China Digital Digest Weekly: Exploring the Chinese Digital Landscape

Hi folks, ClickInsights has launched its weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we would bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.

1. Chinese Tech Billionaire Richard Liu Gives up Front Office Roles And Direct Ownership at JD

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3199305/chinese-tech-billionaire-richard-liu-gives-front-office-roles-and-direct-ownership-jd-he-still

Richard Liu Qiangdong, the billionaire founder of JD.com and the world’s 155th richest man with an estimated net worth of US$10.8 billion, has surrendered his 45 percent stakes in each of four entities owned by the company’s logistics, healthcare, and investment subsidiaries since September, recent corporate filings showed.

According to the filings, the equities were transferred to Miao Qin, vice-president and head of JD’s life and service business division, for “administration efficiency purpose” because Liu, a non-executive director, was no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of JD, which made it difficult to arrange to sign of corporate documents.

2. Alibaba & JD.com Keep Mum on This Year’s Singles’ Day Transaction Volume

https://www.reuters.com/technology/alibabas-singles-day-shopping-event-set-end-with-subdued-sales-no-fanfare-2022-11-10/

Both Alibaba and JD.com have for the first time withheld the announcement of their gross merchandise volume (GMV), or final sales tally, from the annual online and offline shopping extravaganza that culminated on November 11, known as “11.11”.

Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, said its 14th annual 11.11 campaign “delivered results in line with last year’s GMV performance, despite macro challenges and Covid-related impact”. Alibaba’s GMV in November last year grew 8.45 per cent year on year to a record 540.3 billion yuan (US$84.5 billion), which marked the first single-digit GMV growth since the company created the shopping festival in 2009.

JD.com, by comparison, said it had set a “record-breaking” 11-day Singles’ Day promotion, which started on October 31. The Beijing-based company posted a total GMV of 349.1 billion yuan in the same period last year.

3. China’s Singles’ Day Festival Sparks Smartphone Price War to Boost Demand

https://www.tvj.co.in/chinas-singles-day-festival-sparks-smartphone-price-war-2/

Some of the world’s biggest smartphone vendors, including Apple and Xiaomi Corp, are waging a price war in China on the back of the annual Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza, hoping to revive a market that has posted double-digit declines in shipments during the past three quarters.

This year’s promotions are offering steeper price cuts than before, according to Will Wong, a Singapore-based analyst at tech research firm IDC. He said campaigns during Singles’ Day and the midyear 618 shopping bonanza help smartphone vendors stimulate local demand and clear excess channel inventory nationwide.

4. Alibaba and JD Pledge Support for Integration of Digital And Real Economies at WIC

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-executives-alibaba-jd-pledge-093000078.html

Top executives from e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com have pledged support for the integration of China’s digital and real economies after President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of this goal at the 20th Party Congress.

Other well-known entrepreneurs including Qu Fang, founder of Xiaohongshu, Sohu founder Zhang Chaoyang, and Tesla China vice-president Tao Lin, are also attending this year’s conference.

5. Art n’ Dior Exhibition Lands in Shanghai with Star Marketing Galore

https://daoinsights.com/news/art-n-dior-exhibition-lands-in-shanghai-with-star-marketing-galore/

Following two successful exhibitions in Shenzhen and Shanghai in 2021, Dior’s ‘Art n’ Dior’ exhibition has landed once again at Shanghai’s West Bund Art Center. Kicking off on November 10 as part of the West Bund Art and Design Fair, the event displays works of art from around the globe in hopes to bolster the relationship between Dior and China.

Paying tribute to the luxury brand’s 70 years of artistic passion, the ‘Lady Dior As Seen By’ part of the exhibition invites young, up-and-coming artists and internationally renowned creators alike to design personalised interpretations of the iconic Lady Dior handbag through photography, sculpture, and installation art.

6. Mcdonald’s China Creates 'Green Experiences' to Engage Fans and Boost Market Share

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/09/23/mcdonald-s-china-creates-green-experiences-engage-fans-and-boost-market-share

McDonald’s China wants to “embed green experiences throughout the consumer journey” as the fast-food giant seeks to engage with China’s young, environmentally focused customers.

The fast-food giant has rolled out a range of marketing activities to promote opening its first carbon-zero restaurant in Beijing. The green restaurant, which is powered by more than 2,000 square meters of on-site solar panels, is part of McDonald’s China’s commitment to open 1,800 green restaurants across the country by the end of the year as it works to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.

7. Chinese Intimate Apparel Brand Ubras Hosts Shanghai Bike Event

https://daoinsights.com/news/chinese-intimate-apparel-brand-ubras-hosts-shanghai-bike-event/

Tapping into China’s cycling craze, homegrown lingerie brand Ubras teamed up with cycling club Chillride this autumn to launch a city-wide cycling event promoting its seasonal thermal tops and bottoms. In total, around 20 women partook in the bike tour, sporting Ubras’ thermal innerwear and warm mittens provided by the brand as they explored the streets of Shanghai.

Wrapping Up

The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.

To delve deeper into the findings of the October report, click here.