COVID-19 let e-commerce booming worldwide. And China is leading this trend. According to Statista, in January 2020 online revenues in China reached a value of 1002 billion dollars, more than double the market US e-commerce, which is 420 billion dollars. An important part of this growth comes from cross-border e-commerceand mainly focuses on fashion and luxury goods. Foreign bio and fresh products are also becoming popular, and the only way to buy these products from home, at the moment is through cross-border.
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Little Red Book, the 300 millions users Social Commerce App
In this framework, Little Red Book (xiao hong shu, 小红书, in Chinese) is gaining popularity day by day. The e-commerce platform, also known as Red, has now over 300 million users, of which 84 million are active on a daily basis. Three billion impressions are created on Red every day through a wide range of media, including photos, texts, and short videos, earning a place in the TOP 5 of the most popular and promising applications in China. The application covers various areas related to lifestyle: firstly cosmetics and beauty, then fashion, food, travel, entertainment, reading, fitness, and childcare.
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From “Review Platform” to Social-Commerce Forerunner
Word of mouth is the most effective selling method in China, in fact, the constant scandals and frauds make users rely on recommendations rather than advertising in the purchasing decision-making process. The founders of Xiaohongshu immediately understood the potential of the application dedicated to foreign brands and have allowed the marketing of the products since 2014.
Based in Shanghai, this innovative app helps over 300 million users – mostly younger women – to discover and review beauty and health products that can be hard to find in China.
Despite the opening of e-commerce, the application has maintained its main function: it is a social community committed to the detailed and reliable review of foreign luxury goods. Users continue to do extensive product research and post comments about their purchases. These reviews include photos and videos, thus promoting the consumer experience and interaction with the product before purchase and use.
The success of Xiaohongshu was also confirmed during the Covid-19 emergency with an increase in active daily users of 35% compared to the first quarter of 2019. In addition, the average daily time spent on Red for each user increased by 44, 9% during the Chinese New Year, also thanks to the new live-streaming function included on the platform.
Little Red Book in numbers
•300 million registered users
•80% female users
•60% IOS users
•60% users in Level 1 and Level 2 cities
•70% post-90 users
•90% of users learn about brand / product information through Xiaohongshu
•200K + content generated every day
•Main interests: Lifestyle
Is Little Red Book the right choice for your business?
Although RED has a relatively small market share compared to the leaders of cross-border e-commerce – Alibaba’s Tmall Global (28%), Kaola (21%), JD (14%) and VIP.com (10%), it has found its market niche and its place among the big names. Foreign companies can open their own shop on Red and insert the related products. The platform is home to nearly 10,000 third-party e-commerce merchants and offers over 100,000 different products.
Little Red Book, founded in 2013, is a social media and e-commerce platform that has become a popular app for sharing product reviews.
According to an Accenture study 70% of Chinese consumers made purchases through social media platforms, 54% of Chinese consumers believe that products recommended by others are more reliable i and 47% would prefer to buy products recommended by others even if they were to have a higher price.
In other words, today’s Chinese consumer is looking to improve his lifestyle and is willing to pay for it. These same consumers, more than others in the world, rely on the recommendations of other buyers before finalizing their purchases.
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Keywords & viral content
RED’s content distribution algorithm is set up so that users can view content from accounts they don’t follow in the news feed, this allows you to reach new users easily, but at the same time requires great attention to the keywords used. Xiaohongshu users tend to be “inspired” by what is proposed in the feed, so having good visibility will be your number 1 mission.
The app is an incubator for word-of-mouth marketing, with opinion leaders who are vocal about their experiences with foreign merchandise and experiences.
Seeding is an essential and extremely effective strategy on Little Red Book, as it allows you to reach high-end consumers who are trying to be inspired by new trends. Moreover, the content value should be at the heart of the brand strategy with this social media. Tutorials, product comparisons, in-depth reviews, before/after comparisons are all essential contents to engage users and stimulate conversation.
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From KOL to KOC
Like all social media, visibility on Little Red Book is enhanced by collaboration with KOL. By the way, you must pay close attention to the type of KOL you decide to use. Unlike WeChat, Red gives much more freedom to interact with users, for this reason, it is an extremely fertile ground for collaborations with KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers). Little Red Book users are known for their willingness to engage and will likely ask questions and share their experiences on user posts.
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