(Yicai) Jan. 21 -- DT Finance, a financial and business media outlet under Yicai Media Group, has broken down the ‘rise100 e-commerce annual list’ released by Xiaohongshu and discovered the five main characteristics of the Chinese social media platform likened to Instagram.

The rise100 list includes the top 100 merchants and 100 brand ambassadors and key opinion leaders that are successful on Xiaohongshu, based on metrics such as growth or degree of investment.

By analyzing the rise100 list, DT Finance firstly found that Xiaohongshu is an app for youngsters. Users born after 1995 account for 30 percent of Xiaohongshu’s top 100 bloggers and 15 percent of the top 100 businesses, according to the ranking.

Young bloggers are good at selecting products that appeal to young users because when they introduce a product, they integrate it into their daily lives, giving it emotional value.

Also young members of families owning factories landed on Xiaohongshu to promote their products. For example, one of them secured over 320,000 orders in a year by selling silk scarves by following the ‘Chinese Old Money’ style trend.

The second Xiaohongshu characteristic that DT Finance identified was the use of geographical advantages to promote items. For example, merchants in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, which is known for porcelains, sell products like tea sets by showing customers the localized supply chain to gain their trust.

The third trait is the popularity of Chinese traditional aesthetics and intangible cultural heritage. An advertising expert explained that Chinese aesthetics is becoming popular among people aged 25 to 35 years old, and Xiaohongshu is the perfect place for them to discuss and share related experiences.

For example, a merchant selling Chinese-style clothes on Xiaohongshu won a group of loyal VIP customers who helped him secure over CNY50 million (USD6.9 million) in annual sales.

The fourth characteristic is the segmented demand. One-third of the top 100 merchants on Xiaohongshu focus on specific population groups, needs, or scenarios, such as clothes for short people or children with sensitive skin problems.

Merchants that are successful on Xiaohongshu all follow the philosophy of ‘first serving small customer groups well and learning about their positioning and needs,’ according to Chuang Hong, head of the company’s clothing, shoes, and bag business.

The fifth and final trait is that Xiaohongshu has become a platform for people to start a business. People from all backgrounds turned their hobbies and passions into new careers on Xiaohongshu.

The main reason for choosing Xiaohongshu is that the platform is friendly to new users. New merchants can achieve substantial sales even at the initial stage when they have few followers.

Among Xiaohongshu’s top 100 bloggers, 67 percent have less than 500,000 followers, 19 percent have less than 100,000 followers, and some even have just above 10,000, according to the rise100 list.

Editor: Futura Costaglione