The thesis deals with social commerce in China and consumerism in the digital age through the analysis of the Xiaohongshu platform. The Xiaohongshu platform combines elements of entertainment and social networking with e-commerce. It is one of many such platforms in China, where social commerce is already an established form of e-commerce. The central research question of the thesis is: What are the cultural and social factors that influence the success of the Xiaohongshu platform among millennial consumers? What are consumer's needs and desires and how are they addressed by the platform?
Through a literature analysis, analysis of consulting companies' reports and statistical reports, I identified the following as the most important factors influencing the platform's success: the millennial generation as a driver of Chinese online consumption, the importance of community in Chinese society and the importance of trust in Chinese consumerism. Xiaohongshu addresses the needs and desires of consumers through three marketing strategies: The desire to build community is addressed by establishing interactive content creation by users, while the need to build trust online is addressed through a word-of-mouth marketing strategy using the influence of key opinion leaders or 'KOL' . With the help of a target-positioning strategy, the platform has been able to systematically capture the consumer patterns of the millennial generation. A platform guide is added to the thesis to help visualize the findings.
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