Guochao drives success on Douyin

Nine out of the top ten beauty brands sold through social network Douyin last year were Chinese, and sales of domestic brands in other categories are growing fast, as Guochao (or ‘China chic’), becomes an increasingly important retail trend.

Why it matters

Recent figures from the platform put the share of domestic products last year at 89%, and claim overall sales volume increased by 667% year-on-year. Such newer sales channels are where local brands are going to reach young consumers.

International brands, meanwhile, are sticking to more established e-commerce channels. South China Morning Post cites data intelligence firm Syntun figures showing that nine of the top ten bestselling beauty brands on Tmall during last year’s Singles’ Day were Western ones.

Context

• Douyin states in its 2021 Douyin E-commerce Domestic Products Development Annual Report that it wants to “promote traditional culture” and “support the growth of Chinese goods.”
• The growing competition from the likes of Douyin and Kuaishou have prompted Alibaba to reorganise the back-end of its Taobao and Tmall platforms with a greater focus on user experience. 
• A new regulation means all platforms are having to tweak their recommendation algorithms. 

Final thought 

“Douyin e-commerce remains a playing field [mostly] for domestic brands. Some international brands have Douyin accounts, but they mainly use it for branding purposes, not selling” – Miro Li, founder of Double V, a Shenzhen-based branding and marketing consultancy. 

Sourced from South China Morning Post [Image Dan Cristian Pădureț from Pexels]