The secrets of Chinese consumption are hidden in the Double 11 promotions on Xiaohongshu.

This year doesn't seem as bustling as in previous years. However, if you open Xiaohongshu, you'll find that in the past month, there have been numerous popular posts discussing what to buy, how to buy, and seeking "guides for good products." According to statistics, the exposure of topics related to Double 11 exceeded 20 billion, and the popularity increased by 600% year - on - year.

The enthusiasm of community discussions has directly led to the explosion of Xiaohongshu's business ecosystem. Data released by Xiaohongshu shows that during this year's Double 11, the number of orders placed on Xiaohongshu e - commerce increased by 77% year - on - year, and the number of merchants with tens of millions in turnover increased by 140% year - on - year. Meanwhile, through the "planting grass and direct purchase" function, Xiaohongshu helped the single products of hundreds of brands achieve tens of millions or even over one billion in sales on platforms such as Tmall and JD.com.

This community with a monthly active user base of less than 400 million has shown another kind of vitality during Double 11. The Chinese consumer market is not lacking in demand. There are still a large number of unmet, personalized demands for "good products," which reflects the value pursuits of "quality," "interest," and "good aesthetics."

Its explosion is not sudden. It is an inevitable result of the concentrated realization of trust value after years of cultivation in its unique community environment. Xiaohongshu is a window to observe the development of Chinese consumption, and new trends are hidden within it.

Double 11 Enters the "Third Stage"

An interesting phenomenon: Double 11 is no longer the grand event of staying up late to grab "historically low prices" or "missing out means waiting for another year." Nor is there the complaint of "saving 100% by not buying" and the social sentiment of "resisting consumerism" as there was a few years ago.

Double 11 has entered the third stage: the stage of "rational self - indulgence."

People don't have much anxiety about missing out or a sense of shame when it comes to buying something nice during this major shopping event to make themselves happy and their families comfortable. This national - level shopping event is entering a new narrative logic in a more peaceful way.

In the report "Chinese Consumption in the New Normal" released by McKinsey in May this year, we can see the new normal of Chinese consumption. Although the growth rate of the average disposable income of households is smaller than that of the previous year, the proportion of consumption in disposable income has not further decreased.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence has generally stabilized. Chinese consumers continue to increase their consumption of most product categories, and the consumption of services/experiences in certain specific categories has increased significantly.

To put it simply, it may mean that many people are no longer willing to treat themselves badly in pursuit of low prices. They are willing to spend money on things that can provide a "sense of value" and a "sense of meaning."

In this context, Double 11 has become a calculation problem about rational consumption to find better products and services over a long period, as well as an experience problem about enhancing one's own quality of life and emotional value from an individual perspective.

Xiaohongshu, a large - scale lifestyle shopping guide, records and witnesses Double 11 under this general social sentiment. After all, it's hard to find a group of people on the Internet who are better at selecting and discovering good products, know how to gain emotional value and experiences in a rational way, and love to share with their online friends than the users here.

When it comes to the purchase period of new Apple phones, bloggers will explain in great detail that according to historical experience, after the first wave of sales, with the addition of subsidy vouchers, the price may drop by seven or eight hundred yuan.

Posts that seriously provide shopping guides and avoid pitfalls will definitely get a lot of interactions. Once you open the comments section for automatic pit - avoidance and recommendations, don't expect to get out of the endless replies soon. Everyone is openly sharing their shopping lists, and online friends are there to help when it comes to avoiding bad products and recommending good ones.

The over 20 billion in popularity of Double 11 - related topics in the community is a place that carries all kinds of emotions and voices, including brand interactions, consumers' voices, purchase rhythms, product recommendations, avoiding bad products, and more.

Precisely because Xiaohongshu users are discerning and demand good products, their "discrimination" and "demands" are the starting point for the next upgrade of brand products.

Good Products Are More Likely to Thrive on Xiaohongshu

China is the world's factory and the cornerstone of the global supply chain. The supply - side goals of "more, faster, better, and cheaper" have mostly been achieved: an all - encompassing product range, ever - faster logistics, and the normal "lowest price across the network." However, it's hard to say that the supply has fully met the demand for "good" products.

So, the question is, with diverse demands, how do we define good products?

Quality is the minimum requirement for good products. There are roughly two types of standards for measuring quality: well - known brands represent good quality. For those that haven't yet established a brand, they rely on consumer reviews and feedback after use to build a good reputation. Xiaohongshu provides a great environment for such merchants.

In the past two years, many overseas well - known brands have flocked to Xiaohongshu e - commerce. KingLiving, a well - known furniture brand with nearly 50 years of history in Australia, chose Xiaohongshu as its first e - commerce platform. It opened its store in July this year and had a great performance during Double 11. According to Xiaohongshu data, by collaborating with professional furniture buyers, it won the "first place in the single - session fabric sofa sub - category" in the live - streaming room. Good products can speak for themselves only when they are seen, and Xiaohongshu's buyers act as "discoverers of good products." Similarly, MOSSANT, a hat brand with a history of over a hundred years in France, also chose Xiaohongshu as its first stop when entering the Chinese e - commerce market.

For domestic new entrepreneurs and those in the process of transformation who are still building their brands, notes and live - streaming rooms are great platforms to showcase, share, and interact with consumers.

LEXHAM, a new brand from an old cashmere factory in Inner Mongolia, is a typical example. Cashmere is known as "soft gold," and the cost of raw materials is calculated by the gram. In a market where some products are of poor quality or have reduced weight to cut costs, the siblings of LEXHAM's family factory, which used to do OEM for top - level global cashmere products, decided to build their own brand. LEXHAM uses high - quality materials, and there are about 40 inspection and quality control procedures from raw materials to finished clothing. Although the process is complex and the cost is high, it has gained a group of highly loyal users, with some buyers purchasing 20 different styles from the store.

"Xiaohongshu provides an opportunity for high - quality products to be seen, and brands are more likely to be noticed by like - minded people here," said Chen Zhihua, one of the founders of LEXHAM.

Above quality, good aesthetics are important. The value and stability of aesthetics have been verified in Xiaohongshu e - commerce.

PERSUN NO., a women's clothing design brand that moved to Xiaohongshu from other e - commerce platforms in August last year, quickly accumulated a group of loyal fans through the continuous release of new designs every month with the help of different collaborating buyers. The return rate of regular styles has been reduced to half of the industry average.

"Consumers place orders for special designs, not for low prices. Things that they like at first sight are less likely to be returned after purchase, especially when the quality is comparable. So, our return rate has actually decreased," said Sun Sun, the brand manager. After building the brand from scratch on Xiaohongshu this year, PERSUN NO. is preparing to open a Tmall store. "If everything goes smoothly, we'll open an offline experience store next year."

Interest is becoming a new trend in stimulating the consumption of good products.

During this year's Double 11, there was a small boom in trendy toys and cultural antiques on Xiaohongshu.

The turnover of cultural antiques on the first day of Double 11 increased by 130% year - on - year. The number of orders placed for trendy toys on Xiaohongshu increased by 100% year - on - year, driving a 89% increase in merchants' orders year - on - year. In the past few years, the trendy toy industry, including blind boxes, trading cards, and doll - collecting circles, has shown explosive growth in Xiaohongshu's marketplace, attracting brand merchants and small - and medium - sized brand merchants to settle and develop.

Interestingly, many merchants reported that Xiaohongshu's operating rules are willing to provide development opportunities for new business categories and models. For example, in the category of second - hand cosplay bags, many product styles need to have their supply locked in six months in advance. With the support of the platform, the second - hand cosplay bag clothing merchant Gu GOGO was able to offer a 180 - day pre - sale. It's now rare to see a six - month pre - sale elsewhere.

Precisely because Xiaohongshu e - commerce has a content - based community environment, it has nurtured consumers with high aesthetic and quality requirements, discerning buyers, and an increasing number of merchants offering good products. It doesn't need to engage in price competition or compete for the existing market share. All these factors make it easier for "good products" in a broad sense to be seen, recommended, and grow rapidly on Xiaohongshu.

Data released by Xiaohongshu shows that from October 11th to November 9th, the number of merchants with a turnover of over 10 million on Xiaohongshu increased by 140% year - on - year, the number of products with a turnover of over 1 million increased by 150% year - on - year. During this year's Double 11, the number of buyers with a turnover of over 10 million increased by 89%, and the contribution of buyers' turnover increased by 73% year - on - year.

Direct Purchase after Product Recommendations for Thousands of Branded Good Products

For well - established brand products, Xiaohongshu is a natural place for product recommendations.

This year, on top of content - based product recommendations, Xiaohongshu, in collaboration with Tmall and JD.com, officially launched the "planting grass and direct purchase" function, which enables brands to bridge the "last mile." Users can directly jump to the e - commerce platform stores and place orders with one click after seeing the product notes, supporting brands to complete the full - link business operation on Xiaohongshu.

After half a year of adjustment and testing, Xiaohongshu showed its strong potential during Double 11: the "planting grass and direct purchase" function helped thousands of branded good products achieve a turnover of over one million. Among them, the Haier Yunxi series of washing machines achieved a turnover of nearly 200 million through the direct - purchase link to JD.com. The Swan Wu Mei series of washing and drying sets achieved a turnover of over 50 million, and the TCL T7L TV achieved a turnover of over 30 million...

Every year, June 18th and Double 11 have become important periods for consumers to replace household appliances. During this time, big brands and popular products still choose to offer discounts and promotions to drive greater business conversion. Merchants value transaction efficiency, and on the consumer side, a large amount of real - life experience information and usage scenarios in text and video notes are more persuasive than traditional hard - selling advertisements, building a higher level of trust. In a context where consumers are more focused on certainty, product recommendations are an obviously more rational decision - making process for consumers.

The Haier Yunxi series of washing machines, which sold well through the direct - purchase function, have a high level of discussion on Xiaohongshu. During Double 11, there were many related notes, including product introductions by merchants, reviews by bloggers, and a large number of real - life sharing and evaluations by consumers, covering the purchase price, timing, platform, and product features.

For potential target customers, after seeing the brand multiple times through push notifications, when they are attracted by a note that details how the "AI - driven motor can perform continuous forward and reverse washing for 15 minutes," it's quite natural for them to click on the direct - purchase link below.

This process of promoting transaction conversion based on real - life feedback in the community is also a large - scale competition. Whether a product is good or not is judged by users' real voices. New trends and new generations of products often emerge from this competition.

The Qingxian Dynamic Ergonomic Office Chair, which ranked first in the best - selling list of office chairs on Tmall this year, was launched by a brand that entered the market in 2023.

Compared with many ergonomic chair brands that focus on traditional parameter indicators, they boldly stepped out of the "function - based competition" and upgraded to an "intelligent upgrade solution," focusing on technological upgrades such as "customized for different backs" and "technological evolution," creating a new high - end intelligent experience track.

Based on the "planting grass and direct purchase" function, they started to promote their products on both Tmall and JD.com in September this year. By reasonably allocating the budget for different platforms and quickly promoting high - quality notes, they quickly disrupted the industry pattern despite entering the market during a major promotion. Their daily turnover exceeded 2.2 million, making them a dark horse in the industry.

Good products can speak for themselves. These popular products recommended through the direct - purchase function are also a reflection of the market's choices. During Double 11, people are no longer satisfied with stockpiling daily necessities. They hope to broaden their horizons, relieve stress, improve their lives, and gain emotional value from their purchases.

Double 11 is just a window to observe Xiaohongshu. What people discuss and choose here is a microcosm of the daily consumption preferences and demands of Xiaohongshu users.

These people are full of vitality, love life, and enjoy sharing. Their unmet, personalized demands, and their persistence in aesthetics, quality, and interest, to some extent, echo the resilience of the consumer side in the new normal of Chinese consumption. The enthusiasm hasn't faded; it's just expressed in a more rational and determined way. Against the backdrop of social pressure, people still have high hopes for a better future, and this vitality contains new possibilities for future Chinese consumption.

Xiaohongshu's business infrastructure and community attributes form a symbiotic and interactive closed - loop that supports all of this.

By allocating traffic to ordinary individuals, the community can stimulate their continuous enthusiasm for sharing. When people from different circles and with different interests sincerely record their lives and believe that their life