Ahead of the Curve: Understanding China’s Social Commerce

looka_production_152122192 • August 13, 2024

Hi! Welcome back to our series on digital marketing in China! Today, we’re diving into a phenomenon that has rapidly reshaped the retail landscape: social commerce.


What is social commerce? It blends social media with e-commerce, allowing consumers to discover, review, and purchase products — all within the same app. This seamless integration transforms social platforms into full-fledged shopping destinations.


The Rise and Popularity of Social Commerce in China

Social commerce has rapidly emerged as a favorite in China's retail landscape, fundamentally changing how consumers shop:

  • Strong Growth: By 2023, social commerce accounted for nearly 20% of all online retail sales in China, underscoring its growing influence alongside traditional e-commerce platforms like Taobao and JD. With a market size valued at approximately 2.5 trillion RMB (about 300 billion CHF) in 2021, this sector is continuously expanding.
  • High Engagement: 84% of Chinese consumers made purchases through social media in 2022. This shift is driven by the evolving role of social media platforms, which now offer a fully integrated shopping experience where users can discover products, read reviews, and make purchases — all without leaving the app.
  • Influencer Power: Influencers and live streamers are particularly driving this trend. They engage audiences by showcasing products in real-time, offering an interactive shopping experience that combines entertainment with commerce. This trend has attracted 850 million social commerce users by 2021.
  • Convenience: The ability to move from product discovery to purchase in just a few clicks, often with next-day delivery, has made social commerce the ultimate in convenience for Chinese consumers. This seamless experience is a key driver behind the rapid adoption and continued growth of social commerce.


Key Players Shaping Social Commerce in China
China's social commerce ecosystem is thriving, thanks to several key platforms that have successfully integrated e-commerce with social media. Each of these platforms offers unique features and opportunities that brands can leverage to connect with their audiences. Here’s a closer look at the major players:


1. WeChat Mini Programs


  • In-App Shopping:  WeChat Mini Programs are apps embedded within WeChat that allow businesses to create customized e-commerce experiences. Brands can set up Mini Programs to sell products directly to consumers, offering a seamless shopping experience without ever leaving WeChat.
  • Personalized Engagement: Mini Programs enable brands to interact with customers through tailored content, loyalty programs, and targeted promotions based on user behavior and preferences.
  • Integration with WeChat Pay: The integration with WeChat Pay facilitates instant transactions, reducing friction in the purchasing process.


Pay Attention to:

  • User Experience: The success of a Mini Program often depends on how user-friendly and how well it integrates with the overall WeChat ecosystem. A non-intuitive interface can deter users.
  • Data Insights: Brands must leverage the data collected from Mini Programs to refine their marketing strategies and better understand customer behavior.


2. RED (Xiaohongshu)

  • User-Generated Content: With over 300 million monthly active users, RED is particularly popular among young, urban users. RED’s community thrives on user-generated content, where users share their experiences and reviews of products. It’s a go-to destination for beauty, fashion, and luxury brands.
  • Influencer Collaborations: Brands often collaborate with influencers on RED to reach their target audience. These influencers, known as "Key Opinion Leaders" (KOLs), play a significant role in driving purchasing decisions.
  • Shopping Integration: RED allows users to directly purchase products mentioned in posts, creating a seamless transition from discovery to purchase.


Pay Attention to: 

  • Authenticity: RED users value authenticity. Brands must focus on building genuine relationships with their target group and encouraging authentic reviews.
  • Content Strategy: Given the platform’s visual nature, high-quality, aesthetically pleasing content is essential to stand out. Brands need to invest in creating visually compelling content that resonates with the RED community.


3. Douyin 


  • Shoppable Videos: Douyin's e-commerce integration allows users to purchase products featured in videos with just a few taps, creating an immediate and interactive shopping experience.
  • Live Streaming: Douyin is a leader in live-streaming commerce, where influencers and brands host live shows to showcase products, offer discounts, and interact with viewers in real time. This format has proven highly effective in driving sales.
  • Algorithmic Recommendations: Douyin’s powerful algorithm suggests content based on user preferences, which can help brands reach highly targeted audiences.


Pay Attention to: 

  • Engagement vs. Sales: While Douyin excels at driving engagement, turning that engagement into actual sales requires a strategic approach. This includes using convincing calls to action, limited-time offers, and ensuring that your content resonates with the audience.
  • Live-Streaming Quality: The quality of your live-streaming production plays a crucial role in its success. High-quality streams and hosts who can genuinely connect with the audience are key to boosting engagement and driving sales. However, it’s important to note that working with influencers can quickly become expensive, so it’s important to choose the right partners who align with your brand and offer the best return on investment.


Wrapping up, social commerce is revolutionizing digital marketing, requiring brands to become more agile, creative, and deeply connected with their audiences through interactive content. This shift is not just a trend—it’s a fundamental change in consumer behavior. Brands that embrace social commerce can expect significant boosts in engagement, making it essential to stay ahead in this dynamic market.


At Think East, we specialize in guiding brands through the evolving landscape of social commerce. We offer tailored services that include crafting compelling social media campaigns, finding the right influencers for your brand, setting up effective KOL collaborations, and providing strategic consulting to help you identify the right platforms and approaches for your brand. 


Which social commerce platform do you think would best suit your brand? How are you currently leveraging influencers in your digital marketing strategy?


Stay tuned for our next post, and connect with us on LinkedIn or via email — we’d love to hear your thoughts and questions.


See you next time!


Banner Image Credit: All screenshots taken from RED, WeChat, and Douyin showcasing content by Balenciaga, Shake Shack, and Jacquemus.

Der Zeit Voraus: Einblick in Chinas Social Commerce


Hi! Willkommen zurück zu unserer Serie über digitales Marketing in China. Heute tauchen wir in ein Phänomen ein, das die chinesische Handelslandschaft rasant verändert hat: Social Commerce.


Was ist Social Commerce? Social Commerce vereint soziale Medien mit E-Commerce und ermöglicht es den Konsumenten, Produkte zu entdecken, Bewertungen zu schreiben und zu lesen und Käufe zu tätigen – alles innerhalb der gleichen App. Diese nahtlose Integration macht soziale Plattformen zu vollwertigen Einkaufserlebnissen.


Warum ist es so beliebt in China?

Social Commerce hat sich schnell zu einem Favoriten in Chinas Handelslandschaft entwickelt und verändert grundlegend, wie Konsumenten einkaufen:

  • Starkes Wachstum: Bis 2023 machte Social Commerce fast 20% des gesamten Online-Handels in China aus, was seine wachsende Bedeutung neben traditionellen E-Commerce-Plattformen wie Taobao und JD unterstreicht. Mit einem Marktvolumen von etwa 2,5 Billionen RMB (rund 300 Milliarden CHF) im Jahr 2021 wächst dieser Sektor kontinuierlich.
  • Hohe Beteiligung: 84% der chinesischen Konsumenten kauften 2022 über soziale Medien ein. Diese Entwicklung wird durch die zunehmende Rolle der Social-Media-Plattformen angetrieben, die jetzt ein vollständig integriertes Einkaufserlebnis bieten, bei dem Nutzer Produkte entdecken, Bewertungen lesen und Einkäufe tätigen können – alles ohne die App zu verlassen.
  • Einfluss durch Influencer: Influencer und Live-Streamer stehen im Zentrum dieses Trends. Sie fesseln das Publikum, indem sie Produkte live präsentieren und ein interaktives Einkaufserlebnis schaffen, das Unterhaltung und Einkauf vereint. Dieser Trend hat bis 2021 850 Millionen Social-Commerce-Nutzer angezogen.
  • Bequemlichkeit: Die Möglichkeit, in nur wenigen Klicks von der Produktentdeckung zum Kauf überzugehen und oft am nächsten Tag die Lieferung zu erhalten, hat Social Commerce zur ultimativen Bequemlichkeit für chinesische Konsumenten gemacht. Dieses nahtlose Erlebnis ist ein Haupttreiber für die schnelle Akzeptanz und das kontinuierliche Wachstum von Social Commerce.


Wichtige Player im Social Commerce in China

Das Social-Commerce-Ökosystem in China boomt, dank mehrerer Schlüsselplattformen. Jede dieser Plattformen bietet einzigartige Funktionen und Chancen, die Brands nutzen können, um mit ihrem Publikum in Kontakt zu treten. Hier ein genauerer Blick auf die wichtigsten Akteure:


1. WeChat Mini-Programme


  • In-App Shopping:  WeChat Mini-Programme sind in WeChat eingebettete Apps, die es Unternehmen ermöglichen, massgeschneiderte E-Commerce-Erlebnisse zu schaffen. Marken können Mini-Programme einrichten, um Produkte direkt an Konsumenten zu verkaufen und ein nahtloses Einkaufserlebnis zu bieten, ohne WeChat verlassen zu müssen.
  • Personalisierte Interaktionen: Mini-Programme ermöglichen es Marken, durch massgeschneiderte Inhalte, Treueprogramme und gezielte Promotionen auf Basis des Nutzerverhaltens mit Kunden zu interagieren.
  • Integration mit WeChat Pay: Die Integration mit WeChat Pay erleichtert sofortige Transaktionen und reduziert Reibungen im Kaufprozess.


Wichtig zu beachten:

  • Nutzererlebnis: Der Erfolg eines Mini-Programms hängt oft davon ab, wie benutzerfreundlich es ist und wie gut es sich in das WeChat-Ökosystem integriert. Eine nicht intuitive Benutzeroberfläche kann Nutzer abschrecken.
  • Datenanalyse: Marken müssen die gesammelten Daten aus den Mini-Programmen nutzen, um ihre Marketingstrategien zu verfeinern und das Kundenverhalten besser zu verstehen.


2. RED (Xiaohongshu)

  • User-Generated Content: Die RED-Community lebt von nutzergenerierten Inhalten, bei denen Nutzer ihre Erfahrungen und Bewertungen zu Produkten teilen. Mit über 300 Millionen monatlich aktiven Nutzern ist RED besonders beliebt bei jungen, urbanen Nutzern. Es ist die Anlaufstelle für Marken aus den Bereichen Beauty, Mode und Luxus.
  • Zusammenarbeit mit Influencern: Marken arbeiten oft mit Influencern auf RED zusammen, um ihre Zielgruppe zu erreichen. Diese Influencer oder "Key Opinion Leaders" (KOLs), spielen eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Beeinflussung von Kaufentscheidungen.
  • Shopping-Integration: RED ermöglicht es den Nutzern, Produkte, die in Beiträgen erwähnt werden, direkt zu kaufen, was einen nahtlosen Übergang vom Entdecken zum Kauf schafft.


Wichtig zu beachten: 

  • Authentizität: RED-Nutzer legen grossen Wert auf Authentizität. Marken müssen sich darauf konzentrieren, echte Beziehungen zum Publikum aufzubauen und authentische Bewertungen zu fördern.
  • Content-Strategie: Angesichts der visuellen Natur der Plattform ist hochwertiger, ästhetisch ansprechender Content entscheidend, um herauszustechen. Marken sollten in die Erstellung visuell überzeugender Inhalte investieren, die bei der RED-Community gut ankommen.


3. Douyin 


  • Shoppable Videos: Die E-Commerce-Integration von Douyin ermöglicht es den Nutzern, Produkte, die in Videos präsentiert werden, mit nur wenigen Klicks zu kaufen und so ein sofortiges und interaktives Einkaufserlebnis zu schaffen.
  • Live-Streaming: Douyin ist führend im Bereich des Live-Streamings im Handel, bei dem Influencer und Marken Live-Shows veranstalten, um Produkte zu präsentieren, Rabatte anzubieten und live mit den Zuschauern zu interagieren. Dieses Format hat sich als äusserst effektiv erwiesen, um Verkäufe zu steigern.
  • Algorithmische Empfehlungen: Der leistungsstarke Algorithmus von Douyin schlägt Inhalte basierend auf den Vorlieben der Nutzer vor, was Marken helfen kann, hochgradig zielgerichtete Zielgruppen zu erreichen.


Wichtig zu beachten: 

  • Engagement vs. Verkäufe: Während Douyin hervorragend geeignet ist, um Engagement zu fördern, erfordert die Umwandlung dieses Engagements in tatsächliche Verkäufe einen strategischen Ansatz. Dies beinhaltet überzeugende Call-to-Actions oder zeitlich begrenzte Angebote.
  • Qualität des Live-Streamings: Die Qualität Ihrer Live-Streaming-Produktion spielt eine entscheidende Rolle für den Erfolg. Hochwertige Streams und Moderatoren, die authentisch mit dem Publikum in Kontakt treten, sind der Schlüssel, um Engagement zu steigern und Verkäufe anzukurbeln. Allerdings kann die Zusammenarbeit mit Influencern schnell teuer werden, daher ist es wichtig, die richtigen Partner auszuwählen, die zu Ihrer Marke passen und das beste Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis bieten.


Social Commerce revolutioniert das digitale Marketing und erfordert von Marken, agiler, kreativer und stärker mit ihrem Publikum verbunden zu sein – durch interaktive Inhalte. Dieser Wandel ist nicht nur ein Trend, sondern eine grundlegende Veränderung im Konsumverhalten. Marken, die Social Commerce nutzen, können mit erheblichen Steigerungen bei Engagement rechnen. Es ist daher entscheidend, in diesem dynamischen Markt einen Schritt voraus zu sein.


Bei Think East unterstützen wir Marken dabei, sich in diesem dynamischen Social-Commerce-Umfeld zurechtzufinden. Wir bieten massgeschneiderte Dienstleistungen an, von der Erstellung überzeugender Social-Media-Kampagnen über die Auswahl passender Influencer bis hin zu  strategischer Beratung, um die richtigen Plattformen und Ansätze für Ihre Marke zu finden.


Welche Social-Commerce-Plattform passt am besten zu Ihrem Brand? Wie setzen Sie Influencer derzeit in Ihrer digitalen Marketingstrategie ein?


Bleiben Sie dran für unseren nächsten Beitrag und kontaktieren Sie uns auf LinkedIn oder per E-Mail – wir freuen uns auf Ihre Gedanken und Fragen.


Bis zum nächsten Mal!

Formula 1 at Full Speed in China

By Amy Weng • March 16, 2026
Formula 1 returned to Shanghai this weekend to a sold-out circuit and 221 million Chinese fans. Luxury brands have been paying close attention. The sport's China moment has arrived. On Sunday afternoon, Kimi Antonelli crossed the finish line at the Shanghai International Circuit to claim his first Formula 1 victory. The youngest Grand Prix polesitter in the sport's history converted pole position into a commanding win before a capacity crowd. Lewis Hamilton took his first podium in Ferrari red at the circuit where, twelve months earlier, he had claimed a sprint victory before a disqualification ended his Grand Prix weekend. The racing was close, unpredictable and genuinely dramatic. In the stands, 220,000 spectators watched a sport that, in China, has become one of the most significant luxury marketing opportunities of the decade. The spectacle on track was compelling. The story in the grandstands is arguably more so. 221 Million Fans and Counting The scale of Chinese F1 fandom is not widely understood outside the industry. According to Formula 1's own 2025 season review, China now has 221 million self-identified fans, second only to Europe as a market, and representing a 39% increase in a single year. This weekend's Grand Prix sold out entirely. Formula 1's Chinese social media platforms, including Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and WeChat, grew 35% in 2025 alone. The profile of the Chinese F1 fan matters as much as the scale. According to Formula 1's 2025 Global Fan Survey, 46% of Chinese fans are female and 40% are aged between 16 and 34. Over half came to the sport within the last five years, most through social media and streaming rather than broadcast television. This is a young, digitally fluent, predominantly urban consumer base that discovered Formula 1 as a cultural phenomenon: something to follow, attend, discuss, and wear. The parallels with China's luxury consumer are not coincidental. They are, to a remarkable degree, the same person: young, urban, educated, spending on experience and identity as much as objects. The F1 fan in China and the luxury consumer in China overlap in ways that the most attentive brands have already begun to act on. What Luxury Brands Understood First In October 2024, LVMH announced a 10-year global partnership with Formula 1, reportedly valued at more than $100 million per year, making it one of the largest sponsorship agreements in the history of sport. Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, and Moët Hennessy are the three Maisons leading the activation. TAG Heuer replaced Rolex as the sport's official timekeeper. Moët & Chandon returned to podium celebrations. Louis Vuitton now crafts the bespoke trophy trunk handed to each race winner, including the one presented to Antonelli in Shanghai on Sunday. The partnership, as framed by Bernard Arnault, was premised on Formula 1 having become one of the most desirable sports in the world. The China dimension is central to that logic. Louis Vuitton's recent Shanghai activations, including The Louis concept space at HKRI Taikoo Hui and its maritime heritage exhibitions, have already demonstrated the brand's understanding that Chinese luxury consumers want cultural experience as much as product. An annual Grand Prix in Shanghai gives LVMH a moment of live, shared spectacle in the market that matters most. The trophy trunk is a piece of brand communication as much as it is a piece of luggage. Other brands are moving with equal purpose. Ahead of this weekend's race, Tumi brought Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, onto a Douyin livestream to engage Chinese fans directly. It is a precise articulation of the opportunity: a global sports star, a platform built for the Chinese digital consumer, and a brand repositioning itself for a younger audience through the cultural equity Formula 1 now carries in China. The activation required no translation. The audience already knew who Norris was.

The New Rules of Desirability: Inside China’s She Economy

By Amy Weng • March 13, 2026
China accounts for about 62% of the world’s self-made women billionaires, according to the Hurun Global Rich List. At the same time, data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's 2023/2024 report shows that China is among the rare economies worldwide where women's startup rates match or exceed those of men, and it has a generation of university graduates that is now majority female. It is also a country where the government actively encourages women to marry earlier, have more children, and return to domestic life. The she economy lives in the tension between those two realities. China's female consumer base controls an estimated $1.4 trillion in annual spending, according to Accenture research. They influence 70% of all household purchases and, in a shift that would have been culturally unimaginable a generation ago, now direct a majority of their personal spending toward their own needs rather than those of their families, according to JD.com research. Who They Are The she economy did not emerge from a single city or a single demographic. Its most visible architects sit at the very top of global wealth rankings. Zhong Huijuan left a job as a chemistry teacher to found Hansoh Pharmaceutical in Jiangsu, building it into one of China's leading oncology and psychotropic drug companies; by mid-2025 she ranked first in Asia and third globally on Forbes' list of self-made women billionaires, with a fortune of approximately $19.7 billion. Wu Yajun arrived at entrepreneurship from a different direction: factory floor technician earning $16 a month, then property journalist, before co-founding Longfor Properties in Chongqing in 1993, a company that grew into one of China's largest real estate developers. Wang Laichun, chairwoman of Luxshare Precision Industry, spent years on Foxconn's assembly lines before building the company that now manufactures Apple's AirPods and rivals Foxconn across Apple's supply chain; the 2024 Fortune list ranked her the most powerful woman in business in Asia. The geographic picture is equally important. A significant share of Chinese female internet users now live outside the traditional tier-one cities. Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an, Nanjing: these are not secondary markets. They are where consumption habits are being formed, where new platforms find their earliest adopters, and where brand loyalty, or its absence, is decided. A 32-year-old finance professional in Hangzhou and a 28-year-old designer in Chengdu may have similar purchasing power and entirely different ideas of what makes a product worth owning. Spending on the Self The founders described above illustrate the female economic power at the top. The same shift is also visible in how women are spending. One of the most structurally significant shift in the she economy is the direction of spending. In 2023, Chinese women purchased 8.23 million vehicles, up 10.6% year-on-year, according to Yiche Research Institute, a category that was almost exclusively male-dominated a decade ago. Women are also increasingly central in homebuying decisions. Surveys suggest that more than 80% of property purchases now involve female decision-makers. Wellness, travel, and self-education have become the fastest-growing spending categories among urban women under 40. This is not consumption for its own sake. These spending patterns reflect a generation of women who came of age in a different educational and economic environment. Women now account for 63% of all higher education enrolment, outnumbering men at undergraduate level and in several postgraduate disciplines, according to China's Ministry of Education. They are applying the same rigour to purchases as to careers. The luxury resale market is part of this logic: platforms like Plum, which specialises in pre-owned luxury goods, are overwhelmingly female-driven, combining value-consciousness with the kind of careful curation that defines this cohort's relationship with objects.

How Adidas Turned the Tang Jacket into a Cultural and Commercial Success

By Eini Kärkkäinen • February 10, 2026
When Adidas released its Tang jacket ahead of Lunar New Year 2024, it was intended as a limited regional drop for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Instead, it became one of the most recognizable fashion phenomena in China’s modern streetwear scene. Queues formed outside flagship stores, social media buzzed with styling posts, and resale prices surged. By 2026, the jacket had evolved from a seasonal item into a cultural symbol. Its resonance, however, came from more than design alone. It captured a pivotal moment in China’s emotional landscape. Post-COVID Reconnection with Cultural Identity The pandemic reshaped how many Chinese consumers view identity, heritage, and consumption. Lockdowns, limited travel, and global tension prompted renewed appreciation for domestic craftsmanship and cultural symbolism. Young consumers began favoring products that reflected confidence and continuity rather than globalized trends. This mindset drove movements such as Guochao (国潮) and Neo-Chinese (新中式) fashion. The Tang jacket fit naturally within this shift, offering a modern, wearable link to tradition. Reimagining Tradition for Everyday Wear The Tang jacket draws from Tangzhuang (唐装), garments whose roots trace back to styles popularized during the Tang dynasty, a period celebrated for cultural openness and artistry. Adidas incorporated traditional details such as Mandarin collars, frog-button closures (盘扣), and symbolic knot fastenings into its signature three-stripe silhouette. The collaboration with Chinese designer Samuel Guiyang further grounded the project in local aesthetics, combining his contemporary tailoring approach with Adidas’ streetwear identity. These features, traditionally associated with harmony and fortune, were reimagined with modern proportions and materials, creating a garment that felt both authentic and current. This balance made it appealing to fashion-forward youth and culturally mindful consumers alike. Overseas Chinese and Global Amplification A major factor behind the jacket’s rise was its enthusiastic reception among overseas Chinese communities. For diaspora consumers, cultural symbols hold heightened emotional weight. Living abroad often deepens one’s sense of heritage, and the Tang jacket became a stylish conduit for connection. On Xiaohongshu, Instagram, and TikTok, users abroad showcased it as both fashion and pride. That content flowed back into China’s digital sphere, fueling a cross-border feedback loop that transformed a regional launch into a global cultural trend. Platform-Driven Storytelling and Scarcity The product’s spread reflected the dynamics of China’s integrated social platforms. Users posted unboxings, Lunar New Year family photos, and reunion clips featuring the jacket, telling stories grounded in emotion rather than advertising. Algorithms amplified these personal narratives, while limited inventory created natural scarcity. The result was a self-perpetuating cycle of desirability and visibility. Adidas did not need aggressive promotion, as community storytelling and peer validation drove success organically. From Sportswear Brand to Cultural Participant Adidas’ emerging cultural role became clear in October 2025, when it closed Shanghai Fashion Week SS26 with its “Power of Three” showcase. Merging traditional motifs with innovative performance fabrics, the event signaled the brand’s transformation from an international sportswear supplier to a meaningful participant in China’s fashion ecosystem. Adidas was no longer adapting to cultural trends; it was helping shape them.