“ 120.7 billion(!) This year once again sets a new single-day transaction record on Tmall's Singles' Day.” In just the first 10 minutes of the 2016 Singles' Day, Tmall shattered yet another world payment record. On the same day, JD.com recorded over 32 million orders, a year-on-year130%increase, JD.com sold more than 3 million sports items, with over 1.1 million pairs of sports shoes and apparel selling briskly.
On both major e-commerce platforms, sportswear brands demonstrated strong momentum.
According to data from the Huihui Shopping Assistant, with the rise of national fitness activities such as running and gym workouts, outdoor sports also gained considerable popularity among consumers in 2016, seeing their attention ranking rise to second place with a 19.8% share. Among footwear and apparel categories, Camel secured the top spot in the industry with total sales of 502 million yuan, achieving a strong finish. Salomon’s sales were nearly five times that of the same period last year, Saucony’s sales were six times higher, and ASICS’ sales tripled compared to the previous year.
Professional sports apparel also received a warm welcome from consumers, with sports bras seeing sales 12 times that of the previous year, compression sportswear 13 times higher, and ski gear experiencing a sixfold surge in daily sales.
In this era of explosive online consumption and nationwide revelry, where is the retail industry headed?
According to research data from McKinsey,72% Chinese consumers access brand products or services multiple times a month via social media websites,60%use the same channel to directly interact. This means that when consumers feel the urge to shop but have not yet settled on a specific brand or product, they often first considerselecting products online, trying them out offline, comparing value for money, and then placing an order — omnichannel consumption has become the norm.
Making full use of both online and offline data and integrating resources to deliver the best omnichannel experience for consumers has become an essential part of future brand development strategies. The omnichannel marketing model requires weaving diverse purchasing methods into a cohesive “web,”captivating attention online with “fun”; enhancing the “experience” at physical storesby offering customers more detailed product information and combination options, seamlessly connecting channels for an integrated journey.For brands, how to carry out targeted omnichannel marketing is indeed a serious challenge.
“Many people say the internet is disrupting all industries, attacking and destroying traditional commerce. But that’s not really the case,” said Jack Ma. E-commerce merely grasps and utilizes internet technologies and concepts to create a business model suited for the data-driven internet age. What truly disrupts all sectors, employment, traditional thinking, and conventional industries is yesterday’s mindset — ignorance of the future and failure to embrace what lies ahead.
“Omnichannel marketing is not equivalent to physical store sales + online marketing and mobile promotion,” said Li Di, General Manager of Lohas Outdoor, in an interview with ISPO:
E-commerce is just a new channel within traditional retail. To resolve conflicts between online and offline, in addition to changing the mindset of brick-and-mortar stores, brands themselves need to integrate online and offline as a unified whole in their annual marketing plans, rather than treating them separately. For example, the brand image, pricing system, and marketing initiatives conveyed online and offline should be consistent, synchronously implemented with differences only in delivery methods.
Mr. Li cited an example for the ISPO editors: a well-known domestic sofa and home furnishing chain brand played a brilliant“promotion profit-sharing”move for Singles’ Day. Before the big day, physical stores began early promotion warm-ups, helping interested customers place advance online orders, which were then completed on Singles’ Day. Physical stores simply drove traffic online, avoiding price conflicts and inventory pressures, while the online flagship store later allocated profits back to the stores based on IP addresses, forming an omnichannel platform centered around brand marketing.
As a brand that achieved early integration of online and offline operations, Decathlon’s development path in China is worth learning from. Entering China in 2003, by 2010—before reaching its goal of 100 stores—Decathlon chose to collaborate with Tmall. By 2015, Decathlon’s e-commerce platform had achieved300%growth, while its physical retail network maintained50%growth.
In 2016, Decathlon also participated in Singles’ Day, but the message it wanted to convey wasn’t about discounts — it was about its brand philosophy: genuinely low prices. For customers, there’s no need to wait specifically for Singles’ Day; they can find quality, affordable products at Decathlon every day.
How should brands play their cards well in the new retail era?
'? Clarify positioning and re-evaluate the value and intelligence of online flagship stores
Online is transforming — from a channel for branding and selling — to gradually becoming or already partially functioning as: a brand’s official website for inquiries, a 24/7 direct sales channel from brand marketing, a full omnichannel after-sales support, a platform for new product launches, a tool that helps physical stores showcase product reviews to drive sales, a customer and market data repository, and a means to cultivate a team mindset focused on “thinking from the customer’s perspective.”
Brand merchants need to re-evaluate the value of their online flagship stores and work with online operations teams to build a comprehensive online channel function.
'?Start-up brands should follow the platform and focus on precise traffic acquisition.
The ecosystem of major platforms has matured significantly over time. Whether it's Tmall or JD.com, they have become highly intelligent, accurately targeting demographics, regions, age groups, interests, and disposable income levels. Moreover, these platforms can provide substantial traffic (including paid traffic) on their own.
Mr. Li believes that for startups in e-commerce, the focus should be on playing by the platform’s rules and achieving precise traffic acquisition. Since platforms evolve rapidly, operators must stay constantly updated. This year, Lohas has placed special emphasis on one area: Weitao.
Weitao is a social module on Tmall with clear shopping attributes. When consumers use the Tmall or Taobao app, Weitao delivers content highly relevant to their interests based on the "thousands of faces" logic. After in-depth and practical operation, it becomes evident that this can generate significant repeat purchases.
'?nbsp;Topic-driven and interactive approaches to strengthen explicit consumer connections
Mr. Li believes that when brand owners develop annual marketing plans, they should consider how to make their products and marketing more shareable and topic-worthy, fostering stronger and more visible connections with target consumers. Leveraging the strengths of online focus and viral potential is key.
On July 24, 2015, GoPro officially partnered with Youku to launch a community-oriented brand experience store: GoPro.shop. Users can view official product videos, watch user-shared content, participate in trending activities, and engage through comments on GoPro.shop.
When users see a product they like, they can make a purchase with just one click via the “watch-and-buy” feature embedded in the video. By October 7 of the same year, GoPro achieved over 50 million brand impressions, with over 500,000 visitors to the GoPro.Shop page, over 400,000 unique visits, and a significant boost in actual online sales conversions—effectively deepening brand messaging and reshaping brand image.
'?nbsp;Don’t blindly chase influencer/live-streaming marketing
The biggest change in traffic in 2016 was the rise of influencer impact. However, Mr. Li Di believes that influencer marketing is more like a perfectly disguised trap for most brands. While it may seem easy to package your brand as an influencer or collaborate with one, the reality is different. Businesses must carefully evaluate their own products and team capabilities before selectively trying this approach—blindly following trends is not advisable.
According to data compiled by Ebrun from the Tmall Global Fashion Festival, the total viewership of Taobao Live reached 1.157 million, yet some individual product sales were zero.
Thanks to its high interactivity and immediacy, e-commerce live streaming—with its "what you see is what you get" appeal—has been widely embraced by merchants since its inception. Especially with Taobao Live, various agencies have scrambled to get involved. But now, many merchants report poor results: the bar for influencers in live commerce is too high. “Many products have unique characteristics. Without proper research, influencers who don’t understand the product features will deliver lackluster recommendations—often underperforming compared to the company’s own sales staff,” said some merchants.
The key to “e-commerce + influencer/live-streaming” isn’t just about the two elements individually, but how they are integrated—how to organically combine content with sales. Therefore, compared to blindly jumping on the live-streaming and influencer bandwagon, Mr. Li Di believes data-driven precision marketing is more important.
Who is your target customer? Where are they? What do they like? What are their consumption values? What are their consumption habits? These are the fundamental questions that influence the sustainable development of a brand’s ecosystem. — Jack MaThe era of pure e-commerce is over. The next decade is the era of new retail, where online and offline must integrate. The essence of logistics is to eliminate inventory.
Future successful brands will undoubtedly possess dual genes: those of traditional brands and e-commerce brands. They will embody the service standards of traditional industries along with the rapid response and cutting-edge creativity of e-commerce. Breaking down barriers is key.
ISPO BEIJING 2017—The 13th Asia Outdoor Trade Show, dedicated to tracking the development of China’s sports industry, willtake place fromatBeijing National Convention Centerfrom February 15–18, 2017.
As one of the most important professional trade fairs in the Asia-Pacific sports and fashion industry, ISPO BEIJING 2017 will present a comprehensive event that blends professionalism, fashion, and forward-thinking. It aims to showcase a richer array of sports brands and more exciting concurrent activities for all industry attendees. Upholding professionalism and focusing on retail industry trends, we invite you to join us at the exhibition to explore the opportunities and challenges facing China’s sports industry—see you there!
Article originally published by ISPO.