Baidu Releases Data on Double Eleven Shopping Festival, Example of Chinese Consumption Trends

On Thursday, Baidu‘s App released data concerning trending topics during the current 2021 Double Eleven Shopping Festival. The report explored the interest and changes of Chinese consumers during the current year’s Double Eleven Shopping Festival from online search data.

Consumption demand seems to be driven by categories such as beauty and skin care, smart home and pet products, among which searches for beauty and skin care are up by 46% and is the top of all categories.

The anti-monopoly policy of the platform economy is accelerating, and the choices of consumers reflects the changes of the e-commerce industry under the influence of current policies. The data shows that, compared with 2020, the 80-20 rule is less evident in e-commerce platforms today while emerging e-commerce platforms have developed rapidly.

Taobao and JD.COM are still in the first echelon, but their respective proportion of all searches has declined over time. Further, e-commerce businesses involving short video platforms, such as Douyin and Kuaishou, has grown rapidly. POIZON, another short video platformthat is focusing on the youth market, is taking holding its own in current standings.

Facing ever more choices, consumers’ attitude towards Double Eleven has changed from fanaticism to rationality. Baidu‘s data shows that searches for price comparison websites increased by 28% compared with last year, while those for return and exchange rules decreased by 10%. Trending topics for Double Eleven this year have also reflected the calm observation of many netizens. Questions such as “Is It Really Cheaper to Buy During Double Eleven than Usual?” and “Guide to Avoid Tricks of Double Eleven” are both trending topics.

Live commerce remains a hot topic during this Double Eleven as the report is showing that over the past 30 days, the popularity of live commerce search has increased by 141% month-on-month, and that of head anchors Li Jiaqi and Viya is the first choice for many live-streaming consumers. However, searches related to Xinba, a once popular anchor of Kuaishou, dropped by 76%.

Platform economy policies have improved the overall consumption environment this year. The report shows that, in the recent 30 days, searches related to Double Eleven complaints have dropped by 12% year-on-year. However, new consumer infringement problems are also emerging. The report points out that “non-refundable deposit” has become a serious infringement this year.

Overall, however, the popularity of Chinese products has kept climbing. The report shows that searches related to Chinese brands has risen by 43%, registering the largest increase in recent years. Huawei, Xiaomi, Anta and other notable domestic brands are currently at the top of the brands to have. Many domestic brands, such as milk brand Adopt A Cow, electric motor brand Yadea, and sports brand Erke, have attracted significantly more attention this year.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi’s Total Omni-Channel Payment Amount Exceeded $2.34 Billion During First Two Hours of Double 11 Shopping Festival

Consumers of different ages also kept alive the brand of interest in their own generation. The post-2000s generation seems to like beauty, clothing and digital products while the post-80s are interested in commodities related to raising kids and buying houses. Post-90s consumers seem to be paying attention to health care and pet raising while the post-60s and older are interested in digital products.