Consumer spending down under economic pressure – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

China’s consumers spend less on luxury products, especially foreign brands, says marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok at the state-owned China Daily. Only domestic luxury brands are partly escaping that downward trend, she says.

China Daily:

Western luxury brands are particularly affected by these shifts. A recent survey of 2,000 Chinese consumers by Investment firm TD Cowen found that only 17% plan to increase their luxury spending, while 64% plan to spend more on travel. Many consumers are gravitating toward domestic brands or opting for more sustainable, personalized, and culturally relevant products.

“Chinese consumers are buying fewer luxury goods as economic challenges take a toll on spending,” Ashley Dudarenok, founder of the China digital marketing agency Alarice, tells Jing Daily. “There’s also been a noticeable shift in mindset, where flaunting luxury brands is now seen as shallow and disconnected from reality.”

Instead of focusing on brand logos, consumers are increasingly valuing outstanding product quality and unique style.

“While some ultra-high-end brands still benefit from their heritage and cultural significance, the overall trend is moving away from overt displays of brand loyalty,” Dudarenok says….

Rising youth unemployment and low consumer confidence are shaping the luxury market. Youth unemployment reached 18.8% in August and the Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 86 in July.

“As consumers grow more cautious about spending due to uncertainty around job security and income, luxury brands may struggle to maintain previous growth levels. Fewer first-time luxury buyers are entering the market, posing a long-term challenge to the sector’s growth prospects,” Dudarenok says.

While foreign brands face challenges in the market, Chinese luxury brands are gaining momentum.

“Domestic brands like Duanmu and Shang Xia are gaining traction by leveraging their understanding of Chinese culture and consumer preferences,” Dudarenok says. “Unlike foreign brands that often dominate the market, these local brands focus on products deeply rooted in Chinese traditions, such as those incorporating Traditional Chinese Medicine in cosmetics. This cultural alignment resonates with consumers, particularly as national pride grows among Chinese shoppers.”

More at the China Daily.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Would you like her to be at your meeting or conference? Contact us or fill out our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more experts on consumption? Do check out this list.

China’s consumer confidence will rise again, but only in three to five years – Ben Cavender

 

Ben Cavender

Consumer confidence is at a low, says business analyst Ben Cavender. But the current crisis has offered Chinese brands to improve their international positioning, and they will rise as winners internationally when China’s job market is back in three to five years, he adds, in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Sydney Morning Herald:

China grew 4.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, slower than the 5.1 per cent predicted by economists as nervous foreign investors pulled a record £12 billion out of the country over the same period, in blow to President Xi Jinping.Some fear the world’s factory is now in overdrive as shrinking profits force producers to ramp up output just to get enough cash to service their debts.

Prices across the economy were shrinking at the end of 2023 and have only just started rising again, climbing 0.5 per cent in July from a year ago. “I’m optimistic that in three to five years, the job market will recover and be thriving again,” she says.Ben Cavender, managing director at China Market Research Group says it is clear that Chinese consumers have been tightening their belts.“Consumer confidence is low right now, and if anything getting lower,” says Cavender, who is based in Pudong, near Shanghai.

“Chinese brands took advantage of Covid to become much better at brand positioning and marketing, and can be as competitive or more competitive than foreign brands now in a lot of categories,” says Cavender. The industry, which has fuelled the explosive credit growth in recent years, has enabled an easier flow of credit to small and medium enterprises.

International tensions are another worry. Donald Trump has already vowed to escalate its trade war with China if he returns to the White House next year, while Kamala Harris said this week that as president she would ensure “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century”. Fears about overcapacity are creating more trade tensions, with many countries including the UK worried about being flooded with cheap cars in order to meet net zero targets.

“But in terms of getting things done, they can never win against the Chinese. So they are basically deluding themselves. The issue is that they don’t want to accept that China is going to be the largest economy.”

More in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ben Cavender is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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Hurun most successful Chinese heritage brands 2023 – Rupert Hoogewerf

 

Rupert Hoogewerf

The Hurun Research Institute released the Hurun Most Successful Chinese Heritage Brands 2023, for the fourth year, ranking the 100 most successful brands from China with at least 60 years or more of history. “TCM, Baijiu and Foods make up half of the brands on the Hurun Most Successful Chinese Heritage Brands 2023, showing the sectors that have had the deepest impact over generations of Chinese consumers,” says Rupert Hoogewerf, the Hurun chief researcher at the Hurun website.

The three main pillars of this list were the age of the brand, representing 40% of the total index; the value of the brand, defined as market cap for listed companies and recent valuation for non-listed companies, representing 40% of the total; and cultural heritage, representing 20% of the total.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Chairman and Chief Researcher said: “This is the fourth year of the Hurun Most Successful Chinese Heritage Brands, and this year we added 14 new brands to the mix, including well-known brands, such as Jian Nan Chun Chiew, HengYuanXiang and Arctic Ocean Soda.”

“TCM, Baijiu and Foods make up half of the brands on the Hurun Most Successful Chinese Heritage Brands 2023, showing the sectors that have had the deepest impact over generations of Chinese consumers.”

“The average age of the brands on the list is 161 years old, among which the youngest is Jinhui, a 63-year-old baijiu brand, and the oldest is Yiyuanqing, a Shanxi vinegar brand, which is 646 years old.”

“Most of the brands on this list predate pinyin spelling, so for brands that had an historical link outside of China, they use the pre-pinyin English spelling of their brand. For example, ‘Kweichow Moutai’ in pinyin would be spelt ‘Guizhou Maotai’.”

“Nearly 70% of the brands on the list are in East China and North China, with 44 brands from East China, including 13 from Shanghai and 8 from Zhejiang and Anhui respectively. 25 brands are from North China, with Beijing contributing 18 of them.”

More at the Hurun website.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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What can brands learn from China – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok (right)

Branding expert Ashley Dudarenok, author of Innovation Factory: China’s Digital Playbook For Global Brands (September 2023), discusses with Pascal Coppens what global brands can learn from China. Business models from the USA, Germany, and Japan have left their footprint in business education. Still, the innovations coming from China have been left out of this business learning process, says Dudarenok, especially regarding ways to reach consumers directly.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Pleas

New trends in social commerce – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Social commerce is expected to grow exponentially until 2023 in North America, Europe, and Latin America, following the trends of market leader China, writes marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok. In Techn0de she describes three trends in social commerce brands have to know.

Ashley Dudarenok:

This year, it’s anticipated that social commerce will generate global sales of more than $1 trillion. And when it comes to social commerce, China is the market that stands out. Social commerce has expanded rapidly in the country, with a 40.25% increase in market size between 2021 and 2023. Between 2021 and 2025, the size of China’s market is anticipated to increase at a rate of 17% per year. …

Co-creating together with consumers is one of those trends, and Dudarenok looks at the example of Yili.

Brands can engage users on social media platforms by allowing them to interact or co-create engaging content as part of an effective strategy for increasing product promotion and awareness. This technique not only creates a user community but also increases brand visibility and engagement.

Take, for example, the milk brand Yili. Yili asked consumers to participate in a packaging design contest aimed at football enthusiasts to increase engagement and sales during the 2022 World Cup. Customers who spent a particular amount on items were entered into a lucky draw as part of the promotion.

As a result, visibility and sales increased significantly. The campaign received over 27.24 billion Weibo impressions and resulted in a 12.1% increase in sales, illustrating the potential of user participation and co-creation in brand promotion.

In light of this, fast-moving consumer goods brands can consider employing similar techniques by inviting consumers to co-create content during popular events, festivals, or marketing campaigns. This could involve a wide range of activities that tap into the creative potential of the consumer base.

More trends in Technode.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

You can get here the CHINA SOCIAL COMMERCE REPORT 2023.

Are you looking for more marketing experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Brands: maneuvering between streamers and influencers – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

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.”

More in Campaign Asia.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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Please foll

5 Tactics for AI and virtual branding – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Marketing veteran Ashley Dudarenok dives into the tactics for branding in China, using AI and virtual technology. Those technologies define increasingly the success of brands in China, she explains in the Jing Daily.

Ashley Dudarenok:

Brand marketing in China that deploys virtual and AI technology is exerting an increasingly large impact on purchasing decisions, with consumers seeking new and exciting experiences.

The rise of AIGC (artificial intelligence-generated content) and other virtual marketing methods has drawn the attention of investors, producers, celebrities, and social platforms. Brands can expect to see more innovation and creativity in this space, led by the rapidly developing gaming, cartoon and avatar spaces in China.

Marketers and brands stand to benefit from having a firm grasp on how virtual and AI-led marketing in China will develop through this year. ChoZan’s China E-commerce Marketing And Digital Space 2023 Mega Report outlines five tactics that brands can use to unleash the technologies’ potential.

More at the Jing Daily.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.https://www.china-speakers-bureau.com/branding-experts/

Why successful Chinese companies downplay their roots – Ben Cavender

 

Ben Cavender

Under US anti-China pressure Chinese companies downplay their roots. Business analyst Ben Cavender explains why those brands are downplaying their roots, he tells CNN.

CNN:

“When you talk about corporate entities that are seen as being in one way or another connected to China, you sort of start opening this can of worms,” said Ben Cavender, a Shanghai-based managing director of strategy consultancy China Market Research Group.

“There’s almost this automatic take by the US government that these companies are potentially a risk,” because of the inference that they could share data with the Chinese government, or act in a nefarious capacity, he added.

Huawei was the primary target of the political backlash a few years back. Now, consultants point to TikTok, and the ferocity with which it has been questioned by US lawmakers over its Chinese ownership and potential data security risks.

The thinking goes that since the Chinese government enjoys significant leverage over businesses under its jurisdiction, ByteDance and thus indirectly, TikTok, could be forced to cooperate with a broad range of security activities, including possibly the transfer of data about its users. The same concern could, in theory, apply to any Chinese company…

There is a potential risk of “racism or general xenophobia” clouding some perceptions of Chinese-led companies, Cavender said.

In 2020, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi erroneously called Zoom (ZM) a “Chinese entity” in a television interview, leading critics to point out that it was an American company…

According to Cavender, more Chinese companies are seeking to hire foreign executives, partly “because they realize that they need to have that diversity at the management level from an optics standpoint.”

That’s one of their “biggest asks right now,” he said.

More at CNN.

Ben Cavender is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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How brands can deal with the new e-commerce landscape in 2023 – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

China’s e-commerce landscape is changing fast and branding expert Ashley Dudarenok explains how brands can deal with the new big five: Alibaba, JD, Pinduoduo, Douyin, WeChat, for Technode. Here are her top-5 tips.

Ashley Dudarenok:

1. Adopting an overall e-commerce strategy and repositioning flagship stores on Douyin and Pinduoduo

E-commerce platforms need to adopt a comprehensive layout and reposition their flagship stores on Douyin and Pinduoduo. Douyin is focusing on developing its digital shelf e-commerce, while Pinduoduo is leveraging its advantage in high-frequency consumer goods categories to become a comprehensive platform that meets diverse needs. For brands, as the digital shelf e-commerce landscape becomes evenly matched, Douyin/Pinduoduo flagship stores will play an equally important role as their Tmall/JD flagship stores.

2. Building a stronger cross-platform synergy and seizing the opportunity to enhance bargaining power with e-commerce platforms

As e-commerce platforms become increasingly mature, the overlap of their consumer groups will inevitably continue to increase, making it more difficult to expand user increment. However, it is a good opportunity for brands to increase their bargaining chip with e-commerce platforms in terms of traffic, product promotion, and consumer data transparency. Stronger cross-platform collaboration between brand and e-commerce platforms is worth exploring on both sides, especially in category differentiation, pricing, and promotion.

3. Reducing the reliance on livestream e-commerce influencers and strengthening content co-creation

The role of e-commerce live streaming, especially influencer live streaming, in “transactions” will be further weakened. Most influencers may find that selling standard or common products are losing their appeal to the public. Influencer live streaming will reach a critical crossroads, and influencers will need to attract consumers through better content. Currently, “selling-only” influencers who lack content will lose their competitiveness and gradually be phased out. Patterns may emerge where common goods are sold more through digital shelf e-commerce and influencers will focus on more niche products with strong digital content potential like trendy goods.

4. Developing innovative supply chain solutions

Innovative supply chain solutions such as direct sourcing and supply chain financing can help brands reduce costs and improve efficiency. Brands need to optimize their organizational structure, develop cross-platform e-commerce capabilities, accumulate universal key capabilities to support multi-platform development, and lay a foundation for other e-commerce models with future development potential, such as instant retail.

5. Improving consumer experience through data analytics and personalized marketing

Brands need to use data analytics and personalized marketing to improve the consumer experience. It can help brands better understand consumer behavior and preferences, and provide tailored products and services to meet their needs. With the convergence of platform models, the profit levels of brand flagship stores on various platforms are expected to gradually converge. In order to improve efficiency, brands need to optimize their organizational structure, develop cross-platform e-commerce capabilities, accumulate universal key capabilities to support multi-platform development, and lay a foundation for other e-commerce models with future development potential, such as instant retail.

More in Technode.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Pleas

3 steps for China digital marketing in 2023 – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Marketing guru Ashley Dudarenok looks at steps to take in 2023 for the digital marketing of your brand in China. How are we doing, what is our vision and how do we get there, these are the key questions Dudarenok dives into in her vlog.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more marketing experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How Chinese brands work on their heritage – Rupert Hoogewerf

 

Rupert Hoogewerf

Hurun chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf issued the most successful Chinese heritage brands list for 2022, raking the 550-year-old Pien Tze Huang, a traditional Chinese medicine brand, and a current valuation of just under US$30bn. “That makes it the Number One most successful Chinese Heritage Brand,” says Rupert Hoogewerf.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How brands can measure their Single’s Day success – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

China’s annual Single’s Day has been in 2022 relatively lackluster, and Alibaba and JD.com even did not release figures this year. Marketing guru Ashley Dudarenok presents for brands new ways to measure their performance. Four metrics she explains at her vlog for brands to prepare for the next shopping events in this fast-changing consumer market.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How to work with virtual influencers in China anno 2022 – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok dives into China’s virtual influencers in 2022 and discusses how brands can work with those successful marketing tools and avoid trouble like with the human influencers, on her vlog.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more marketing experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Luxury brands have a chance with gen-Z – Arnold Ma

 

Arnold Ma

Consumption patterns of Gen-Z and millennials vary greatly from older generations in China, says branding expert Arnold Ma in the Jing Daily. “They are more focused on themselves and less so on the collective. There are lots of opportunities [for luxury brands] here,” says Arnold Ma.

Jing Daily:

This trend reinforces how local Gen Zers and Millennials are very different from their previous generations. Social media has contributed massively to the spread of these niche trends, and people now express their unique personalities online through their one-of-a-kind creations. Arnold Ma, the founder of the marketing agency Qumin, said, “They are more focused on themselves and less so on the collective. There are lots of opportunities [for luxury brands] here.”

He continued, stating that brands could leverage “the trend of self-expression and the Creator Economy by asking consumers to create their own interpretation of a brand logo or asset.”

More in the Jing Daily.

Arnold Ma is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.