Report: Four trends for China consumers amid COVID-19

Since COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China in December of last year, its rapid spread has forced people to change their lifestyles and habits both nationally and abroad. Yet, though this has shaken many industries, brands can take advantage of the situation presented and find opportunities to engage customers. With that in mind, Reuter Communications has released a new report about current trends for consumer behaviour in China.

In the report, Reuter Communications highlights four trends that brands can leverage to better engage China's customers in the coming future.

First, as people have been required to stay at home to avoid contact with other people during the current pandemic, migration from offline to online and live-streaming has been on the rise. For example, at the end of January, Alibaba’s work productivity app DingTalk was ranked 269th on China's iOSApp Store. However, by early February it had climbed to the second spot, as millions of workers began remote working. 

Other offline activities and engagement by brands have moved online during the pandemic. Nike launched its "Air Max Day 2020", showcasing new products such as Air Max 2090, presenting appearances by celebrities, and providing a Q&A session. Furthermore, on 29 February, Baidu launched its "Moving Civilisation" live-stream show, consisting of eight episodes which enabled people to see museums around the world.

The second major trend is that as more people are spending time on enriching their lives, brands can help them explore new hobbies. The Beast, a flower and lifestyle store, has live-streamed numerous flower arrangement tutorials lately and amassed about 65,000 views per episode. And in February, Little Sheep Hot Pot Restaurants started offering hot pot kits via the Ele.me delivery service.

The third major trend is health. As people are becoming more aware of their personal health and well-being, brands offering health products or showing concern for their customers' health have become. For instance, in the first five days of the pandemic, fitness app KEEP boosted its followers by 18% to 258k followers. Protective products such as sterilising lamps and scheduled hand sanitisers have gotten popular as well.

Offline retail has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. To restore consumer confidence, brands are spending greater effort on innovation. In Guangzhou, customers can pre-book a time slot at Tee Mall for clothes try-ons, with the items then being disinfected. Additionally, to engage customers, store assistants now go online to live-stream products, transforming themselves into influencers amid the current situation.

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