China became in a few years, the first luxury market in the world.
Here are the points that are important to understand if you’re looking to reach Chinese fashion luxury consumers.
1. Chinese luxury fashion consumers buy everywhere
Although Chinese luxury consumers are mainly doing their purchases in Europe, mostly in Paris, they also go elsewhere like around Asia. Indeed, Chinese consumers are more and more purchasing their luxury goods in South Korea.
For example, South Korea noticed that Chinese luxury consumers are spending US $29 billion in 2020 in luxury products. 55% of Chinese luxury buyers are doing their purchases in South Korea, against 46% in other country. Also, inside this pourcentage, 64% are under 35 years old.
2. Data is important to digital marketing for luxury and fashion
The digital world is really important in China to attract new consumers. Today, a brand doesn’t need a digital strategy, but a good strategy for a digital world. Going digital is normality for brands of various sectors, the real questions are where, when and how.
Whereas luxury brands are paying more attention to the views and shares numbers, they need to get a different mindset. Chinese consumers need more and more proofs about luxury products. They won’t buy if they didn’t get enough informations.
3. E-commerce is booming in China, especially for luxury fashion
Ecommerce in China is booming and it’s thus crating new opportunities for the luxury market. In 2012, there was 242 million online consumers. This number might increase to 48 million per year. That is way, today, most of the foreign brands and also national brands owns an ecommerce website. In China, when we are speaking about ecommerce we directly think about the two Chinese ecommerce leader, Tmall and JD.com. If you want to enter the Chinese ecommerce, it’s better for you to get both options.
Indeed, in addition to your own online shopping website, you should get into partnership with one of these two leaders to sell your products because Chinese consumers are more willing to order on these ones than on yours because of the payment system which might not be enough secure for them or at least in their mind.
For more informations about ecommerce in China, you can check here.
4. Chinese millennial luxury fashion consumers mindset has to be understood
According to Tye, China is the youngest luxury market worldwide. He noticed that there are lots of differences between the 1950-1964 generation and the 1965-1979 one. This is mainly due to Chinese politics.
Indeed, the oldest generation has to face single child law and also social pressures in order to get a successful life. According to Callegari, this generation is changing the meaning of “luxury”. They challenge the luxury brands’ pricing codes, and they have a value-for-money concept.
5. The in-store service is crucial for luxury fashion
Although digital marketing is really important, such is the ecommerce, but the experience with the brand is even more. That is why, lots of Chinese luxury consumers are going in Paris to buy hundreds of thousands dollars of luxury goods.
If you go to Paris, there’s not only the allure of the city, you have someone in front of you that’s very knowledgeable—that believes and breathes the brand, that knows a lot about the brand, that has something in common with the brand and this is what Chinese consumers are looking for. A brand must be able to offer them this kind of service.
Whereas in China, 92% of the Chinese luxury goods buyers are unsatisfied of their in-store experience in their own country. Experiential marketing is central for chinese marketers and consumers; buying a luxury fashion good is not just a purchase, it’s a total experience.
6. Be successful thanks to Chinese social media
Social networks are more that just a part of the Chinese’s life. They spend most of their free time on their smartphones to use social medias. Thus, having a social presence on Chinese social media for a fashion brand will surely be beneficial for the image and the development of your e-reputation but also your reputation in general.
You should definitively have a Weibo account which is the Chinese Facebook. It’s as much used by Chinese people as Facebook by Europeans and Americans. Wechat is the second social media you have to be present on! Chinese consumers spend a lot of time on Wechat a day, as it is a conversation, paiement, interaction and social advisor at the same time.
7. Chinese people love videos and short video marketing
Chinese people watch more and more videos on Internet through their Chinese YouTube version, Youku, more than 95% of Chinese Internet users have watched videos online and the same year, the majority of videos streaming platforms started to cooperate and the deployment of mobile devices has become the meeting of these ones. Fashion Luxury brand, as Chanel already did must develop this kind of strategy.
8. Do some luxury fashion product placement
This last key is a worldwide fact. To succeed you have to do some product placement on movies, music videos… If you want to consolidate your image and you’re ambitious to be the leader, then you should use product placement to offer yourself the chance to get more consumers.
To succeed in China luxury market, you have to adapt to the country. And you have to understand what the Chinese luxury consumers are looking for. They are also facing a big issue : counterfeiting. This one is hard to bypass but if you want to attract these consumers, then you’ll have to things how you can get their trust.
Read more about luxury fashion in China:
1 comment
Ronald
very good article, thank you for this update and quality content.