China eCommerce landscape changes rapidly, and with new trends follows new buzzwords. Having grown significantly in popularity, the buzzwords in China eCommerce are so common that, they even become part of Chinese eCommerce shoppers’ daily vocabulary.
That being said, what is the top trending buzzword in China eCommerce during the year of 2016?
What is “Baokuan”?
Literally translated as “Extremely popular item”, Baokuan (爆款) is a newly-invented buzzword in China eCommerce world, meaning “hot sales items” or “trending items”. Very often, Baokuan will be purchased by huge amount of customers during a certain period of time.
"Baokuan" has been widely used in China eCommerce
What are the current Baokuans in China now?
Dried Cranberries by Ocean Spray
Dried cranberries are definitely Ocean Spray’s “Baokuan” in China eCommerce. This result even shocked Ocean Spray itself, since Cranberry Juice has always been their best seller in any other market.
From the data in Ocean Spray’s flagship store on Tmall, the 24 oz. Value pack of Dried Cranberries has been sold around 54,000 packs already.
Advanced Night Repair (ANR) by Estee Lauder
Advanced Night Repair, or by its Chinese nickname “Little brown bottle”, has became one of the best-selling skincare products in China market.
From its tmall store, the 15ml ANR has total sales of 29,581, with monthly sales of 5,676 bottles.
URBEATS by Beats
Beats by Dre headphones have been insanely popular all around the world since first launch in 2008, and "URBEATS" has been adored by Chinese customers. It has sold 24,000 pairs on Tmall already, quite an impressive number for audio products.
What makes a Baokuan?
Every eCommerce business dream about having a "Baokuan" product. Behind the high flying sales value, there are certain rules followed by every Baokuan.
1. A popular item that serves massive customer groups.
Whether it is apparel, food or cosmetics, it falls into the category that people use daily and consume frequently.
On the other side, cars/instruments/Electronics seem difficult to become a Baokuan.
2. Good-quality item from a solid brand.
An OK quality product may sell with right-on marketing initiatives, but a Baokuan product must be one with relatively good quality.
Moreover, a good quality Baokuan will represent the brand image in customer’s mind. Chinese customers think that a good product will say a lot about the brand itself. Whenever they see the brand, first thing they will recognize is the “Baokuan” product they purchased from this brand.
Vecozuivel, Dutch dairy brand presented all the QS licences to show its product quality
3. Price advantage.
The majority of Chinese eCommerce customers are price concerned. Especially when they are shopping online, they are expecting a lower price comparing with offline stores.
4. Make it obvious, make it noticeable.
Now you have a great item with a killer price, go tell the whole world. Marketing actions should be taken place on social media platforms to spread the news. You also need to pay attention to SEO, to make sure your product stay high.
Keep in mind that WeChat is the primary social media platform in China, while Baidu is the searching engine that people use the most.
Sephora uses WeChat message to promote its product
Meanwhile, presentation matters, a lot. Rich in visual effects will certainly catch visitor's attention.Try Create a smashing storefront, to make your Baokuan item as obvious as possible.
For example, Bong, the wristband brand put their star product, "bong 3 HR" on their Tmall homepage. With words "5,947 sold in every minute" written, it clearly send a message that, "bong 3 HR" is their Baokuan.
5. Enough inventories.
Last but not least, make sure your shelves is stocked. The last thing you want to see is orders keep coming in while you are out of stock.
How to build a Baokuan?
There seems to be a lot to do to make your product “Baokuan” from the scratch. Based on the Baokuan features we covered above, the method comes clearer: detailed analysis to your target customers (to know what they want to buy), careful selection of product, smart pricing strategy, and marketing support are essential to make a Baokuan.
One thing for certain: China eCommerce system has its own way in every aspects. Therefore, Baokuan product is not simply copy and paste from other markets, but careful research and planning beforehand.
TMO Group Will Help You Drive eCommerce Growth
As a developing pioneer in China, TMO Group know eCommerce ecosystem well, and we are open to give you the service and quality workmanship that is well expected. Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding eCommerce solutions that you may have.
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