One week after Singles’ Day (11.11), the figures for the annual shopping festival show that consumer confidence in China remains strong despite recent outbreaks of Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant, although public coverage was muted due to the ongoing ‘Common Prosperity’ campaign, writes Mark Tanner from The China Skinny Singles’ Day 2021 wrapped up last week, clocking a whopping RMB 540.3 billion (£63 billion) of goods sold on Alibaba …
The madness and presales for this year’s Single’s Day/11.11 festival kicked off in mid-October. The 23-days of the festival will see 290,000 brands battling it out with more than 14 million deals just on Alibaba platforms, all hoping to earn their share of the sales spike that happens every November, writes Mark Tanner from The China Skinny Like last year, live streaming looks set to contribute a large portion of …
What is Pinduoduo – the fastest growing social commerce giant in China – and why brands should get on the bandwagon, according to Sara Danese from Azya, a digital specialist for wine and spirits brands entering China Pinduoduo – now China’s third-largest e-commerce platform with a 10.5% market share – is the fastest-growing Chinese social commerce platform with roots in lower-tier cities in China. Starting out fulfilling the needs of …
As changes to the laws requiring animal testing for imported cosmetics in China come into effect, RedFern Digital speaks to Mette Knudsen, CEO of certification and regulation compliance company Knudsen & CRC., about the specifics of the changes and the implications for foreign brands looking to tap into the cosmetics market in China – including the new requirement to appoint a liable safety and quality control representative How did the …
How did Coca-Cola, Levi’s, UGG and Absolut celebrate Pride Month in China, where attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community are still conservative? And why did they launch their rainbow-themed campaigns a month early? Due to sensitivities when it comes to the LGBTQ+ movement in China, Pride campaigns are less widespread and are generally only braved by multinational companies. It is also rare to see the LGBTQ+ community feature in campaigns throughout …
Major e-commerce platforms like JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao generated billions of RMB in sales during China’s mid-year 618 shopping festival, although some platforms came under fire for invasive spam marketing methods, writes Robynne Tindall According to data monitoring firm Syntun, the general merchandise value (GMV) of China’s major e-commerce platforms reached RMB 578.5 billion (approximately £64.8 billion) during the period 1-18 June. JD.com recorded a 100% increase in …
Backed by Alibaba and Tencent, social e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu is known for its community of well-informed consumers and can be a boon for small consumer brands looking to generate word of mouth in China, writes Robynne Tindall When it comes to fashion and beauty in China, there is one platform that savvy shoppers know to turn to: Xiaohongshu. Sometimes compared to Instagram, Xiaohongshu is more akin to a blend of …
Marketers in B2B industries have shifted their focus to digital in the last year: Offline marketing is limited in terms of scale, and there have been a growing number of companies successfully embracing new approaches, writes Frank Ren of RedFern Digital When talking about Business to Business (B2B) marketing, there are several things to consider. How can businesses effectively acquire new leads and grow their customer base when traffic costs …
The Department for International Trade has launched a new digital ‘Check for barriers to trading and investing abroad’ service – extremely helpful for UK businesses trading exporting to China In December 2020, the Department for International Trade (DIT) started publishing some of the information it holds on trade barriers via a new user-friendly online service on gov.uk. This aims to support British businesses in their awareness and understanding of international …
Mascots aren’t just for kids’ brands in China. From Burberry’s cute critter WeChat stickers to the time-honoured KFC Colonel, having a cartoon representative may be more valuable than you realise. Matt Wills of Floob Creative explains why. M&M’s, Michelin, Monopoly, Nintendo, KFC and Pringles – all household names, and all have mascots that are synonymous with their brands. What helps these brands connect with their customers is a relatable, recognisable …