Say you are a foreign cosmetics brand who wants to penetrate China market, you must be wondering where do cosmetics shoppers get the information from. For a newly established business in China, to pick the right channel to promote cannot be more important. Below are the most popular source of information when it comes to cosmetics purchase in China.
1. Friends: 69%
Word of mouth marketing may seem old-fashioned, but speaking of China's cosmetics market, it has a huge impact.
A survey demonstrated that recommendations from friends are more important source of information than other means of advertisements. Social connection is important in Chinese culture as Chinese consumers are highly relationship- oriented. They incline to pay more attention to the recommendation from friends.
This shopping habit will be more than ideal for cosmetics business who want to expand their business on WeChat, since WeChat's foundation is "Inner-Circle" social activities. (Future read: WeChat eCommerce Platform: The good, the Bad and the SolutionThere are several 3rd party eCommerce platforms one can use to build up its own WeChat eCommerce, both the pros and cons are very obvious.WeChat E-commerce Platform: The good, the Bad and the Solution)
2. Internet: 63%
There are several channels for consumers to gather cosmetics information online. For cosmetics brands,online advertising is always the biggest spend: In August 2014, total online advertising spend of cosmetic brands exceeded RMB120 million (US$19.55 million) in China. Online video, web portal platforms, and fashion website are the top three online advertising channels for cosmetic companies in China.
Given the fact that younger demographics are more willing to purchasing cosmetic products online, effective online advertising will lead to eCommerce success directly.
3. TV 55%
It is estimated that TV ad spend will be outnumbered by online ads in 2017 in China, but for now China's TV ad is still strong. There are 3.3 US billion dollar spend on TV ads in China during the first half of 2015. Facial masks brands has the most TV ads among all, which account for 42% of all the cosmetics brands.
4. Print Ad: 49%
Outdoor ads and Image ads (Magazines, Newspapers) have a total of 49%. These ads usually feature one brand's latest product line with celebrity presenting, and business owners believe that these visual print ads on certain area (shopping malls, subway stations) can still be informative and positive on business.
How does the future of print ads look for cosmetics? Struggling. It's not a secret that cosmetics business can target their customers more effectively and make more appearance on mobile phones.
5. Radio: 11%
Believe it or not, spending on radio advertising in China grew 13.1% in the first half of 2015, which was much higher than that of the overall advertising market (4%). About 17 percent of the adult population in China had listened to the radio. After all for those cosmetics brands who have limited budget on ad spending, radio could still be the most cost-effective way.
