Boston Consulting Group and Tencent jointly released a report highlighting six trends in China's luxury industry on Sept 26. Let's take a look at the findings.
1 Information on mobile super apps draws more than half the buyers of luxury goods.
Online luxury goods information, especially on mobile super apps such as WeChat, Tencent Video and QQ Music, continues to attract the attention of more than 50 percent of buyers, the report said. In 2017, Chinese smartphone users spent 50 percent of their time on mobile apps from Tencent, compared to US consumers, who devoted 22 percent of their time to Facebook.
2 Key fashion opinion leaders serve as an important means to influence buyers of luxury goods.
Social media accounts for the top 30 online celebrities draw 3.2 percent of luxury buyers, according to the report. However, because key fashion opinion leaders have different styles, the most popular ones aren't necessarily followed by a brand's target customers. Brands should do further analysis to determine which key opinion leaders will wield the most influence among their own customers.
3 Luxury brands' social media accounts on social media platforms are powerful zones that can drive buyer participation.
Brand social media accounts have become an effective communication platform to connect with consumers, as stories posted there can reach 20,000 views on average, with some outstanding posts exceeding 100,000 views.
4 Online research and offline purchasing is a major pathway for buying luxury goods.
Young consumers of luxury goods prefer to seek information online, and then go to a physical store to buy the products. However, due to price, styles and other reasons, 45 percent of young buyers will make their final purchases at overseas stores.
5 Digital marketing based on urban clusters is crucial to reach and transform buyers in lower-tier cities.
According to the report, 16 percent of online luxury buyers come from cities at the third-tier or below, a figure that far exceeds the 8 percent in first-tier cities and 9 percent in second-tier cities. In addition, 51 percent of consumers from lower-tier cities buy luxury goods at stores near larger cities after doing online research, the report said.
6 Platforms continue to dominate online luxury goods sales, but shopping on social media has emerged.
While 12 percent of all luxury goods in China get purchased through online platforms, shopping on social media is catching up as a new trend, representing 11 percent of sales at online platforms, compared to only 2 percent in European and North American countries.
