Jimmy Choo's line of Sailor Moon-inspired bags. Photo credit: Jimmy Choo
Japanese animation favorites, including Sailor Moon and Sanrio’s My Melody, teamed up with top fashion labels this month to attract young Chinese consumers onto Alibaba Group’s luxury shopping platform.
In other news, Alibaba’s livestreaming e-commerce app Taobao Live has launched a recruitment drive to attract influencers worldwide.
Luxury Brands Collab with Anime Characters
High-end brands are targeting Gen-Z shoppers in China with a slew of limited edition anime-themed product launches on Tmall Luxury Pavilion.
In March, over 50 luxury brands launched 500 collaboration pieces on the platform with Japanese anime characters, including Jimmy Choo’s tie-up with schoolgirl crime fighter Sailor Moon and Chloé’s tie-up with cutesy rabbit My Melody from the Sanrio family.
The Sailor Moon collection features pink-lacquered knee-high boots, leather sneakers printed with scenes from the anime series, and a shoulder bag with illustrations of Sailor Moon’s friend Sailor Jupiter.
Anime collabs appeal to China’s young shoppers keen to express their individuality.
This group of consumers is the fastest-growing segment on Tmall Luxury Pavilion and accounted for nearly 40% of purchases on the platform during last year’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.
Taobao Live Seeks International Influencers
The livestreaming shopping platform said this week it plans to recruit influencers from the Chinese-speaking diaspora.
Taobao Live’s recruitment drive is focused on Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.
To help newcomers grow their reach and following, Taobao Live said influencers who join from next month will be eligible for a cash reward and marketing support.
Over the past few years, over 300 influencers from outside mainland China have joined Taobao Live.
Alibaba’s Generative AI and the Future of Creative Work
Alibaba’s research institute DAMO Academy has developed a number of generative AI models that developers can customize for their use in content creation, ranging from image generation to video production.
Scientists feed the algorithm hundreds of millions of images to train the models. And the images and text are converted into mathematical expressions. The algorithm then searches for patterns within the data to capture the relationship between images and words.
Learn more about the latest advances in AI tech now
Top 5 Tips for Digital Marketing Success in China In 2023
As China reopens, brands and retailers worldwide are looking to engage with consumers in the world’s second-largest economy.
Alibaba invited marketing teams from across its own business units to submit their best work from the past 12 months. Drawing from over 100 marketing campaigns, Alibaba’s on-demand platform Ele.me and its cross-border e-commerce marketplace Tmall Global won prizes.
We scoured the competition entries and distilled five winning strategies for overseas brands that want to enter China.
Check out the full list now
China’s Wave of Consumer Self-Expression Creates Opportunities for Brands – Report
Digitally-empowered Chinese shoppers are increasingly using purchases to express themselves, according to Tmall and consultancy Bain & Co.
In a report published this week, the pair grouped Chinese consumers into eight types to help brands navigate China’s $6 trillion consumer market.
“Symbolic consumerism with social significance has emerged in China,” noted Jifeng Luo, Associate Professor, Department of Management Information System, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in the report.
To keep up, brands’ understanding of consumers needs to be more nuanced.
Discover how here
One for the Road: Alibaba’s Amap and Starbucks Launch Curbside Service in China
Users in Beijing and Shanghai can order their favorite cup of joe with Alibaba’s navigation tool Amap and collect the coffee during their morning or evening commute, the platform announced this week.
Customers select their destination on Amap, click on the ‘Starbucks Curbside’ icon and place an order at a store along their route. An employee will deliver the food and drinks to their vehicle.
“Designed to help customers navigate the hustle and bustle of urban lifestyles in China, Starbucks Curbside exemplifies our relentless pursuit of innovation in service of our customers,” Judy Zhang, vice president of digital ventures, Starbucks China, said in a statement.
Read the full story now
