Weblog with daily updates of the news on a frugal, fair and beautiful China, from the perspective of internet entrepreneur, new media advisor and president of the China Speakers Bureau Fons Tuinstra
Temu, owned by Pinduoduo, is one of the leaders in online retail that has been ruffling international competitors in the past year. Business analyst Shaun Rein looks for the BBC at the firm’s international expansion. “They’re proud that Chinese companies can slay the e-commerce dragons from the United States like Amazon,” he adds.
BBC:
Temu is owned by Chinese giant Pinduoduo – “a monster in Chinese e-commerce,” according to Shaun Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group.
“Throughout China, everyone buys products on Pinduoduo, from speakers to t-shirts or socks,” he says.
The company consistently trades places with rival Alibaba for the top spot of most valuable Chinese firm listed on a US stock exchange. Its current worth sits at just under $150bn (£117bn).
With the Chinese consumer market under its spell, Pinduoduo expanded overseas with Temu, using the same model that had ensured its previous success. According to Mr Rein, who is based in Shanghai, the firm has become a great source of pride and patriotism.
“They’re proud that Chinese companies can slay the e-commerce dragons from the United States like Amazon,” he adds.
A quick scroll through the Temu app or website will bring up anything from steel-toecap trainers to a device designed to help the elderly and pregnant women put on socks. A menagerie of manufactured goods, almost entirely produced in factories in China, Mr Rein explains.
Sharon Gai is an e-commerce author, keynote speaker, and former head of global key accounts at online retail giant Alibaba.
She says the way retail apps are designed in China is “fundamentally very different” from businesses in the West, which tend to focus more on search functionality.
“So their primary goal is to get you into an app very quickly, and then out of the app very quickly as well,” Gai said.
“In China, shopping apps are oriented around discoverability — how long can we keep you inside the app, how long can we entertain you, [and] how many new brands or products or trends or styles can you discover?”
Gai also said China’s huge domestic ecommerce market — which recorded almost $3 trillion in sales last year — enables platforms like TEMU and Shein to find the best formula for attracting new customers.
But while Chinese apps have been able to adapt their models to dominate US, UK and Australian markets, Western apps are struggling to achieve the same success bringing their business to China.
Last week, corporate social media giant LinkedIn announced it was shutting down its China service, InCareer, after pulling its main platform from China in 2021.
According to Gai, what sets Chinese and Western apps apart is how fast they are able to respond to the market’s needs
She said at Alibaba, the team motto “changing the motor of the aeroplane, when you’re flying in the air” means moving fast to address the market.
Gai says it’s this speed that has allowed Chinese companies to adapt to Western markets and become the preferred platforms for shoppers worldwide.
Shein, Temu and TikTok have become winning platforms on the internet, and for a good reason, says e-commerce expert Sharon Gaiat the Rest of the World. “Globally you have an economic slowdown, so a lot of consumers are also spending less per platform,”
The Rest of the World:
When Temu launched in September 2022, it also drew people in with low prices. In February, it broadcast an ad during the Super Bowl encouraging viewers to “shop like a billionaire” and fill their virtual carts without having to worry about the cost. That weekend, Temu racked 426,000 app downloads in the U.S., according to digital analytics company Sensor Tower.
“Globally you have an economic slowdown, so a lot of consumers are also spending less per platform,” Sharon Gai, the former head of global key accounts at Alibaba and author of Ecommerce Reimagined, told Rest of World. “When there’s a low-cost e-commerce platform that’s emerged out of nowhere, they are obviously going to like it.”
“China’s rapid economic reinvention has been nothing short of miraculous, but that reinvention has faced criticism that the country is good at manufacturing but not at innovating,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of the China-focused digital consulting firm, ChoZan. “It’s clear that China has proven those critics wrong, and in Innovation Factory, we showcase how China has been able to jump into the digital age with less baggage with the game-changing mobile phone, do it at speed, and keep up the pace to get it where it is today.”
While brands are rightfully intrigued by the power of streamers in e-commerce, they cannot replace traditional influencers, says branding expert Ashley Dudarenok in Campaign Asia. “While there was a time when brands favoured streamers over traditional influencers, as they thought streamers can sell, these days they know better,” says Ashley Dudarenok,
Campaign Asia:
While livestreaming may have transformed online shopping in China (according to research firm eMarketer, it generated sales of US$480 billion in China last year that are likely to jump 30% this year) experts say that in reality, collaborating with live streamers is a bit hit and miss.
“While there was a time when brands favoured streamers over traditional influencers, as they thought streamers can sell, these days they know better,” says Ashley Dudarenok, founder of ChoZan 超赞 and Alarice. “No matter how big, small, professional the external livestreamer is, they rarely deliver a positive ROI. Anchors are expensive. They work great for awareness, first time purchase, campaigns—after which it’s up to a brand to leverage and stretch the afterglow.”…
“Competition for eyeballs is fierce, it’s increasingly challenging to stand out,” says Dudarenok. “This leads to constant pressure to come up with attention-grabbing stunts or strategies, which rarely aligns with genuine and authentic content creation.” In one such stunt, a young male Chinese live streamer recently died after he was seen drinking excessive amounts of alcohol on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. The streamer who went by the username of ‘Brother Three Thousand’ was reported to have drank at least seven bottles of baijiu spirits during a live stream, and was found dead 12 hours after his broadcast, Chinese media reported. His death, which was widely discussed on China’s internet, has led to calls for stricter rules for the country’s expanding livestreaming sector.
“Regulation is another concern,” adds Dudarenok. “Without clear guidelines and regulations, it’s often the Wild West with unsafe products and services, patchy after-sales services, and more. As the live commerce landscape evolves and matures, influencers, brands, MCNs, agencies are working together to shape what ‘good looks like’ for the next 10 years.”…
While livestreaming superhosts like Austin Li and Viya remain popular in China, brands are increasingly building up their own live stream channels instead of paying individual live streamers 40% to 50% of the revenue. “Brands prefers KOEs = key opinions employees to run the shows eight hours a day vs external anchors,” says Dudarenok. “Plus virtual hosts can also be a great way to complement the real human anchor at peak times, and fully substitute them during slow hours.”
China’s economic growth might have been lackluster post-Covid, but social commerce is the exception, even compared to traditional e-commcerce, says e-commerce experts Ashley Dudarenokin Dao Insights. “New sales channels are changing the way businesses approach e-commerce, and they’re adapting their strategies to stay competitive,” she writes.
Ashley Dudarenok:
The market for social commerce is only going to grow further in 2023. Indeed this market is expected to continue to expand, topping 1 trillion USD in annual global sales this year. And when it comes to which market stands out when it comes to social commerce, it has to be China.
China’s social commerce has increased significantly, with a 40.25% increase in market size from 2021 to 2023. Between 2021 and 2025, China’s market size is expected to rise at a 17% yearly rate.
While the size of the social commerce market did not rise as rapidly in other places as it did in China, regions such as North America, Europe, and Latin America are predicted to grow exponentially over the next two years…
Traditional e-commerce channels in China remain dominant with 72% market share in H1 2022, but social commerce is rapidly gaining popularity, growing from a 14% market share in 2021 to 21% in H1 2022. New sales channels are changing the way businesses approach e-commerce, and they’re adapting their strategies to stay competitive.
Given the development of social commerce, it’s important for brands and businesses to stay ahead of these changes. This article will bring some of the industry’s trends and insights that are found in the China Social Commerce Report 2023, a report that guides businesses in navigating the world of social commerce, allowing them to leverage lessons for and from China effectively.
China has become a leading force in consumer trends with e-commerce and fintech, first followed by other Asian nations and now the rest of the global market, says marketing expert Ashley Dudarenokat Martechseries. Global brands are taken notice, she writes.
Ashley Dudarenok:
Global brands are starting to look at trends arising from the Asian consumer market, and for good reason. It is expected that consumers in Asia are to account for half of global consumption growth within the next decade. Besides the fact that Asian consumer markets are growing at an exponential rate, the markets are also diversifying and segmenting.
Asia is also leading in terms of e-commerce and fintech. This is especially true as China has contributed to more than half of the world’s e-commerce retail sales. The country’s sales value surpassed the combined total of Europe and the United States. In fact, the largest digital buyer population in the world belongs to China, amounting to more than 780 million people.
Consumers from other countries in APAC are starting to increase in digital consumers as well. According to a report from Bain & Company, Southeast Asia’s digital consumer population is predicted to reach around 380 million by 2026.
So now that we know that Asia is the continent to look out for, what can we learn from the emerging consumer trends there? What else can we learn from Asia’s e-commerce sector?
Both consumers and e-commerce firms in China are preparing for the famous 618 shopping festival. Marketing guru Ashley Dudarenok explains in her vlog why consumers love the largest of many online shopping festivals and why e-commerce firms need a boost in a market that is not growing as fast as in the past.
Fashion firm Shein developed a new global position, managing through domestic regulatory difficulties and tense relations between China and the US.Internet watcher Matthew Brennan looks at CNN Businesshow a new kid at the block is faring and looks in many ways like the successful Tiktok.
CNN Business:
Shein positions itself firmly as a global business, with an emphasis on distribution: It ships to more than 220 countries or territories. Its website has no mention of its backstory or even where it’s based, stating only that it is “an international” firm. In recent months, that has led to some suggestions that the retailer deliberately downplays its Chinese roots amid rising biases and political controversy.
“Given the current climate of geopolitical tensions, it can … make sense for Chinese entities to lay low,” said Matthew Brennan, who writes about Chinese mobile technology and is the founder of research firm China Channel. “They just want to do business. This is something that they don’t want to have to deal with. And so I don’t think we can blame Shein for taking that option.”…
Shein has made a name for itself by blitzing social media users with its affordable and trendy clothing catering to young women, including $6 crop tops and $9 minidresses. Similar to Boohoo and ASOS, the company relies heavily on influencer marketing, teaming up with internet stars and celebrities like Katy Perry and Nick Jonas to expand its reach.
The brand is especially popular with Gen Z shoppers on TikTok, where it has become a trend for users to post $1,000 Shein “hauls,” or large purchases. That kind of buzz comes on top of Shein’s affiliate marketing programs, which reward influencers handsomely for spreading the word about its products.
The company is also savvy about keeping users on its platform. Last September, it held a virtual fashion show exclusively on its app, which likely helped it pick up more users, noted Lexi Sydow, head of marketing insights at App Annie. Grammy-nominated singer Ellie Goulding was among the performers.
“They’re just so far ahead in terms of user experience,” said Brennan. “They mix together media and entertainment into the experience, and user-generated content and reviews.”
One of its key differentiators, however, is a concept that analysts are calling “real-time retail.”
They say that Shein has come up with an in-house algorithm that trawls the web — including its own massive customer database — to find out what fashion items are trending on search, and what people are responding to on competitors’ websites…
Shein concentrates on exports, naming Europe, the United States, Australia and the Middle East as key markets. Shein does not publicly break down what its top markets are.
It has recently also seen momentum in Latin America, with app downloads in Brazil skyrocketing 988% in the 12 months to June, compared to the previous year, according to App Annie.
The brand also remains a fan favorite in India, although its platform was booted out of the country last summer amid a crackdown on dozens of apps. Last month, it returned to India through Amazon’s Prime Day shopping festival, leading to excitement among customers.
In some ways, Shein’s rise could be compared to that of TikTok, according to Brennan, who authored the book “Attention Factory: The Story of TikTok and China’s ByteDance.”
“I see so many similarities,” he said, reflecting on how the short video app was regarded before it became a global sensation.
“It was viewed as something that was just for Gen Z. It was sort of viewed as frivolous entertainment … I think the competitors were looking at it similarly, and not taking it as seriously as they should have. And I’m sure that platforms like YouTube and Instagram much regret that now.”
Fashion firm Shein makes inroads into the global market with a smart approach to please its consumers: an unbelievable speed focusing on social media, says e-commerce expert Matthew Brennanto Drapers’ Online. Brennan says that once an item is trending, Shein simultaneously increases social media activity for these products to boost sales further. (currency in British pounds)
Drapers’ Online:
Shein’s appeal is trendy, own-brand designs at ultra-low prices: jewellery starts at 50p, mini-dresses at £5.49 and trench coats can be bought for just £28.49.
The “new in” category for womenswear on its website is updated daily. On 11 August, its website showed 6,531 new products for that day. By comparison, Boohoo’s “new in today” category lists just 177 products and Asos 3,563 products, but neither state what time period this is represents. Asos also includes products from third-party brands.
Shein achieves this through an agile network of suppliers in China, which reportedly get designs to market in as little as three days, says Chinese ecommerce expert Matthew Brennan. In a deep-dive of the business on American business blog Not Boring, Brennan says Shein produces small quantities initially, but if an item sells well, it ramps up production for what he calls “real-time retail”, to describe the etailer’s quick response time to trends. Brennan says that once an item is trending, Shein simultaneously increases social media activity for these products to boost sales further.
Singles Day started in China as an e-commerce event on 11/11, but has now moved into a national shopping festival, that cannot be ignored in China, online and offline, says e-commerce expert Ashley Dudarenok at her vlog.
China is number one in e-commerce, online shopping, payment, logistics, and much more. No wonder foreign brands love the second largest economy in the world, says e-commerce expert Ashley Dudarenok on her vlog.
Initially, short-video apps in China booked their successes among youngsters, but now also seniors find their way, and apps try to monetize the elderly followers, says marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok to Kr-Asia.
Kr-Asia:
Among the nearly 6.4 million new Douyin users registered in March 2020, 14.5% of them were over the age of 46, according to Quest Mobile. In 2019, that proportion was 13%. Chinese seniors also spend more time online—nearly five hours a day—up 39% from 2017, per QuestMobile.
With these numbers in mind, it’s no wonder that short-video platforms have been looking to monetize on the trend. To attract more elderly shoppers, short-video apps have cultivated a strong senior-centric influencer category, Ashley Galina Dudarenok, marketing expert and founder of marketing firm Alarice, told KrASIA.
“Many elderly internet celebrities on Douyin and Kuaishou have millions of fans. They have strong personalities, solid reputations, strong creative abilities, and a mature understanding of the format and channel,” she said. For example, one account on Douyin, dubbed “Grandma Wang who only wears high heels,” has amassed 10 million fans in three months, collecting sales of over RMB 5.3 million (USD 820,000) in one of her live broadcasts.
ByteDance has also been testing a specialized version of Douyin for older users, featuring simplified functions and larger font sizes. The company’s efforts coincide with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s guidelines released at the end of 2020, calling for tech companies to improve accessibility for older and less digitally savvy users by simplifying interfaces and curbing intrusive advertisements…
Short-video apps are also easier for seniors to navigate, as the vertical scroll feature for watching videos on Douyin and Kuaishou is fairly intuitive. Senior users are presented with an intuitive shopping experience presenting fleeting purchase opportunities that take just a few taps to complete. At the same time, most of the products shown in a user’s feed on short-videos apps promote deals that are available only for a limited time, creating “ideal consumption scenarios to stimulate resonance and induce impulse purchases,” Dudarenok said.
Fashion firm Shein makes inroads into the global market with a smart approach to please its consumers: an unbelievable speed focusing on social media, says 
