The Strategic Guide to market your Home Decor Brand in China

In the coming few years, China market for home decor & furniture products has been facing a booming time compared to other industries. Both manufacturers and imports/exports will lead to an increase. With the rising conscience in citizens’ minds, new housing projects, and improving living conditions, there is growing consumer confidence in home decoration products in China.

China’s market for home decor products offers opportunities for producers, imports/exports sectors, in the past decade, rising consumer consumption in China has transformed China’s society and economy. China is one of the world’s major producers of home decor and its related consumer products. Far outpacing other economies in the world, China is the world’s fastest-growing market for the consumption of goods and services, related home decoration products in China are a significant part.

China’s home decor and its decor furniture market are full of marketing opportunities and business expansion. Take the home decor furniture replacement market as an example. According to statistics, there were about 440 million households in all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China. People’s increasing purchasing power has driven home decor products, especially the furniture market to develop in leaps and bounds in China. The total retail sales of home decor furniture products by wholesalers and retailers above a certain scale grew 13.9% to Rmb227.30 billion in 2014, according to the related industry report.

DIY Home Decor is trending

DIY home decor goes trending mostly is owing to the freedom of creation by consumers themselves. Furthermore, it ranges from living area, dining area, bedrooms, study, decoration, art, lighting, carpeting, curtains to the textile. This more than 4-trillion-yuan market is usually described as “a cake too huge to be ignored”.

Marketing DIY home decoration is apt to rely on the Internet and digitalization. A report in2016 polled more than 1,000 consumers across China. More than 60 percent of them said they are willing to use Internet-based platforms to purchase products and services for home decor.

How to sell your own home decor Brand in China?

Understand how the distribution works in China at first: Adopt Tmall B2D

In China, you probably know well that commerce and branding, and tourism already go to digitalization, but the power of digitalization is it is everywhere.

Usually, when Chinese consumers buy home decoration products, they go to furniture shops or supermarkets. For the imported products, they are mainly sold in specialized shops or premium shopping malls. But, e-commerce is increasing and gain in awareness because e-commerce provides consumers, with new shopping experiences.

E-Commerce in China is quickly growing and offers many opportunities for foreign brands.

M-commerce cannot be neglected, which is really popular in the furniture market. M-commerce creates new opportunities for consumers. It’s the perfect balance between distribution supply online and offline. Chinese consumers know how to do a lot of research online before buying something. The online part allows them to find information.

The online Chinese furniture market should be a vector of stimulation in the close future. The number of online shoppers in China contributes to this increase.

Work on SEO

In China, the number one search engine is not Google but Baidu with more than 80% of the market share. Baidu became the most important search engine you need to include in your SEO strategy if you want to succeed in the Chinese market.

SEO on Baidu is mandatory if you want to build a long-term strategy due to 75% of the research are done on Baidu. You have to be visible on Baidu. Keywords are the key, but they have to be in mandarin because your consumers will always try to find information using mandarin keywords.

In addition, your website needs to be hosted in China if you want to be ranked on Baidu. Notably, all your contents have to be responsive design because Chinese users are very connected and surf a lot on their smartphones.

Turn to Social Media

If you want to raise the reputation of your decoration products, it is costly and paying back little by using traditional media. However, new social media like WeChat can ease your promotion problem, especially for small businesses.

WeChat is the most popular social media with more than 80 million daily users. It’s the perfect place to communicate with your consumers and publish content. You also have to know that WeChat provides to brands an e-commerce part. You can build your own e-shop and sell directly on the platform.

In China, Chinese consumers are used to sharing their purchases on their WeChat profiles. It’s a good way to improve your awareness and gain recommendations.

Weibo is another efficient way to promote your brand. It’s a microblogging platform where consumers are used to expressing themselves. It’s really convenient to communicate with your consumers and potential consumers.

And Weibo is easy for startups to spread their reputation. You only have to create your Weibo Official Account which allows you to develop a strong and smart communication strategy to target a lot of consumers.

Sell on popular e-commerce platforms

One of the best ways to sell your products is selling on some popular e-commerce platforms in China, because Chinese people love to check their demands on e-commerce platforms than real stores, such as Tmall.

Tmall is the most reputable cross-border e-commerce platform in China. Chinese people trust Tmall because this platform volunteers to sell consumers only quality and authentic goods.

A Tmall.com storefront is essential to the China retail strategy of leading global businesses. It’s the most effective way for China’s market penetration. But Tmall only accepted brands that have already a significant presence and realized high sales in China. That’s why a lot of companies are rejected by the platform which wants to keep a high standard.

There are two ways to join Tmall’s platform: If you are a company with China in-country business operations, you can apply to Tmall. com;  If you are a company with overseas licenses, you are eligible to Tmall Global.

In addition, selling on other cross-border e-commerce platforms is also favorable and lucrative, such as Haitao or Little Red Book(Xiaohongshu).

INFLUENCERS CAMPAIGN

Influencers or KOLs are really powerful in China. They are simply users who drive traffic on their pages with good and interesting content. Chinese consumers love following KOLs on social media and they listen to their advice.

You can employ a KOL in your communication strategy. He or she will be the image of your brand and can help you’re to develop your image toward Chinese consumers. It’s an effective way to develop your awareness and brand image in China because Chinese consumers trust more KOLs than brands.

Gentlemen Marketing Agency

Gentlemen Marketing Agency is specialized in digital marketing in the Chinese market. Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to discuss any projects in China.