As China's Online Shopping Frenzy 'Double 11' Approaches, E-Commerce Platforms Adopt Premium Strategies to Attract Flourishing High-Income Groups(Yicai Global) Oct. 31 – As China gears up to become a consumption-led economy, Chinese consumers increasingly demand high quality, fashionable and luxury products with particular attention to brand names and shop more. As what is billed as "Double 11," China's Single's Day, which is actually an unparalleled online shopping frenzy, or as some put it an "e-commerce war," approaches, online shopping platforms such as Taobao and TMall by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. [NYSE:BABA] and JD.com by JD.Com, Inc. [Nasdaq:JD] have their own opinions on the big fashion industry chain, the National Business Daily reported today.
A few days ago, TMall "Double 11" Collection was held in Shanghai, and many global fashion brands, including Guerlain, Adidas, Pandora and Rimowa participated in the festival. There was a time not so long ago when JD.Com formally set up TopLife, an independent luxuries e-commerce platform, and JD ChicLeague to flag up the luxury and fashionable products.
Both Taobao and JD.com and some newly-emerging fashion e-commerce brands are scrambling for this large market, and more players will join, which will only stiffen the competition, said Wang Guanxiong, an e-commerce analyst.
The e-commerce platforms make increased efforts to go global and offer more premium products in the fashion field, driven by changing market circumstances and particularly the continued increase of high-income people in China. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasts the ratio of high-income people in China will increase by 15 percent by 2030, while the medium-income population will add 20 percent. These figures were only 3 percent of the total population for the high-income people in 2015, and 7 percent for the middle-income group.
By 2030, the number of Chinese high-income population will exceed those of Japan and South Korea, and the residential consumption structure will get close to that of developed countries in Europe and the US. Therefore, the overall consumption upgrade has become the basis for brand upgrading in the e-commerce industry.
