Fashion Influencers - China - November 2020

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market 
Figure 1: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on fashion influencer, November 2020
The consumer
Figure 2: Interaction with KOLs in the past 6 months, September 2020
Fashion trends key in 2020 
Figure 3: Shopping stages affected by KOLs during purchase journey, September 2020
Douyin comes on top as the most popular site for Fashion KOLs 
Figure 4: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, September 2020
KOLs’ proven success in non-luxury purchases
Figure 5: Influencer and purchase decisions, September 2020
Professionalism from fashion KOLs desired
Figure 6: Desired content from KOLs, September 2020
Increasing expectations towards fashion influencers
Figure 7: Attitude towards fashion influencers, September 2020
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
Key Opinion Leaders in selling or influencing 
The facts
The implications
Blurring industry expertise in the KOL industry 
The facts
The implications
Fashion marketing to men
The facts
The implications
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
One third of consumers have leveraged fashion KOLs’ channels 
Gender differences in what fashion KOLs need to provide
Building a balance between marketing campaigns and trust 
FAVOURITE FASHION KOL 
Food and drink drive the most traffic in the KOL ecosystem
Figure 8: Types of influencer followed on social media, September 2020
Fragmented market with blurring of expertise 
Figure 9: Word cloud of favourite fashion KOLs, September 2020
Figure 10: Favourite fashion KOL, September 2020
INTERACTIVE ENGAGEMENT
Nearly one in three have made a purchase in response to an influencer’s post 
Figure 11: Interaction with KOLs in the past 6 months, September 2020
Utilize chat groups to maximize purchases
Figure 12: Interaction with KOLs in the past 6 months, by purchase decision phases, September 2020
Target male consumers with paid content 
Figure 13: Interaction with fashion KOLs in the past 6 months via paying for KOLs’ content and purchased products on stores/channels KOLs recommended, by gender and age, September 2020
KOLs receive the highest engagement from younger females 
Figure 14: Interactions with fashion KOL in the past 6 months, commented, and liked, by gender and age, September 2020
Attractiveness for KOLs’ chat groups
Figure 15: Interactions with fashion KOLs in the past six months via joining chat groups organized by KOLs on Weibo/WeChat/QQ, by personal income, September 2020
KOLS’ IMPACT IN PURCHASE STAGES
Fashion trends key in 2020 
Figure 16: Shopping stages affected by KOLs during purchase journey, September 2020
Females want more purchase references 
Figure 17: Interactive engagement with KOLs in the last 6 months, knowing about purchase channels, by gender and age, September 2020
Young males rely on KOLs’ content more
Figure 18: Interactive engagement with KOLs in the last 6 months, researching into a product, by gender and age, September 2020
Figure 19: Interactive engagement with KOLs in the last 6 months, when making a decision to purchase or not, by gender and age, September 2020
Proving purchase experience for tier two consumers 
Figure 20: Interactive engagement with KOLs in the last 6 months, knowing about purchase channels, by city tier, September 2020
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM USED 
Douyin comes on top as the most popular site for fashion KOLs
Figure 21: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, September 2020
Competition in social commerce
Figure 22: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, live streaming commerce, by engagement, September 2020
Different types of KOLs leverage different social media
Figure 23: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, by influencer type followed, September 2020
Douyin drives the most revenue in paid content
Figure 24: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, by interactive engagement with fashion KOL, paid for KOLs’ content, September 2020
Weibo attracts younger consumers for its interactive communication 
Figure 25: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, Weibo and WeChat public accounts, by consumer age, September 2020
Gender preferences prevalent in types of content
Figure 26: Platform of KOL engagement in the last six months, by gender, September 2020
PRODUCT PURCHASED UNDER KOL INFLUENCE
Success in non-luxury purchases
Figure 27: Fashion products purchased with KOLs’ influence, September 2020
Tier three cities consumers keen on luxury from influencers 
Figure 28: Non-luxury and luxury handbags purchased with KOLs’ influence, by city tier, September 2020
DESIRED CONTENT FROM FASHION KOLS
Professionalism from fashion KOL desired 
Figure 29: Desired content from KOLs, September 2020
Male consumers prefer more product comparisons 
Figure 30: Desired content from KOLs, by gender and age, September 2020
Male fashion KOLs’ lifestyles increasingly important 
Figure 31: Desired content from KOLs, September 2020
Fashion trends for men are highly important 
Figure 32: Desired content from KOLs, September 2020
ATTITUDE TOWARDS FASHION INFLUENCERS 
Increasingly stricter expectations towards fashion influencers
Figure 33: Attitude towards fashion influencers, September 2020
Focus on tier two cities and 30-39s
Figure 34: Attitude towards fashion influencers – Changing preference towards a brand no matter which fashion KOL endorsed it, September 2020
More close collaborations boost brand reputation
Figure 35: Attitude towards fashion influencers – Seeing fashion KOLs work more closely with brands, September 2020
Figure 36: Attitude towards fashion influencers – Seeing fashion KOLs work more closely with brands, September 2020
Over promotion damages trust
Figure 37: Attitude towards fashion influencers – KOLs’ credibility will be reduced by endorsing several brands of different images at the same time, September 2020
Ensure branded content is palatable for post-80s
Figure 38: Attitude towards fashion influencers – Disagreement with changing preference towards a brand no matter which fashion KOL endorsed it, September 2020
Challenge in building trust amongst tier three city consumers
Figure 39: Attitude towards fashion influencers – Agreement with KOLs recommend products just for money, September 2020
APPENDIX – METHODOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS
Methodology
Abbreviations