Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Social commerce landscape
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- Figure 1: Type of social commerce players
- Welcoming expanded catalogue, distribution and promotion formats
- Ecommerce law brings discipline to China’s dynamic market
- The consumer
- Everyone is joining the social commerce party
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- Figure 2: Social commerce related behaviours, October 2018
- The incredible rise of group buying platforms
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- Figure 3: Social commerce channel awareness, October 2018
- Vertical platforms on the crossroads of transformation
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- Figure 4: Social platform penetration, October 2018
- Price and social recommendations better leveraged by leading players
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- Figure 5: Purchase factors, October 2018
- Outfit updates accelerated by social commerce
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- Figure 6: Products or service purchased, October 2018
- Optimistic outlook for social commerce
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- Figure 7: Preference towards online retail channels, October 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Seizing the opportunity of the “He” economy in social commerce
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 8: Examples of tapping into the “He” economy
- Platforms competing on shared playing field
- The facts
- The implications
- How fashion brands have embraced social commerce
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Categorisations of social commerce operators
- Expansion of category, distribution and promotion formats
- China’s first ecommerce law takes effect
Market Overview
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- Social commerce’s dynamic landscape
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- Figure 9: Type of social commerce players
- Key drivers of the booming social commence industry: incentivised sharing
- How China’s ecommerce law changes the competition in social commence
- Micro-businesses’ struggles and opportunities
Competitive Strategies
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- Category expansion is the trend but not the only way to increase revenue
- Offline channels are now relevant to social commence business
- WeChat Mini-Programs is used to drive traffic for social commerce
- Short video and live streaming spark new formats of promotion
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Strengths and shortcomings of vertical social commerce platforms
- Social commerce accelerating wardrobe updating
- Attending to males’ spending needs and preferences
Social Commerce Related Behaviours
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- Social commerce becomes a national craze
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- Figure 10: Social commerce related behaviours, October 2018
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- Figure 11: Percentage of consumers who have buyer related behaviours, by demographics, October 2018
- Tier 2 youngsters welcome WeChat dealers for convenience, affordability and authentic reviews
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- Figure 12: Key drivers of buying products from sellers on WeChat Moments, September 2018
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- Figure 13: Social commerce related behaviours, by age, October 2018
- Dynamic engagement driven by sellers
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- Figure 14: Social commerce sellers’ buying behaviours, October 2018
- Figure 15: Age of social commerce sellers, October 2018
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- Figure 16: Gender of social commerce sellers, October 2018
- Figure 17: Employment of social commerce sellers, October 2018
Channel Awareness
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- Group buying platforms, the mind-blowing dark horse
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- Figure 18: Social commerce channel awareness, October 2018
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- Figure 19: Social commerce channel awareness, by age, October 2018
- Figure 20: Social commerce channel awareness, by education, October 2018
- Vertical social commerce platforms skew towards well-off females
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- Figure 21: Awareness of vertical social commerce channel, by gender and age, October 2018
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- Figure 22: Awareness of vertical social commerce channel, by monthly household income, October 2018
Channel Usage
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- Vertical social commerce platforms fail to nail transactions
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- Figure 23: Social platform penetration, October 2018
- Unlocking the potential of male spenders
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- Figure 24: Social commerce channel penetration, by gender, October 2018
- Figure 25: Percentage of consumers who have bought products from Pinduoduo and JD GroupBuy, by age and gender, October 2018
Purchase Factors
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- Price and social recommendations are key differentiators
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- Figure 26: Purchase factors, October 2018
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- Figure 27: Purchase factors of group buying or discount platforms users, by consumer type, October 2018
- Comprehensive and vertical social commerce platforms attract quality driven consumers
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- Figure 28: Product related factors of social commerce platforms users, October 2018
- Figure 29: Purchase factors of comprehensive social commerce platforms users, by consumer type, October 2018
- Variety and convenience appreciated by males
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- Figure 30: Selected purchase factors of group buying or discount platforms users, by gender, October 2018
Products or Services Purchased
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- Dressing needs accentuated by social commerce
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- Figure 31: Products or service purchased, October 2018
- Household cleaning, beauty and health supplements preferred by heavy users
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- Figure 32: Products or service purchased, by consumer type, October 2018
- Where is the social commerce gender gap?
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- Figure 33: Products or service purchased, by gender, October 2018
- Figure 34: Percentage of buying selected products, by gender and age, October 2018
Attitudes towards Social Commerce
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- Young and well-off consumers prefer social commerce over traditional ecommerce
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- Figure 35: Preference and prospects towards online retail channels, October 2018
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- Figure 36: Preference towards online retail channels, by income and generation, October 2018
- Figure 37: Future plans towards online retail channels, October 2018
- Less satisfaction towards product quality
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- Figure 38: Attitudes towards online retail channels, October 2018
- Trusting mass buyers over suspected marketers
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- Figure 39: Attitudes towards social commerce influencers, October 2018
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- Figure 40: Attitudes towards celebrity recommendation on social commerce platforms, by age, October 2018
- Celebrity recommendations better recognised on Xiaohongshu and Mogujie
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- Figure 41: Social platform penetration, by attitude towards celebrity recommendation, October 2018
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- More active social commerce participants
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- Figure 42: Social commerce related behaviours, by consumer classification, October 2018
- Variety and delivery service drive greater purchase intention
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- Figure 43: Purchase factors of group buying or discount platforms users, by consumer classification, October 2018
- Higher satisfaction and expectations for social commerce
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- Figure 44: Attitudes towards social commerce, by consumer classification, October 2018
Appendix – Key Driver Analysis
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- Methodology
- Interpretation of results
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- Figure 45: Key drivers of buying products from sellers on WeChat Moments, September 2018
Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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