What’s the Story?

Singles’ Day is still considered the prime time for brands to launch new products for the Chinese market. We examine the latest trends in new product launches on major e-commerce platforms including Alibaba’s Tmall and JD.com.

This report is part of Coresight Research’s coverage of Singles’ Day 2021. Click here to view all of our all Singles’ Day reports.

Why It Matters

Singles’ Day is an attractive time for brands to unveil new products. A 2021 survey by JD.com found that more than one-quarter of consumers are interested in purchasing new products from unfamiliar brands.

JD.com claimed that it would offer 400 million new products during this year’s Singles’ Day (presumed to be individual items and so not reflective of the number of new SKUs). Among all the new products sold during the event, large appliances, phones, sport shoes and bags, and facial care products were the most popular categories. According to JD.com, pre-sale volumes for desktop computers, tablets and home-theater projectors were up 310%, 130% and 100%, respectively, year over year.

Tmall helped 100 new products to achieve 100 million orders and 1,000 new items to reach 10 million orders, according to the company. Tmall Innovation Center (TMIC), the market research division of the company’s B2C marketplace, also incubated 1,000 new products and helped more than 3,000 brands to test 50,000 new products online.

Singles’ Day 2021—Key Trends in New Product Drops: Coresight Research Analysis

1. Platform-Brand Collaboration

For Singles’ Day 2021, e-commerce platforms lent their weight to brands’ product launches. For the first time, TMIC collaborated with Alibaba’s hybrid research and development facility, DAMO Academy (Academy for Discovery, Adventure, Momentum and Outlook), in the apparel category during this year’s shopping festival. TMIC fed the latest fashion search keywords into DAMO’s AI program, which then automatically generated apparel designs. The designs were sent to Alibaba’s Rhino Smart Manufacturing Platform and small batches were produced. According to Tmall, this system takes as little as 15 days to launch a new apparel product.

Tmall also used livestreaming shows to generate buzz ahead of brands’ product launches. The platform worked with celebrities and influencers including Austin Li (also known as the Lipstick King) and launched nine dedicated livestreaming shows to promote new products in the build-up to Singles’ Day between November 4 and November 10. According to Tmall, more than 30 million people watched Austin Li’s first livestream introducing new products and new brands on November 4, and total sales generated during the livestream reached $25.9 million.

[caption id="attachment_136276" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Tmall’s livestream hosts for new products launching
Source: Sohu.com[/caption]   2. Innovative Products

TNO, a Chinese tea brand founded in September 2020, launched an innovative and sustainable way for consumers to enjoy Chinese tea. Its tea sticks consist of an elongated teabag with a handle made from hard paper, allowing the drinker to stir their cup. According to TNO, the tea sticks are sustainable as they are made from biodegradable materials.

[caption id="attachment_136277" align="aligncenter" width="550"] TNO’s teasticks
Source: Company WeChat/Tmall[/caption]   Just Chill, a Chinese homeware brand, launched a new antimicrobial and anti-static blanket. The retailer gained huge popularity when it launched its memory foam pillow, the Kitty Belly pillow, a few months ago. [caption id="attachment_136278" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Just Chill’s new blanket and pillow
Source: Tmall[/caption]   ChocDay, a Chinese sugar-free chocolate brand, capitalized on the booming popularity of oat milk in China by launching a new chocolate made with oat milk. Before Singles’ Day, ChocDay hired Wang Yibo, a popular influencer among Gen Zers, as its global ambassador, and launched campaigns on Douyin. One of its videos gained more than 59,000 likes and its campaign on Weibo was shared by over 6,000 viewers. [caption id="attachment_136279" align="aligncenter" width="550"] ChocDay’s oat milk chocolates (left) and marketing video with Wang Yibo (right)
Source: Tmall/Weibo[/caption]   Cha Yan Yue Se, a well-known Chinese milk tea brand, unveiled a DIY milk tea set on its online store for this year’s Singles’ Day. At present, Cha Yan Yue Se operates physical stores only in some Southern Chinese cities, including Changsha, Changde, Wuhan and Shenzhen; its DIY milk tea set allows consumers across China to enjoy its milk tea. The set also includes a step-by-step guide to teach consumers how to make the perfect milk tea as it is made at its shops. [caption id="attachment_136280" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Cha Yan Yue Se’s DIY milk tea kit
Source: JD.com[/caption]   3. Limited-Edition Products, Packaging and Designs

Kerastase, a French haircare brand, launched a special edition hair serums collection, and worked with brand ambassador Wang Junkai on a marketing campaign titled “Paris in Wonderland.” The collection also came with special packaging designed by artists based in France.

[caption id="attachment_136281" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Kerastase’s “Paris in Wonderland” campaign, featuring Wang Junkai
Source: Weibo[/caption]   Lancôme, a French skincare brand, teamed up with Eli Grita, Founder and Creative CEO of her eponymous fashion brand to create limited-edition packaging. “Power Jacket” was used on four of its best-selling products. [caption id="attachment_136282" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Lancôme’s limited-edition packaging (left); designer Eli Grita (right)
Source: Weibo[/caption]   Creative and cultural products have recently become very popular among younger Chinese consumers. For Singles’ Day, the Sanxingdui, Henan, Suzhou and Luoyang Museums collaborated on a limited-edition mystery box collection. The collection consists of 15 replicas of key historical artifacts from Sanxingdui, a Chinese archaeological site. The limited-edition mystery boxes were only available from the museums’ Tmall stores and sold out within hours. [caption id="attachment_136283" align="aligncenter" width="480"] The Sanxingdui archaeological site mystery box collection
Source: Tmall[/caption]   4. Virtual Products and Non-Fungible Tokens

Capitalizing on the metaverse trend, Tmall launched its “Double 11 Metaverse Art Exhibition” on its mobile app in October. The e-commerce platform hosts eight luxury brands that have created non-fungible token (NFT) collections for Singles’ Day. British luxury brand Burberry, for example, unveiled a limited-edition scarf paired with an animated deer NFT for $455, which sold out immediately.

[caption id="attachment_136284" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Burberry’s scarf and animated deer
Source: Tmall[/caption]   Chando for Singles’ Day. The beauty retailer launched 100 bottles of limited-edition toners, each sold with an NFT. The product was endorsed by Ayayi, Tmall’s virtual influencer. [caption id="attachment_136285" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Tmall’s virtual influencer, Ayayi
Source: Tmall[/caption]  

What We Think

In order to stand out among the hubbub of Singles’ Day activity, brands launching new products must plan intelligently. Many well-established brands chose to launch special editions of their hero products, either through brand mashups, collaborations with celebrities and famous artists, or redesigned packaging. In addition, the example of the Sanxingdui archaeological site mystery box collection illustrates the power of limited-edition offerings that resonate effectively with their target consumers.