In recent years, China has seen the rise of a new social phenomenon known as “Dazi” socializing, a term that encapsulates the idea of forming temporary, activity-based companionships. This trend, which spans across a variety of activities such as dining, fitness, and travel, is a reflection of the changing dynamics in how young Chinese people […]
TikTok / Douyin App Trends & Insights
TikTok, a.k.a. Douyin in China, is a leading short video app owned by ByteDance. In reality, TikTok and Douyin are two separate apps for different markets; Douyin is for China launched in 2016 while TikTok for English speaking markets, launched in 2017.
The platform allows users to share 15-second short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. It has become a key platform for both marketing and e-commerce professionals.
ByteDance acquired a similar mobile app musical.ly in November 2017 at $1 billion and merged it with TikTok, the international version of Douyin in August 2018.
In addition to commercializing TikTok with e-commerce capabilities, ByteDance is also building a mini program ecosystem on TikTok.
The majority of TikTok users are Gen-Z in China. And, its main competitor in China is Kwai (Kuaishou); see a comparison of Douyin and Kwai here and here.
Top Apps Dominating China’s Holidays
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently announced that during the 2024 Spring Festival holidays, spanning nine days from February 9th to February 17th, mobile internet users consumed a staggering 674.5 million TB of data. This represents a 21.7% increase from the previous year, with the growth rate accelerating by 15.4 percentage points. On […]
China’s Import E-Commerce Trends 2024
In 2023, China’s import e-commerce market has seen transactions soar to 551.77 billion yuan, a climb from 462.84 billion yuan in 2018, highlighted by a 10.4% growth peak in 2023, according to data from Analysys. This burgeoning market is led by Tmall Global with a formidable 37.6% share, followed by other key platforms contributing to […]
Douyin’s Billion-Dollar Brands Reveal China’s 2024 Digital Trends
In 2023, China’s digital commerce arena, led by Douyin (TikTok’s China version), displayed extraordinary growth, with its GMV expanding by a staggering 277%. This surge signifies a pivotal shift in the digital commerce landscape, challenging established e-commerce players like JD.com and Pinduoduo. The top 10 brands on Douyin, including Duck Duck (8 billion yuan), Apple […]
Douyin’s Live Commerce Platform Continues to Soar
Douyin, TikTok’s China equivalent, saw its live commerce platform continue to soar in 2023, with total transaction volume growing 256% year-over-year, according to data released by the company early this year. The platform now covers over 370 cities and involves over 450,000 businesses.
China’s Consumer FMCG Market Snapshot 2023
China’s Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market, a critical indicator of domestic consumption patterns, presents a mixed picture in Q2 2023, reflecting both resilience and challenges. Here’s a breakdown based on recent data from CTR and CCTV Market Research’s Kantar Consumer Index. 1. Market Growth and Diversification Despite the “high base effect,” the FMCG market […]
The Billion-Dollar ‘Planting Grass’ Economy: Content, Commerce, and Social Shopping
It’s hard to pinpoint when it started, but major Chinese tech companies have become obsessed with “planting grass” (Zhongcao). “Planting grass”, or Zhongcao, refers to recommending quality products to others to entice purchases or generating a desire to experience or possess something based on external information. In recent years, internet giants such as Tencent, Alibaba, […]
Top 3 private traffic platforms for merchants in China
WeChat, Alipay, and short video platforms (Douyin, Kuaishou, etc) have become the most important platforms for Chinese merchants’ private traffic operation according to a report from iResearch. More than 80% of businesses believe that the cost of private traffic has increased by 40%, so the conversion rate and leveraging public traffic have become the core […]
China online video, short video market overview 2022
China online video market reached 975 million MAU in 2021 Short video market saw 934 million users Douyin vs. Kuaishou With China’s online video platforms’ increasing production of original high-quality content and expansion of user preferences, the traffic has risen steadily, and the total number of online video users reached 974.71 million in 2021. The […]
Top 50 most valuable Chinese brands 2021
Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands grew by 57% year-on-year in 2021 to reach a total value of more than $1.56 trillion up from $996 billion in 2020.
The secret behind the success of L’ORÉAL’s TikTok Super Brand Day
With China’s increasing domestic consumption demand, new domestic makeup brands are emerging and are introducing new product lines at a rapid pace, hoping to capture more market share vis-à-vis multinational brands. At the same time, the Generation Z consumer base is growing, driving the concept of Fashion Makeup to evolve. Under these changing market conditions, […]
China 618 Shopping Festival 2021: Tmall vs. JD
Alibaba Tmall kicks off 2021’s 618 Shopping Festival on 24 May. This year’s pre-sale activities are obviously ahead of schedule. The balance will be paid on June 1, and the discount will last for 20 days.
A postgraduate turned TikTok entrepreneur to hit US$30M e-commerce sales
Weigh, decompose different raw materials, put the test materials into the machine experiment, and explain the food heat in a few short sentences. This is the consistent routine of Dr. Dika (Low Calorie)’s short video creation. Since its operation in 2019, Dr. Dika has created hundreds of small video clips, attracting nearly 2 million followers […]
Top 500 Chinese brands in 2021; WeChat is China’s and the world’s strongest brand
Chinese brands show resilience as the total value of the top 500 brands in China remains stable at US$1.94 trillion in 2021, according to the latest Brand Finance China 500 ranking.
Douyin (TikTok) users overview 2021; average DAU reached about 600 million in Q1
Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese platforms, saw its Q1’s DAU peak on Chinese New Year’s Eve, February 11th, when the main platform DAU reached 580 million, according to Tencent News. The DAU of Douyin Lite and Douyin Huoshan exceeded 100 million, which indicates that a combined DAU of all Douyin platforms could reach about 700 million. According […]