I am fascinated by the technological advancements in China and the innovation occurring within e-commerce and retail. Here are some trends that have accelerated and emerged during the corona pandemic:
Revengebuying – Shoppers in China are slowly returning to malls and boutiques. After weeks of isolation, luxury shoppers are now seeking to spend money. When the luxury brand Hermes reopened their store in Guangzhou they sold for $2.7 million that day, likely the biggest tally for a single boutique in China
Employee Sharing – Freshippo, Alibabas supermarket, rolled out its own employee sharing program where they hired hundreds of excess workers from restaurants and industries that were hit hard by the corona virus.
Livestreaming was already a big success in China before the corona virus, but has accelerated growth the past months. Livestreaming is accounting for about 9% of total ecommerce sales in China.
Social Commerce is also accelerating as shopping directly in social media is a way for brands to engage with their followers and potential customers. Let’s see how these trends will continue to rise, and how much of this we will see in Europe.