Ultimate Guide to Social Commerce for Gen Z

What is Social Commerce in China?

‘Social commerce’, as the name suggests, refers to e-commerce activities on social media. In the mobile-first economy of China, this simple concept has been elevated to new levels where simple one-off brand interactions are no longer sufficient. Socially engaging digital experiences have become a new necessity for brands seeking to attract the attention of the digital-native rising Chinese consumers.

To help brands meet consumer expectations, top social media apps in China such as WeChat, Weibo, and Little Red Book have incorporated many e-commerce capabilities, including livestream rooms that allow users to view and purchase products with special offers & without leaving the stream. With the increasing expectation to make brand-customer interactions more entertaining and eye-catching, brands have started to introduce new forms of social commerce by building a loyalty community, incentivising social sharing, and more to be explained in detail later in this report.

Why are Zoomers/Gen Zers important to the Luxury Industry in China?

As of 2022, Zoomers accounted for 23% of China's fashion consumers, only next to millennials. Furthermore, they have become an increasingly important consumer group for electronics and personal luxury goods. As a result, many businesses have started shifting their focus to Zoomers and their spending patterns.

The Engagement Habits of the Chinese Gen Zers on Social Media

Brands in China incentivise smaller actions that guide the users through the entire customer journey. Weaving social shopping elements of sharing, inviting, and gathering social proof of the social network into gamified mini programs or loyalty programs for the exchange of redeemable loyalty points, special discounts, services and deals at a set time is the secret to winning the attention of the Chinese Gen Zers.

ChatLabs Survey Finding Highlight:

• 32.4% of the Chinese Gen Zers spend 2-3h per day browsing social media.

• 55.2% of the Chinese Gen Zers browse social media before bed.

• 34.2% of them said Social Media Post is the most influential factor in their decisions to buy non-essentials.

• 42.7% of the Chinese Gen Zers said WeChat Mini Program is their most used Social Commerce Channel to purchase non-essential products.

• Convenience & Personalised Recommendations are the primary reasons why Chinese Gen Zers purchase through social commerce channels.

• Exclusive Services & Discounts are the significant reasons Chinese Gen Zers add Sales agents on WeChat and make purchases through their sales links.

How to Future-proof Your Brand in China Social Commerce Channels

1. PIPL- Compliance

Ensure compliance with China's Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) to not be penalised for violating the privacy of your Chinese customers while conducting personalised marketing.

2. Data Unification

Unify all social follower data from your China social channels, .cn website, and Salesforce to build comprehensive 360 profiles of customers.

3. Segment and Target

Track customer behaviors across all of your China channels and segment users based on their preferences to build journeys and automate hyper-personalised experiences.

4. Build Trust and Loyalty

Create loyalty programs to reward brand-user interactions that build trust and nurture customer loyalty, at the same time nudging them along in the customer journey to shorten conversion time.

5. Engage and Reach

Increase the organic reach of similar shoppers by tapping into your customers' social network with engaging social campaigns.