On April 13, the 4th China International Consumer Goods Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "Consumer Expo") with the theme of "Sharing Open Opportunities and Creating a Better Life" kicked off at the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center. At the meeting, domestic characteristic commodities, "Made in China" products and various consumer goods that provide intelligent and convenient services have become a beautiful consumption landscape, and have become the epitome of young consumers' pursuit of efficiency and quality of life. These innovative products and services accurately capture the new needs and scenarios of the younger generation to improve their quality of life, and are also the vane that reveals the future development trend of the consumer market.
Domestic "trendy products" bloom with unique cultural charm
This year's "Government Work Report" proposes to actively cultivate new consumption growth points such as smart homes, cultural and entertainment tourism, sports events, and domestic "trendy products".
In recent years, young people have become the main force embracing the "national tide". Many brands are exploring innovative expressions of traditional culture. At this Consumer Expo, Bubble Mart brought a large number of domestic trendy products. The Zodiac limited dragon Yin Xianrui series, Bubble Mart and Beijing gift limited co-branded gift box, etc., vividly interpret the collision of pop culture and traditional culture. In addition, the joint series launched by Pop Mart and Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base was also launched at the "Global New Product Release Plan" of the Consumer Expo.
In recent years, the national tide culture has shown a unique charm among young consumer groups, and more and more young people are willing to pay for domestic "trendy products". According to the "Statistical Report on the Development of China's Internet Network", in 2023, the number of "post-90s" and "post-00s" users who have purchased domestic "trendy products" online will exceed 150 million.
Yang Yuni, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and founder of the Yuni Culture and Art Heritage Center, said that according to his own observations, young consumers are the main group embracing the national tide culture, and they have strong cultural self-confidence and a peaceful vision of the world. For them, Guochao is not only a fashion trend, but also carries the inheritance of national culture and history. Young consumers express their love and respect for Chinese culture by supporting and using Guochao products.
Wang Tao, general manager of public affairs of Pop Mart, said that interest consumption is the consumption concept of the new era, and the consumption habits of young people are more inclined to pursue emotional satisfaction, and they are more and more willing to pursue interest consumption that carries "emotions and values". Domestic "trendy products" are not only designed to impress young consumers, but also carry an inherent cultural self-confidence while highlighting their individuality.
Personalized, diversified, and high-quality domestic products have triggered rounds of consumption boom, and the new consumption of domestic "trendy products" has flourished, and the momentum has continued to be released. Yang Yuni found that the "national tide fever" not only helps to inherit and promote traditional Chinese culture, but also promotes the development of the cultural industry, providing a platform for designers and craftsmen to showcase their talents. The popularity of the Guochao brand has encouraged enterprises and cultural workers to carry out innovative re-creation of traditional culture, which not only retains the roots of culture, but also enhances the vitality and attractiveness of culture. At the same time, she believes that Guochao culture has also brought new development opportunities to related industries. In the face of fierce market competition, Chinese companies need to innovate while inheriting the essence of traditional culture to meet consumers' new demand for Guochao brands.
Nowadays, Guochao culture has also begun to go international, attracting a group of overseas consumers who are interested in Chinese culture. Wang Tao said that he hopes that through the Expo, more world brands will see the charm of China's trendy toy IP, and believes that with the continuous expansion of the group's global business, more global consumers will truly fall in love with China's "trendy products".
Help facilitate life and meet the new needs of young people for comfortable and efficient consumption
At this year's Consumer Expo, the innovative application of 3D "Dewu Sneaker Museum" attracted the attention of many young people. Consumers can experience immersive shopping by wearing a headset, "entering the Sneaker Museum, tapping on the sneaker on the shelf, you can wake up the 3D sneaker model, and you can rotate with the hand posture." When you fit your hand to the sneaker, you can see every detail, and the material effect is very realistic. The staff introduced. This not only allows consumers to buy products that are both beautiful and comfortable, but also greatly reduces the time to choose and try them on.
It's a microcosm of the future of digital and personalized shopping experiences. Today's changing needs and preferences of young consumers are driving companies to innovate their marketing strategies to adapt to market changes. According to the 2024 China Consumer Trends Report, in a fast-paced lifestyle, 68% of consumers want to buy and get it when they consume, do not like to wait, and are also willing to pay for time-saving products and services. This shows that in today's fast-paced life, people's demand for convenient and fast services is also growing.
In front of Vipshop's booth, the staff introduced the face-to-face exchange service to the exhibitors. When consumers need to exchange goods, SF Express couriers will deliver the exchanged goods to their doors and exchange the original goods in person. "By optimizing the delivery process, this service model hopes to bring users a more convenient shopping experience and meet consumers' expectations for an efficient and barrier-free return and exchange experience. The staff introduced.
Exhibitors experience iFLYTEK's smart office notebook products. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Compared with the 2023 Consumer Expo, the biggest highlight of iFLYTEK's participation this year is that it has brought intelligent hardware products based on large models. Zhan Wenyu, vice president of iFLYTEK Consumer Business Group, said that for portable and efficient office scenarios, iFLYTEK has launched a series of smart office notebook products, which not only support discourse regularization, written regularization of spoken text, but also generate meeting minutes according to meeting transcription text and handwritten content, which greatly improves office efficiency. Not only that, users can also answer questions with the Xinghuo model through handwriting or voice input, and automatically generate relevant text according to their needs, helping users efficiently obtain information and inspiration.
In addition, iFLYTEK's translation machine provides real-time language translation services for exhibitors and visitors of the Expo, making communication and interaction smoother, and making the Expo an efficient and barrier-free international event.
AI technology is reconstructing the way of living, lifestyle, and consumption. According to the 2024 China Consumer Trends Report, companies should use advanced technology to accurately predict consumer needs and provide more personalized and immediate services. In such a market environment, the speed of consumer response to the brand and the immediacy of the experience have also become important criteria to measure the competitiveness of enterprises.
The convenient life products and services displayed at the Expo not only attracted the attention of many young consumers, but also provided them with a platform to show themselves and pursue quality of life. Focusing on the satisfaction of the personalized needs of young people, the Consumer Expo has become an important bridge connecting young consumers with future consumption trends, and there are more and more new consumption scenarios led by the needs of young people.
Create an international stage Chinese brands make a global debut
Since its inception in 2021, the CICG has not only become a "bridge" for global consumer goods to enter the Chinese market, but also an important "window" for Chinese brands to show their strength to the world. With the continuous advancement of the internationalization strategy of Chinese brands, more and more domestic brands have begun to go abroad and enter the global market. This not only enhances the international image of Chinese brands, but also opens up new growth points for the future development of China's consumer market.
From electronic products to fashion and beauty, from food to cultural and creative products, domestic brands are showing the charm of "Made in China" to the world through the Expo. At the same time, through interaction with the international market, domestic brands can better understand the needs of global consumers, optimize products and services, and enhance international competitiveness.
Zhan Wenyu, Vice President of iFLYTEK Consumer Business Group, said that with the help of such an internationally influential stage as the Consumer Expo, iFLYTEK hopes to show users around the world the value that efficient and intelligent AI tools can bring to life and work, and let the world feel the power of Chinese wisdom. At present, iFLYTEK has carried out consumer business in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and other countries and regions with translators and voice recorders as its main C-end products.
From an economic and international perspective, "going global" is a new opportunity for Chinese brands, and it is also an important measure for the two-wheel drive of the domestic and international markets. A number of domestic brands stand out in the fierce competition in China, and they have also created a new world overseas. Globalization is no longer an option, but an inevitability.
At the Expo, foreign consumers learned about China's trendy toys. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
In 2023, as one of the representatives of domestic trendy toy brands, Bubble Mart has gained a lot from "going to sea". According to the financial report, the revenue of Pop Mart's overseas business reached 1.066 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 134.8%, and by the end of 2023, the number of its overseas stores reached 80.
"IP is a great advantage for China's trendy toys to go overseas. Traditional Chinese culture gives the IP of trendy toys a temperature, and the IP of trendy toys helps cultural inheritance. Wang Tao said that he hopes to export more of China's trendy toy IP and culture overseas through the international stage of the Expo, and use domestic trendy products to show the unique charm of China's trendy toy IP to global consumers.
In recent years, Chinese enterprises have continuously superimposed new resources, technologies and advantages, and gradually improved their competitiveness and influence in the global market. Li Yongjian, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Financial and Economic Strategy, said that brand is one of the most valuable assets of an enterprise, and only by continuously improving brand value, shaping brand image, and spreading brand stories can it stand out in the fierce market competition and achieve the goal of brand globalization.
Zhan Wenyu said that in the globalization strategy, to achieve "overseas localization", enterprises are required to always maintain a humble and learning mentality, understand the unique cultural background, market characteristics, laws and regulations of each country and region, listen to the voice of users, understand the local market, and create products that are closer to the needs of users.
Tang Hua, director of the Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, said that the CICG will help the world's high-quality products and new products to "come in" by relying on the Hainan Free Trade Port, including to Southeast Asia, and at the same time help our domestic trendy products to "go out" by relying on a hub like Hainan.
Behind the "never-ending" Consumer Expo is an "open door" that will never be closed.