sentimental than those in the West and focus on father-child connections. That said, it is remarkable how the Head & Shoulders commercial managed to stir up laughter in its viewers while also bringing them to tears.

For this very reason, family marketing is a common motif in Chinese ads. The good or service could be marketed to the whole family as a shared activity that is consumed together.

This video promo is not only directed at men who lose their hair but also at kids of all ages who value their father figures. In reality, sons and daughters wrote the majority of the posts under the Weibo hashtag #Dadsloveistoobald, which received an astounding 10 million views.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/works/head-shoulders-fathers-day-campaign-taps-into-paternal-pathos/ 

Weibo to Launch New Interest-Driven Social App

Several reports claim that Planet, a new interest-based social app, will be released by Weibo. An improved version of Planet Video, which already includes millions of communities covering a variety of themes, is the new app. Importantly, it will primarily serve as a tool for Weibo users to follow famous people and influencers while immersing themselves in groups of people who share their interests.

At the moment, Planet Video is divided into five categories: Home, Discover, Shoot, News, and My. The app immediately demonstrates Weibo’s interest in short video content. The move comes as no surprise given China’s tremendous demand for live streaming and brief video content.

On the other hand, some social circles may view the affiliation with a platform that promotes fan interaction and celebrity culture as disrespectful of the government’s efforts to curtail “excessive fan culture.” As a result, the luxury brands associated with Planet may find themselves in a sticky situation, dealing with criticism and reputational issues.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/weibo-planet-app-celebrities-short-video/

China’s All-Purpose Wechat App Lets Users Register Two Accounts With One Phone Number In Pilot Test

Tencent Holdings’ all-purpose social media platform WeChat is currently pilot testing a feature that enables users to sign up for an additional account using their existing mobile number. This could make it easier for users to balance their use of the app between their personal and professional lives.

According to a report by Chinese media outlet Thepaper.cn, the new capability has been in experimental testing with a small group of users since last year, and it is unclear if or when it will be formally released.

Some welcomed the move as a way to better separate work and life, while others were not impressed. However, some complained that the two accounts cannot work concurrently and they could miss the message on the main account when switching to the other one. 

Link: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3184348/chinas-all-purpose-wechat-app-lets-users-register-two-accounts-one

WeChat Service Marketing

The service market is an official platform to help find cooperation. At present, millions of companies are looking for small program development, customer service and other high-quality services here.

In the article, the marketing managers of two companies recommended this platform. They said that after they applied to join this platform, they signed a lot of customer resources and got a lot of cooperation service providers who meet the following standards to enter the service market-content service area: 

  • It must be an independent corporate legal person, with fixed office space, and be qualified as a general taxpayer; 
  • Has been registered and operated for more than 1 year; 
  • The business scope should include: Daren, celebrity, self-media and other related businesses, providing market planning and publicity services, providing supply chain or e-commerce agency operations, etc., and engaging in related businesses for more than half a year; 
  • The registered capital is more than 500,000 yuan;

He has experience in providing live broadcasts, short videos, and graphic operations for merchants in the WeChat ecosystem. One of the following conditions is met:

  1. Sign a real and effective live broadcast operation business contract with at least 3 or more mini-program merchants, the live broadcast cooperation relationship can be checked, and the live broadcast comprehensive data performance during the service period is good;
  2. Possess an agency operation business contract based on short videos and pictures and texts signed with more than 3 merchants in the WeChat ecosystem.
  3. If neither of ① and ② is available, it is necessary to prove other materials that can prove the serviceability in the WeChat content service field.

Link: https://developers.weixin.qq.com/doc/oplatform/service_market/provider_guideline/enter_guideline/mcn_enter_guideline.html

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Weekly News Roundup From China

June 28, 2022

Tencent’s WeChat Debuts in 618 Shopping Festival with Big Bet on Live-Streaming Ecommerce Despite Slowing Economy

WeChat, a product of Tencent, has for the first time introduced its own 618 online shopping festival using its in-app video feature Channels. Over 50% of the sales generated by live broadcasting on WeChat in 2021 were from private domains, such as a brand’s current WeChat fans.

The average transaction value for customers watching live streams on Channels is 200 (US$29.9), and 60% of viewers make additional purchases. The Tencent app appeals to businesses who wish to communicate with consumers in a semi-private network in order to gain and keep a loyal customer base.

Link: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3182083/tencents-wechat-debuts-618-shopping-festival-big-bet-live-streaming-e

Backstreet Boys Join Westlife for Online Concert on super-app WeChat

Thanks to the Backstreet Boys’ first-ever live-streamed concert on the popular app WeChat, Chinese fans of the ’90s and ’00s pop music may experience the enchantment of the 2022 DNA World Tour.

It’s anticipated that around 40 million people will watch the show. In addition to receiving approximately 37 million views on Weibo, a linked hashtag, the event’s preview on WeChat received 82,000 likes in just 24 hours.

Most Chinese Millennials and Zoomers who were exposed to the Backstreet Boys and Westlife by their professors have grown up with both bands by their sides.

Link: https://radiichina.com/backstreet-boys-concert/

Unpacking Sephora’s Global C-beauty Push

The “In China for China” business incubator programme, which will seek to develop five premium Chinese beauty names into global megabrands, was unveiled by Sephora on June 6.

The strategy capitalises on both the propensity of Chinese customers to purchase domestic brands as well as the expanding interest within foreign beauty communities in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and eastern wellness ideas.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/sephora-c-beauty-global-expansion-tcm/ 

China Plans to Review Every Single Social Media Comment

China may soon evaluate each and every social media comment before it is posted, raising concerns about increased censorship in a nation with one of the strictest media environments in the world.

Internet users in China have expressed concern that if planned legislation requiring internet platforms to evaluate all social media comments is passed, the country’s already restricted space for free speech will be further reduced.

The new limits would disrupt the fun since real-time remarks give viewers the impression that they are in a chat room with other people. This makes the experience more engaging.

“If the rules are passed, it means that everything we see online would be what’s been hand-picked by moderators, and it would be harder for individuals to make their voices heard,” 

Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-plans-review-every-single-093000701.html

Tencent News Aggregator App Kuai Bao to Cease Operations Next Month

Tencent Holdings will stop operating Kuai Bao, its news aggregator app, at the end of the month, showing that even China’s most powerful and wealthy Big Tech corporations must slash non-core businesses in the face of persistent regulatory pressure and the slowing economic growth of the nation.

Kuai Bao offers users algorithm-generated recommendations based on their profile, hobbies, and browsing history, much to the well-known news aggregator app Jinri Toutiao, which is owned by ByteDance.

Since its 2015 launch, Kuai Bao hasn’t gotten big enough to compete with its rivals. According to a survey released in February 2021 by the research firm Questmobile, ByteDance’s Jinri Toutiao leads the Chinese online news information sector in terms of daily active users, followed by Tencent News, Sina News, and NetEase News.

ByteDance last week shut down a game development studio that it acquired three years ago, slashing more than a hundred jobs in a major setback for its quest to challenge Tencent in that market.

Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tencent-news-aggregator-app-kuai-093000641.html

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What’s New in China?

June 20, 2022

Consumers in China Shift Focus from Instant Gratification to Longer-term Value

Consumers in China have entered a new era characterised by increased sophistication and prudence, a commitment to sustainability, and a desire for work-life balance. Despite the fact that family remains the most important factor, the “me” economy has grown in popularity.

Also, convenience is becoming increasingly important. Consumers like the convenience of smart gadgets, with 70% prepared to contribute personal information for improved services, but they are concerned about excessive push messaging. The content given via push messaging is unsatisfactory for 75% of consumers because it is irrelevant or not tailored to their requirements.

Link: https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/consumers-in-china-shift-focus-from-instant-gratification-to-longer-term-value-accenture-research-finds.htm

Are Chinese Middle-Aged Men Luxury’s Next Big Spenders?

China’s menswear market was worth $104 billion in 2021, according to a survey by data analysis firm iiMedia Research, and is predicted to increase at a CAGR of 8.47% over the next five years. In a country with a population of over 1.4 billion people, it’s no surprise that male clients want to have a voice in their wardrobe – hence the term ta jingji, or “He economy.”

An account called @云爸爸品牌男装, also known as Yunbaba, that sells middle-aged men’s clothing has gained ground recently on Douyin. It attracted a lot of attention from the audience including younger people.

Canudilo, a local menswear brand famed for its traditionally fitted suits and separates, is hosting a series of themed fashion roundtables for male customers. It also works with renowned local designers and artists, such as Liu Pingyun (who designed the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic mascot), to develop eye-catching pieces for the middle-aged market.

As the menswear market accelerates, options for older male shoppers are limited. “Men are too shy to discuss how to dress if their bodies are out of shape. Money is not the problem but the market still has a lot to do to educate this group.” 

Link: https://jingdaily.com/chinese-middle-aged-men-shoppers-ralph-lauren/ 

WeChat Unveils New Feature for Managing Group Chats

Admins and group chat owners can now highlight a message by long-pressing it and selecting “Sticky on Top.” Members of the group can click on the message, which will take them back to the original post, making the material more evident to the reader.

The hashtag #WeChat released a group chat message pinning feature# garnered over 460 billion views on Weibo this week, referring to a new feature that allows users to pin group chats to the top of WeChat for easier access. Netizens, on the other hand, are dissatisfied since they identify WeChat as nothing more than a working app. Users, on the other side, are proposing additional features like as the removal of like notifications and higher resolution photographs, among others. Despite the less than enthusiastic response from users to the new feature, WeChat remains the most popular social media platform among Chinese users, with over 78% of its 1.24 billion users residing in the country.

However, brands that build private traffic groups on WeChat may benefit from this capability. Brands might, for example, provide loyal consumers with exclusive discounts and bonuses, or improve the customer experience by providing more tailored aftersales services. Meanwhile, during recent lockdowns in locations such as Shanghai, group chats on WeChat were heavily used for collective shopping. As a result, as group buying has transitioned from rural to mainstream following the 2022 lockdowns, the group-buying community can benefit from this new function by allowing consumers to locate their orders more efficiently.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/qUotevoBpFQXcebxXR4DBQ 

Elon Musk Tells Employees He Wants Twitter to Be More Like WeChat and TikTok

Elon Musk told Twitter staff on Thursday that if the company wants to reach 1 billion users, it needs to become more like WeChat and TikTok. Musk stated that the app should be more useful and that “people should be really entertained and informed.”

“There’s no WeChat equivalent outside of China,” Musk said, “You basically live on WeChat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.”

Musk emphasised his desire for Twitter to rely more heavily on subscriptions and fees on the call, suggesting that people should pay to be verified.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/16/23171054/elon-musk-twitter-deal-1-billion-users-wechat-tiktok

Is Tech Accessories Luxury’s Next Big Opportunity?

Because so much of daily life in China is impossible without mobile technology, the industry is particularly lucrative. According to NPD Group, a market research firm based in the United States, 75% of smartphone users use cases.

The phone case industry is predicted to increase by $11.74 billion (about 78.1 billion yuan) in value between 2020 and 2025, according to a report by market research firm Technavio. Headphone cases, computer cases, and other smart device accessories, on the other hand, are on the rise.

Bottega Veneta created a case for Apple’s iPad in 2010 that featured the brand’s characteristic Intreccio woven design. In recent years, premium companies have embraced headphone cases, with Dior, Gucci, and Prada all promoting high-end designs.

Years later, in June 2021, Chanel released two pearlized leather AirPods cases, causing a stir. These were made of sheepskin and featured a rhinestone-studded version of the traditional Chanel double C emblem. Many people were put off by its expensive price of about $2,970 (20,000 yuan). “The headphone case is more expensive than the headphones, so what’s protecting what?” joked one netizen.

In the end, demand for tech accessories will always be tied to the gadgets they’re meant to complement and protect. To today’s Chinese consumers, luxury is defined by goods that represent their personal taste and style, rather than by a price tag. Like apparel, phone cases (and headphone cases) have become a popular method for young customers to express themselves. It’s only a matter of time before luxury brands and niche players increase their investment in the segment and allow for greater personalisation.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/luxury-phone-tech-accessories-chanel-airpods/

Xiaohongshu Launches Official Cooperation Platform

In April, Xiaohongshu announced management regulations for illegal brand point deductions, which will deduct points for brands that engage in illicit marketing practices. The guidelines’ objective is to severely restrict the brand’s “Private transaction” (i.e., the brand’s private collaboration with bloggers to release posts), requiring the brand’s and bloggers’ cooperative promotion to be performed through the marketing platform “Dandelion” under Xiaohongshu.

Why are brands worried about this promotion platform?

For brand ：

  1. The brand will worry that the articles published through the cooperation platform will display the brand’s logo, indicating that this is an advertisement, and users will feel uncomfortable
  2. the brand needs to pay 10% of the service fee to the platform, which means that the launch cost is higher.
  3. the brand needs to go through a series of processes through platform cooperation, and the procedures are very cumbersome
  4. the brand should also consider the business content scheduling of the blogger.

Although brands will face such troubles, it is undeniable that the introduction of the rules is necessary. In the past few years, many brands have relied on the little red book to privately seek cooperation with bloggers and even issued false advertisements.

Therefore, for brands, if they want to open the market by relying on red books in the future, it may be the “optimal solution” to follow the rules of the platform.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/M1sFpVo-IdzNjpvYsc1iEg

 

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The Latest News From China

June 14, 2022

The Development Trends of the WeChat Mini-Program in 2022

Current situation:

  • 450 million DAU
  • 4 million mini-programs created (x2 more than the number of native apps on iOS)
  • 95% of e-commerce brands have mini-programs

Context:

The rise of China’s mobile internet market has slowed, and the growth in individual device online time has practically halted. Customer acquisition became increasingly difficult for emerging applications. Users want apps that would not require installation or uninstallation, were constantly available for use at their fingertips and could be exited after usage. 

These facilitated the emergence of mini-programs

Development trends:

Mini-programs have grown in popularity not just in first- and second-tier cities, but also in third- and fourth-tier cities, and even counties. The most popular industries will continue to be e-commerce, live streaming, retail, community group purchasing, and tools.

Since WeChat is expected to introduce public domain traffic for e-commerce mini-program streaming, live streaming commerce, which is currently popular, will become even more appealing to businesses.

 Operation and service trend —— Refined operation, brand cultivation:

Start transition from “traffic” thinking to “retention” thinking by creating their own private domain traffic pool

Brands need to build a “private domain matrix” comprising WeChat features with mini-program, WeChat enterprise, video channels, mini-program live streaming and Official Accounts to guide the transformation

Link: https://qpsoftware.net/blog/development-trends-wechat-mini-program-2022

TikTok Shop’s Troubled UK Expansion: Staff Exodus and Culture Clash

TikTok is attempting to imitate Douyin’s phenomenally successful live-streaming approach (the Chinese version of TikTok). Since October 2021, the UK has become the first market outside of China to debut TikTok Shop.

More than 50% of the e-commerce team apparently quit in the past months and more is ready to exit the company.  Extremely long work hours (the 996 culture comes to mind) and high KPI targets are the key reasons for this. Employees also said that management is pushing solutions that work in China but aren’t tailored to the needs of the UK.

Link: https://www.ft.com/content/dc1aba86-2055-4521-8f0c-1f026c7f6864 

Asia-Pacific Consumers Willing to Pay Premium For Sustainable Products: Report

According to a recent survey released ahead of World Environment Day, nearly 90% of customers in Asia-Pacific are willing to pay extra for sustainable products, but a lack of information and availability is holding them back.

Alibaba Group, based in China, has vowed to be carbon neutral by 2030 as it reduces emissions across its operations and collaborates with millions of merchants to provide more sustainable items to the platform’s over 1 billion users. 

Alibaba also promises to expand its sustainable product line and advertise it properly. There are more than 460 certified ecolabels globally which increases consumer confusion. 

Link: https://www.alizila.com/asia-pacific-consumers-willing-to-pay-premium-for-sustainable-products-report/

TikTok’s Toxic ‘996’ Culture Is Forcing UK Employees out the Door

At least 20 staff have left TikTok since the company launched TikTok Shop in the UK in October, a live-streaming e-commerce platform. Employees complain that they are required to adhere to China’s working hours, which frequently result in them working more than 12 hours per day. Employees who took time off were penalised by the corporation, which rewarded overworking. Other former TikTok employees have also spoken out against the company’s hostile work atmosphere.

“The culture is really toxic. Relationships there are built on fear, not cooperation,” a former London-based team leader said. “They don’t care about burnout because it is such a big company, they can just replace you. 

Joshua Ma, the head of eCommerce at TikTok Europe and a senior executive at China’s ByteDance — the owner of the viral video app — upset London-based employees at a dinner this year when he declared that as a “capitalist,” he “didn’t believe” companies should offer maternity leave. TikTok informed employees on Wednesday that Ma had “stepped back” from his role while the company conducted a formal investigation into the comment.

TikTok Shop’s Troubled UK Expansion

Last year, Bytedance opened a Tiktok shop in the United Kingdom, but the results were unsatisfactory. According to the report, the main reason for Tiktok’s failure is that users are not accustomed to shopping on the platform; many live streams even make no purchases.

TikTok Shop’s goal is to buy low-cost things directly from low-cost producers in both the UK and China.

Bytedance introduced an e-commerce platform named Fanno in Europe in 2021, which is similar to Pinduoduo, as well as a separate e-commerce platform called Dmonstudio, which is a B2C website that sells women’s clothing. However, the plan failed as well, and Dmonstudio was shut down in February 2022.

The experts explained that the vertical e-commence market has never been developing in China because of the existence of Taobao. However, in Europe, the market is quite mature, which could be the main reason that Bytedance failed in this area. 

As a result, Tiktok will need to adjust its strategy both internally and technically in order to thrive. They must adapt to local culture and market characteristics while leveraging their algorithms and content distribution to create a fresh approach to stand out.

Link: https://www.ft.com/content/dc1aba86-2055-4521-8f0c-1f026c7f6864

Slow Live Streaming Is a New Trend

In May, Bilibili conducted a late-night accompanying live broadcast. The live broadcast called “Midnight Song platform” began at 10:30 p.m. only some songs were played. There were no anchors or products. In the evening, the number of viewers on WeChat video accounts reached 100000.

The slow live broadcast without editing and special effects, slow pace and simple pictures has gradually become a place for people to cure their emotions.

The cctv24-hour continuous live broadcast of hospital construction lasted 117 days at the start of 2020, with approximately 200 million views and more than 6000 hours of the online live broadcast.

There’s also the ipanda panda channel, which broadcasts a 24-hour live feed of enormous pandas, a national treasure, to people all over the world.

The slow video has become popular not only at home but also abroad

The Discovery Channel also produces a variety of slow-motion televisions with superb picture quality and stunning photography. On the longest day of the year, Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós took a 24-hour trip around the island. Their music was blended with the fog of northern Europe to provide sensory satisfaction to the audience; the public has a particular taste for sluggish live broadcasting, which is the time preference. People “trapped in home life” are highly eager to travel and get close to nature, and thus view the outside world, thanks to the epidemic’s travel limitations.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Ee-Md4O0V5JOh_ZUrzZRQw

 

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What’s New in China This Week?

June 9, 2022

What a Buzzword Reveals About Chinese Tech’s Urban Bias

By increasing the frequency of notifications and advertising lurid or scandalous content outside of large cities, internet providers appear to be playing into prejudices about rural or less educated customers.

The ‘xiachen’ practises of internet corporations frequently reflect a skewed perspective of rural and small-town internet consumers. They’re portrayed as exploitable locales, with citizens who are readily satisfied. China’s economic development, however, differs not only between metropolitan cities and rural areas but even inside so-called xiachen markets.

Link: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1010263/what-a-buzzword-reveals-about-chinese-techs-urban-bias

WeChat Channels: The Key to Your WeChat Ecosystem

Despite the fact that the material on WeChat Channels is not sales-oriented, the platform is nonetheless beneficial to enterprises, particularly those who have already set up e-commerce operations on the network.

Brands can connect visitors to a WeChat article featuring mini-program store embeds by including a link in the post description. WeChat Channels released an update in March 2022 that allows certified users to list mini-programs on the homepage, increasing conversion rates.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/yax22WrsGERrmtN-2FjMnA 

Nike CEO John Donahoe Says He’s Chasing Generation Alpha

Although Gen Z is presently Nike’s main source of revenue, the sportswear company has already set its sights on Generation Alpha – children under the age of 12.

Nike faces intense competition in China from disruptor and challenger brands, as well as continuing headwinds in China as a result of local anger over Xinjiang linkages and now Covid lockdowns. Nike released a Roblox game with LeBron James to use Web3 to increase physical sport participation while activating in the metaverse. You received a virtual reward for performing physical activity.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/sPMKsitKWHNQ6CzEBFlNYQ 

With Concerts and Pop Stars, Tencent’s Channels Emerge As Big Challengers to Short Video Giants Douyin, Kuaishou

Online concerts featuring big stars from the 1990s and 2000s, such as Lo Ta-yu, Jay Chou, and Westlife, have been organised by Tencent. WeChat’s Channels are gaining popularity, which might shake up the Chinese short video market, which is now headed by ByteDance’s Douyin.

Tencent claimed in its latest quarterly report that thanks to additional entertainment programming and improved algorithms, the volume of videos and total viewing time on Channels, its WeChat-based short-video platform, saw “substantial growth.” The growing popularity of Channels has the potential to shake up China’s short video business, which is now dominated by Douyin.

Tencent’s decision to invite bands that were popular in the 1990s and 2000s corresponds to WeChat’s short-video section’s user base, which is older than Douyin and Kuaishou. Channels also take advantage of WeChat’s large social media network, which allows users to view what their WeChat contacts have enjoyed in terms of posts and videos.

Link: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3179857/concerts-and-pop-stars-tencents-channels-emerges-big-challenger-short?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article&campaign=3179857

China Digital Currency: Leading Mobile Payment Apps Alipay, and WeChat Pay Install New Features to Help Widen E-Cny Roll-Out

On Thursday, Alipay said that its app now includes a button that allows users to search for and download the official e-CNY wallet. Users can make purchases with e-CNY on the app by creating an account with the same phone number as Alipay. On Alipay’s platform, approximately 6 million digital yuan wallets have been “pushed” to merchants, a process that allows a new e-CNY user to commence that payment option. Last year, Alipay, which has around 900 million users, enabled the payment option.

WeChat Pay, which accepted digital yuan as a payment option three months ago, added a similar e-CNY wallet capability to its app in April. At the end of December, the mobile payments platform, which is part of the multipurpose super app WeChat, had almost 900 million users.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong aims to launch a trial programme to utilise the e-CNY in the city soon, making it the first offshore city to use the digital currency outside of mainland China.

Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-digital-currency-leading-mobile-093000549.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADsmwpThaIz1VCSUKtkfFxHs8-2J7tneZmfm2YAnImpD5J3BErW0uvdA4ob6OWCz2GLMb_HSkAHalgS82PWinLZ0zM_FAmnTXHt8znZFwhpJpdA93eYjSHAb2SS0ya2YFYTWsaXgE9E8F16WPnT8HqAfNPm6l_72SOnF8cYey1x3

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China Weekly News Roundup

May 24, 2022

Elon Musk Praises the WeChat Model As He Discusses Plans for Twitter

Elon Musk praised WeChat as “really an excellent app” and labelled it “a good model” 

“We don’t have anything like that,” Musk said, as he complimented the Tencent super app’s offering of services like Twitter, PayPal and more “all rolled into one.” 

“Such an app would be really useful” in markets outside of China, speculating that it could be created by converting Twitter to something all-encompassing or starting a new app from scratch. 

Musk’s comments quickly went viral in China, with the hashtag “Musk praises WeChat” amassing more than three million views within a few hours on the microblogging platform Weibo.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/19/elon-musk-praises-wechat-model-as-he-discusses-plans-for-twitter/

Tencent’s Total Revenue Stays Flat, Profit Drops in Q1 Amid Regulatory and COVID Headwinds

Tencent fell short of market forecasts after posting almost flat revenue growth in the first quarter of this year ($21.2 billion in revenue versus $21.1 billion in the same period last year).

The company’s earnings for the period were RMB 26.3 billion, a 24% reduction year on year, while net margins fell to 19% from 26% the previous year.

Tencent’s worst result since its IPO in 2014 is primarily due to clients’ reduced ad spending and more competition from competitors like TikTok owner ByteDance. Despite the state signalling a softening of pressure on digital giants, the impact of regulatory crackdowns will remain since it will “take time for specific regulators to convert directly into meaningful action.”

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/19/tencents-total-revenue-stays-flat-profit-drops-in-q1-amid-regulatory-and-covid-headwinds/

TikTok Parent Aims to Double Ecommerce Volume on China App to $240 Billion

This year, ByteDance hopes to more than double the amount of shopping done on Douyin in China to about $240 billion. ByteDance is now planning a global e-commerce development.

TikTok launched an e-commerce function, TikTok Shop, in the United Kingdom and Indonesia last year, allowing users to complete transactions within the app.

It launched the feature in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines last month.

If TikTok’s 1 billion active monthly users embrace the buying option, ByteDance will be a serious competitor to Amazon.

Link: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/tiktok-parent-aims-to-double-e-commerce-volume-on-china-app-to-240-billion

JD Rolls Out Online-to-Offline Department Store Business with Plans for Physical Outlets

JD has introduced a new department store channel by combining numerous existing businesses from its fashion and lifestyle areas, such as apparel, cosmetics, and housewares.

In addition to online platforms, the company intends to expand the service’s offline presence by opening themed brick-and-mortar storefronts in major cities. The first will open before June 18 in Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/10/jd-rolls-out-online-to-offline-department-store-business-with-plans-for-physical-outlets/

Zhihu 知乎: The Q&A platform for B2B marketing

Zhihu 知乎, which was created in 2011, is a Chinese social platform that has been compared to the western question-and-answer website ‘Quora.’ With more than 100 Million Monthly Active Users in the fourth quarter of 2021, the 36.4% year-over-year rise attests to the community’s ongoing development and potential.

Unlike Baidu Zhidao 百度知道, where the sort of content and responses are given are shorter in length, Zhihu 知乎 provides high-quality content that prioritises quality over quantity.

Even though the platform has a large user base, a larger portion of the audience exhibits unique characteristics. The majority of users are highly educated; they spend about 40 minutes each day reading the stuff submitted, and 60% are between the ages of 25 and 35.

How can you improve your visibility on Baidu?

Since Zhihu has a strong domain authority on this search engine, sharing content on Zhihu boosts your chances of appearing on Baidu SERP.

You can link your business social profiles as well as your corporate website on your Zhihu page, guiding viewers to your key communication channels.

Other features have been added to the platform throughout time. Zhihu Column 知乎专栏, for example, allows you to produce an essay on a given topic without having to attach it to a specific query. Zhihu Roundtable 知乎圆桌 allows specialists to deliver in-depth insights about a certain field of expertise, whilst Zhihu 知乎 Live allows people to interact with the company in real time.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1uguDRjXl01yj0f4W5BkQQ

Balenciaga’s WeChat Campaign for China’s 520 Day

Balenciaga produced a campaign that includes a number of social activities and limited editions, all of which were available on their official website and in their physical locations. The “5:20 Video Game Hall,” a virtual arcade with pixel art and realistic audio that is now live on the company’s WeChat channel until May 20, stood out. Along with this, 520-exclusive profile images and WeChat gags were made available for free download.

The mini-games throughout the hall struck a chord with Chinese Millennials who grew up with arcade classics like Galaxian and Super Mario, and many WeChat users have already utilised the memes and profile images. Such assets serve as a virtual identity stamp, assisting the company in consolidating its digital significance and expanding its online communities.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/520-2022-balenciaga-louis-vuitton-prada/ https://www.163.com/dy/article/H7MFPPE20552U2HZ.html?f=post2020_dy_recommends 

Wufangzhai Created the Cone Universe

Wufang Pictures has reopened and has officially released “The Next Stop of the Metaverse.” Not only did the brain hole fly out of the Metaverse in this blockbuster, but the copywriting made people crave it.

The short film concludes with a gloomy night, the Metaverse city with many high-rise structures, but no sign of human people. However, no matter how many worlds exist, there is no alternative to the preciousness of human people, which tickles the emotional link deep within every individual and tempts them to try that magical zongzi.

Link: https://socialbeta.com/c/11455 

The WeChat Service Account Has Added a Function–No Notification

The “no notification” capability was incorporated in the most recent WeChat upgrade. To see the message non-disturbing switch, click three points in the upper right corner of the home page of each service number, and then choose “Settings” in the pop-up menu. When there is a new message in the service number after opening the message without interruption, the unread number is not displayed but is simply represented by a small red dot.

This might be bad news for the service account: because it includes a reminder function, it can remind users to read the articles on time, so increasing the amount of reading.

But it’s also good news to a certain extent: according to our experience, after each article is pushed, the account will lose some users. Maybe when the user is not disturbed by the reminder information, the user will not unfollow the account.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zQtJ5RU7edeAvzFd22l2-A 

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What’s New in China This Week?

May 17, 2022

Private Traffic = Fake Friends Shilling Lipstick: Welcome to WeChat’s Hottest Sales Trend

Thousands of Chinese firms are utilising WeChat to profit from a marketing trend that has swept the country’s e-commerce industry: private traffic. 

Traditional open eCommerce platforms such as Taobao and Tmall are considered impersonal and uninteresting, preventing firms from making genuine connections with customers. Brands employ private traffic to convert casual shoppers into loyal customers by connecting with them in the same way that they would text family and friends.

The intimacy, though, is a sham — enabled by a suite of technologies that allow businesses to collect data on consumers, automate interactions with them, and, in some circumstances, create entirely synthetic influencers.

This year, private traffic sales are expected to exceed 3 trillion ($454 billion).

Link: https://restofworld.org/2022/china-wechat-private-traffic/

Luxury Brands Navigate Shanghai’s Lockdown to Keep VIPs Pampered

Banks and high-end hotels have joined luxury businesses in sending out treats for the wealthy, a privilege that has not gone ignored on social media. In addition to presents, several brands have organised online classes. La Mer has taught DIY facial massages, while Dior has offered seven-day tickets to a premium yoga studio’s virtual sessions. Prada has held a virtual cultural club in which writers, filmmakers, and musicians were invited to recommend books, movies, and recordings.

Since Shanghai accounts for up to 12% of China’s offline luxury shopping, store closures have required a shift to virtually, but still personally, servicing VIPs to ensure transactions are made after the lockdown.

Link: 

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/luxury-brands-navigate-shanghais-lockdown-keep-vips-pampered-2022-05-10/

How Do Beauty Brands Hop on China’s Metaverse Bandwagon?

China boasts the world’s second-largest beauty sector and a growing digital native consumer base. The rise of new technologies, such as the metaverse and NFTs, is opening up new possibilities, and luxury companies appear to be eager to take advantage of these new tools in order to communicate with young, tech-savvy Chinese consumers.

Laneige’s campaign reached the metaverse in December 2021, when they expressly invited CHUAN (Chuan CHUAN), a popular virtual idol, to serve as Laneige’s Trend Experience Officer, claiming to have broken past the barrier of beauty.

Takeaway: There will be an increasing demand for expressive avatars who are creative and free to wear make-up as if in real life.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/works/how-do-beauty-brands-hop-on-chinas-metaverse-bandwagon/ 

Digital Policy Experts Weigh In on China’s New Algorithm Regulation

Many of the most popular Chinese apps, including WeChat, Douyin, Weibo, and Taobao, altered their app settings to allow users to turn off algorithm-based recommendation services in mid-March, two weeks after China’s new algorithm law went into effect.

The regulation is also the world’s first attempt by a national regulator to control the possible abuse of algorithmic decisions. It asks companies to notify consumers about the usage of algorithms, provide an opt-out choice, and protect vulnerable groups, such as minors and seniors.

It may be too early to predict the regulation’s impact on Chinese IT companies and, more broadly, on the expansion of China’s internet sector, which has already been subjected to intense regulatory scrutiny in the previous year.

Chinese tech firms are facing challenges on multiple fronts, including increased domestic regulatory scrutiny, a slowing economy, concerns about the possible delisting of US-listed Chinese stocks from foreign markets, and the precarious position Chinese tech firms find themselves in amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. This regulation is likely to add to their list of concerns.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/04/05/digital-policy-experts-weigh-in-on-chinas-new-algorithm-regulation/?utm_campaign=%5BASIA%5D%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=209626042&utm_content=209626042&utm_source=hs_email

Babycare Mother’s Day Campaign – Better Mother’s Day Gifts

The evolution of parenting concepts

As the leading brand in the maternal and child business, BabyCare has created an intriguing campaign titled “Better Mother’s Day Gifts” for Mother’s Day in 2022. BabyCare introduced a new concept in parenting by encouraging daddies to participate in parenting as well as giving mummies time to have fun.

On the eve of Mother’s Day, he uploaded a piece of rap created by himself on the Douyin platform, along with the video with the baby, as a “better Mother’s Day gift,” with the help of the new baby dad and rap star Bridge, who routinely brought babies out of the circle. The amount of views on the Douyin #bettermothersdaygift related topic page hit 10 million one day after the video was released, while the similar topic uploaded on Weibo got 300 million views.

According to Babycare, the label “raising infants is a mother’s business” is mirrored in the design of maternal and newborn items, as well as the intrinsic notion of parenting. Bags with babies, for example, are known as “Mummy bags,” and they are created to fit the body and aesthetics of women. Another example: the room where babies are changed and fed is known as a “mother-and-baby” room, and guys are normally not permitted to enter; so, changing diapers is unquestionably mum’s task. BabyCare feels that it is past time to break the mould and provide a new parenting solution for the next generation. As a result, they renamed the “mummy bag” “Diaper bag” and changed the style and size to masculine norms. In addition, Babycare has changed the moniker “mother-and-baby” room to “Nursery room,” and they plan to develop 100 mobile nursery rooms in eight provinces and cities, with dads permitted to enter.

BabyCare advocates for the de-gendering of baby and maternal items in order to create an egalitarian and welcoming parenting environment in which to raise children. Not only are they revamping things, but also a new generation of parenting ideas and practices.

Link: https://www.tellerreport.com/business/2022-05-07-%22mother-and-baby-room%22-becomes-%22nursery-room%22-babycare-promotes-%22de-gendering%22-of-mother-and-baby-products.SkG8AzLQIq.html

 

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China News for the Week

May 11, 2022

Top 5 Chinese Tech Firms Have Lost Nearly Half of Their Combined Market Cap in 2 Years

Why it matters: After two decades of phenomenal expansion, the top five Chinese tech behemoths have lost at least 46% of their total market capitalisation.

  • In April 2020, Apple’s valuation = Alibaba+Tencent+Meituan+JD.com+Pinduoduo the top five Chinese tech firms
  • In April 2022, Apple’s valuation = 49 top Chinese tech firms combined. Apple’s valuation has more than doubled while many Chinese tech firms’ valuation has decreased or stagnated

What are the reasons? 

  • A saturating local market
  • Pandemic outbreaks
  • US-China trade tensions
  • Rigorous government regulations
  • The loss of the “upbeat spirit” of China’s business world.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/09/top-5-chinese-tech-firms-have-lost-nearly-half-of-combined-market-cap-in-2-years/

Chinese Internet Users Buy Fake Covers After Social Media Forcefully Reveal Their Locations

Why it matters: Chinese internet users are playing cat and mouse with the country’s social media sites, which have violated users’ privacy by requiring them to give their geolocation.

Many people have been surprised by the new rules. Many popular marketing personas with international pictures and selling qualities, for example, are demonstrated to be based in China.

As a result, several enterprises are now selling services that change IP addresses on e-commerce platforms like Taobao for as little as RMB 6 ($0.9) per day. Many of these businesses claim to be able to change location information (in Chinese) on platforms such as Weibo and Douyin.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/07/chinese-internet-users-buy-fake-covers-after-social-media-forcefully-reveal-their-locations/

Why Is Email Marketing Ineffective in China?

An email has never been popular in China in comparison to the West. Experian Market Services statistics from 2015, which examined email marketing success in selected Asia Pacific nations, showed that China’s total opening rate was barely 10.5%, compared to 33.1%  in New Zealand.

Chinese users check their emails 22% less frequently than users worldwide. Smartphones have mostly overtaken desktops as the primary computing device in China. The country was a late adoption of computers, and as internet cafés began to develop in the 1990s and early 2000s, young people began to engage with one another using social messaging apps such as QQ.

Email marketing frequently disappoints marketers because the majority of Chinese do not regularly check their personal emails (if they have one at all) and would expect the brands they care about to meet them in their native digital environment.

WeChat brand accounts are far more engaging than email and can provide information on several elements of the brand.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/opinions/why-does-email-marketing-not-work-in-china/ 

The Future of E-Commerce on Douyin and 5 Tips on How to Prepare

In China, TikTok is known as Douyin. With over 600 million active daily users, it’s a hugely popular short video app. That equates to half of China’s population.

Unlike TikTok, Douyin clearly integrates e-commerce. Douyin users can complete purchases within the app by clicking links within each short video. Douyin thus becomes a viable sales channel, perfectly adapted to impulse purchases.

Link: https://agencychina.com/blog/e-commerce-on-douyin-5-tips-how-to-prepare/ 

WeChat to Reveal Users’ IP Location on a Public Posts

WeChat announced on Friday that it will begin displaying users’ whereabouts when they post on a public account.

WeChat, which is controlled by Tencent, said it would soon begin testing the setting, which only applies to users of its “public platform,” where they can comment on news, essays, and other written content published by official accounts.

The new settings will show the province or municipality of Chinese users who post on public accounts. Posts made by users from other countries on public accounts will show the nation indicated by their IP address.

WeChat, which has over 1.2 billion monthly users, stated in a notification that the action targeted misinformation about “local and international hot-topic topics,” but did not elaborate.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-utfIpLwq7Iq6GKqldKRhw

A Part of Gen Z Decides to Give Up Filters on Social Media

Posting on WeChat is becoming increasingly tiresome for many individuals. Typically, it takes them 5 minutes to take photos and 1 hour to edit them in Photoshop, plus they have to think of an interesting environment to write in. Finally, it appears to be extra labour.

As a result, as more people become dissatisfied with social media, they want a platform that is easier and less stressful. Then, all of a sudden, a new app becomes extremely popular. It’s called “BeReal,” and it was created in France.

Users cannot upload photos to this platform. Instead, they can only utilise the app’s camera to snap a live photo. Furthermore, the platform lacks a filter and editing tool, so users may only send original photographs. Furthermore, BeReal does not allow users to choose when they want to snap photos and share them. Instead, the system tells every user to perform everything at once. Every time, users have only 2 minutes to shoot photos and upload them before it is too late. BeReal wishes to save the most genuine moment in your life. Furthermore, you cannot choose not to be genuine because both of your phone’s cameras will be activated, allowing people to see both your face and where you are. Finally, there are no “like,” “share,” or “comment” buttons on BeReal; the only way to communicate with your friend is to take a picture of yourself and send emoji.

The concept of BeReal is that they want people to calm down and forget those annoying data, while just focusing on what is happening in real life. Perhaps because of that, BeReal suddenly became popular. In the first quarter of 2022, the number of users increased by 315%. And it has become the Top 4th app in America, France, and England, just behind Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest.

In France, 80% of the users are Gen Z, mainly because they are tired of pretending and being identified by others. They are not afraid of being “ugly”, they just want to be themselves rather than live in other people’s comments.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5L0JpmtmXZ-j7Va2sVB-xQ

Glamping Swept China’s Social Media This Labor Day Holiday

Because of the COVID-19 control measures and continued domestic travel limitations, Chinese people spent their Labor Day holiday this year on short getaways and staycations. The most popular topic these days is “glamping” (glamorous camping). According to Ctrip data, online traffic for “camping” reached a historic high on the first day of the holiday, and search volume jumped by 90% over the previous week. There are nearly three million campaign-related UGC (user-generated content) entries on Xiaohongshu, ranging from gear photos to the journey itself.

From January to April of this year, the number of participants on Ctrip was five times that of the entire year of 2021. In addition, the number of camping facilities has increased by 800% since this year.

Camping can be classified into two categories: luxurious camping and survival camping. The first emphasises quality, whereas the second emphasises the difficulty of surviving in the field. The most popular is luxury camping because most people prefer to explore nature rather than build a genuine fire. And those stunning photographs on social media have had a huge influence on individuals who have never gone camping before, making camping a new fashion trend among young Chinese visitors.

This brisk growth portends a bright future for the outdoor equipment and apparel business. According to Daxue Consulting, the sector would be worth $100 billion (666.8 billion RMB) by 2025. Luxury residences were eager to seize this opportunity. Prada debuted its Outdoor Collection last year, a distinctive ready-to-wear line inspired by the great outdoors.

However, this part still has many obstacles, such as style, functioning, colours, activities, and so on. Players in this game should think outside the box and be more creative while maintaining quality.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/glamping-labor-day-china-prada-beast/?utm_source=Jing+Daily+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=069f57ad7b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_12_06_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8dec01cd8d-069f57ad7b-40884038

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