(Yicai) March 14 -- Chinese lifestyle platforms such as Douyin, Meituan, and Little Red Book are showing up at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo in Shanghai recently, indicating the rising importance of content-based and quick commerce.

Visitors to the AWE, organized yearly by the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, can find the Chinese version of TikTok, takeout platform Meituan, and social marketplace Little Red Book actively seeking business growth at one of the world's largest exhibitions for home appliances and consumer electronics, signaling shoppers' widening interest in online content and quick delivery.

The mainstream sales channel of home appliance changes about every ten years, said Wen Jianping, chairman of consultancy All View Cloud. In the past two years, Douyin’s livestreaming e-commerce has stood out, and content commerce is integrated with the digital shelf, Wen said, adding that instant retail has changed the operating logic of original e-commerce platforms as Meituan can deliver goods to buyers in half an hour.

Before this, JD.Com and Tmall opened the e-commerce era in 2012, and a decade before that, chain store operators Gome Retail Holdings and Suning.Com recorded over CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) in sales, Wen added.

Short-video platform Douyin logged a more than fourfold increase in gross merchandise value last year, and the number of merchants surged by 84 percent and existing merchants’ revenue jumped by 18 percent, said Li Wentao, an executive of home appliance retail at Douyin.

Consumers are receptive to emerging channels, Xin Jianing, vice president of marketing at Whirlpool China said, adding that online and offline channels, including stores for home appliances, furniture, and decor, as well as traditional and emerging e-commerce platforms, will be integrated and work together in the future.

Groupon-like Meituan is actively expanding its instant retail business, expecting to expand to 150 cities this year from the previous 88 cities. Customers can order home appliances that will be quickly delivered as the Beijing-based company joined hands with Mi Home, Xiaomi's mobile application for smart home appliances, in March 2022 and Suning.Com in October 2022. The firm has also tried to cooperate with Huawei Technologies and cookware maker Supor in various aspects, said Wang Zhen, an executive at Meituan's quick-commerce arm Meituan Shangou.

Better User Experience

Retailers have noticed great changes in the customer journey, per a manager of Little Red Book's business of large home appliances. Consumers do not necessarily search for a product based on a channel or discount but they respond to content and different demand scenarios and trust good products shared by common people, the person added.

Retailers can highlight their selling points to consumers through livestreaming and short videos on Douyin, Li said, adding that some home appliance manufacturers set up more than 10 cameras to oversee their production lines and carry out regular livestreaming shows to provide consumers with a more intuitive shopping experience.

The digital environment helps brands interact with their clients more seamlessly. In the past, people needed to call after-sales to get help installing home appliances, but now sellers try to guide their customers by cooperating with the brands, Li added.

Brands need to stay on their feet, sniffing new trends. BSH Home Appliances China, a manufacturer that is owned by Germany's Bosch Group, set up an area for online shopping at the office this year to adapt to changes in channels. The firm tried interest-based e-commerce and content commerce and established a livestreaming team, said Senior Vice President Wu Cheng.

During the Chinese New Year holiday last month, BSH promoted dishwashers on JD.Com and Little Red Book to reach more users through recommendations, pre-campaign activities, and promotions, the SVP added.

Editor: Emmi Laine