2.8 Billion! Li Jiaqi Beats the First Drum of March 8 Promos

March 8 festival major promotions are around the corner. Behind the first day of Li Jiaqi's live streaming studio pre-sale of 2.825 billion yuan the work and support is from hosts, platforms, and brands.

Stepping into March, the annual "March 8th International Women's Day" is just around the corner. The major e-commerce platforms and hosts have also started pre-sales for their series of promotional activities.

A few days ago, according to the e-commerce newspaper (dsb.cn), in the pre-sale activity on February 27 Li Jiaqi's live streaming studio exceeded 70 million views, and the sales reached 2.825 billion yuan. This data far exceeds the 790 million yuan sales jointly created by Li Jiaqi and Viya in the same period of the prior year.

Tmall opened the March 8 promotions in 2022 with another sales record of the super head hosts. The "latecomers" Douyin and Kuaishou, who are in the traffic dividend period, are also stepping up their entry into this e-commerce promotion based on female consumers and beauty products. In the competition between different platforms and traffic, what will brands and consumers gain?

01

Pre-sale: 2.825 Billion Yuan Sales in 7 Hours,

Why Can Li Jiaqi "Block Booking" March 8 Promotions?

The Cosmetics Business Online (CBO) reporter asked Mei Wan (Shanghai) Network Technology Co., Ltd. for verification of sales. Mei Wan replied: "we did not publish data for this March 8 festival promotion. The business is relatively normal, similar to the previous major promotion events. It is mainly divided into wedding, maternal and baby, life, snacks, fashion & etc.”

Although Li Jiaqi's reply is relatively low-key, by looking at the data displayed in Li Jiaqi's live streaming studio, the pre-sale data for the March 8th Festival is particularly impressive.

On the evening of February 27 the first S-class promotion of 2022 - Tmall March 8 Queen's Day pre-sale event was officially launched. Li Jiaqi's live streaming studio also launched the first March 8th festival pre-sale in the same evening.

Li Jiaqi's first March 8 festival presale session in his live streaming studio was 7 hours and 22 minutes long, and nearly 279 products were listed. Most of them are beauty products, including domestic and foreign brands such as La Mer, Lancôme, SkinCeuticals, Proya, Dr. lrean Eras, as well as classic hit products such as Estée Lauder Little Brown Bottle and La Mer Repair Serum.

In terms of pricing, the products in the live streaming studio are also quite attractive. Although some products are not directly on sale, the promotion method of buy one get one for free is basically equivalent to selling at a 50% discount of the regular price. For example, the price of Estée Lauder Perfectionist Pro Treatment in Tmall flagship store is 1050 yuan / 50ml, and the price for same product in Li Jiaqi's live streaming studio on the first presale day is 1050 yuan / 100ml (buy one get one free, the free product comes in the same packaging). Another example is Elizabeth Arden Retinol capsule serum priced at 680 yuan / 60 capsules, and Li’s live streaming studio price is 680 yuan / 120 capsules (with extra 7 free capsules).

Such a preferential price, coupled with the selection of "ace" products, made Li Jiaqi appear on Weibo hot search multiple times before Li’s first March 8 festival pre-sale activity. Many consumers were also eagerly awaiting the first pre-sale, so that on the first pre-sale day the number of consumers pouring into the live streaming studio was twice that of the usual live streaming sessions.

Some insiders said that there were clues that Li Jiaqi's March 8 festival first pre-sale can achieve such a high result. “Compared with “taking a certain amount off after spending certain amount” promotion activities of the platform, Li Jiaqi's discounts were more simple and straightforward. First, Li provided consumers with an ultra-low shopping threshold; Li did not require full orders or bundles. The buy one get one free offer for big brands and hit products can be seen directly. Second, Li Jiaqi took on part of the market share after 'Viya faded out'. In the major promotion events, Li Jiaqi's overwhelming advantage in pricing and products selections naturally made consumers favor him. ”

"The sales numbers are quite reasonable, and it is the result of the joint efforts of many parties." The Head of Operations of the brand Dr. lrean Eras, who participated in the pre-sale, told the Cosmetics Business Online (CBO) reporter that the brand's hand cream sold more than 200,000 pieces in this pre-sale activity, and the GMV reached more than 5 million yuan. "The effect is ideal, which is the result of the joint efforts of the host, the brand, and the platform."

In this regard, the head of Dr. lrean Eras brand operations analyzed three factors. First, as one of the main promotion events planned by Tmall in the first half of the year, the platform gave reasonable traffic support and warm-up publicity for it. Second, Li Jiaqi, as the head super host on the platform, has a certain fan base and strong operational capabilities. "Before the pre-sale began there were three warming up waves, and consumers knew a lot about this pre-sale." Third, the good co-operations of the brands, including products, prices, conversion and publicity of private domain traffic, etc., all have given Li Jiaqi good support.

02

The Rise of E-Commerce Multi-platform

Beauty "Big Promotion" Tends to be Diversified and Differentiated

The March 8th Festival is the core promotion node in the first half of the year. In addition to the attention received from the head hosts, the March 8 Festival promotion has also provoked fierce competition on platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, Douyin, and Kuaishou.

“In the fierce competition, these promotional models from different platforms also show diversified characteristics due to differences of the platforms.” Cheng Yingqi, Founder of Blispring Chewing Gum Toothpaste, said that due to the rise of social platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou, the pattern of traditional e-commerce promotions is changing. "For example, ‘search e-commerce’ like Taobao and Tmall mainly work on the intensive cultivation & recommendation for consumers and the promotion & operation of the platform. The ‘interests e-commerce’ platforms, such as Douyin, mainly work on the creation of personalized products. The ‘relationship e-commerce’ of Kuaishou works on co-operation with key influencers, as well as the strengthening and improvement of fan stickiness.".

During this Year’s Tmall March 8 Queen’s Day, the pre-sale period is from February 27 - 8pm to March 4 - 6pm. The warm-up period is from March 2 - 8pm to March 4 - 8 pm. The hot sale period is from March 4 - 8pm to March 8. The pre-sale sub-venues are respectively equipped with featured venues, tens of billions in RMB subsidies, digital home appliances, international direct sales, Taiwan venue, Hong Kong venue, etc.. All products in the venues can participate in the corresponding cross-store “takes certain amount off after certain amount spent” activity.

Specifically, Tmall's promotion activity takes 20 yuan off for every 200 yuan spent. Taobao's promotion activity takes 10 yuan off for every 150 yuan spent, or 50 yuan off for each 1000 yuan spent. From March 4 - 8 pm to March 8 during March 8 Queen's Day sales event, when users purchase " March 8 Queen's Day" marked products, they can participate in the cross-store “take 20 yuan off for every 200 yuan spent” promotion activity without limitation.

Jing Dong beauty has started a daily peak period in the super category. Jing Dong beauty virtual host "Xiaomei" was launched for the first time, appearing in more than 20 big-name beauty brands live streaming studios, such as YSL, L'Oréal, OLAY, and Kiehl's, and "Xiaomei" had her live streaming debut.

"Xiaomei" is a virtual host created by JD Beauty and a third-generation "intelligent" simulation digital human. Compared with cartoons or 3D model virtual hosts with rigid voices and stiff body movements, "Xiaomei" brings consumers a more realistic and smooth live streaming experience.

"Xiaomei" can continuously live streaming for 24 hours, helping consumers to discover good products anytime and anywhere, while answering consumers' questions in the live streaming studio with professional beauty knowledge and explanation skills, to create an efficient and accurate purchase experience. In the process of live streaming, each frame of "Xiaomei" is generated by AI in the form of a handheld product display, with a real-life tone for product explanation, simulation trial, and more realistic feelings, to bring consumers a better live streaming experience.

Douyin E-commerce has launched a special zone that highlights "Her Power", which connects quality merchants, excellent female talents and consumers. While meeting the needs of the public for quality shopping, “Her Power” zone conveys the warm power of female practitioners from book experts, craftsmen and new farmers. The 11-day event runs from February 26 to March 8. During the event, the zone will cover cosmetics, clothing, personal care, home cleaning, books and handicrafts and other categories of products, providing a more efficient and personalized shopping experience.

Kuaishou launched the "March 8 Happy Season Spring Promotion Activity" during the March 8th Festival. In this event Kuaishou E-commerce will provide hierarchical resource support for core merchants, covering all levels, and give public domain traffic and cash incentives to merchants who sign up to participate in the event to help with their long-term growth. The "March 8 Happy Season" activity was officially started on February 9. February 9 to February 26 was the signing up period, during which merchants could sign up to participate in the activity, and formulate activity goals and play methods, complete the preparation of "five plates", and lay the foundation for the live streaming promotion. From February 26 to March 8 it is the actual event period, and merchants can keep up with the pace of the event step by step, complete all domain marketing and conversions to sales. 

03

Traditional E-Commerce VS Traffic E-Commerce

Complement Each Other to "Three-Dimensional" Brand Sales

Although the hosts of each platform are busy in the big promotions, on the one hand, consumers' enthusiasm for large promotions has shown a trend of cooling off year by year. On the other hand, traditional e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com are also facing the problem of consumer traffic being diverted by latecomers such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Pinduoduo.

"This is an inevitable trend. Due to the involution between brands to brands, platforms to platforms, and between promotional methods, consumers' sensitivity and curiosity to major promotions are reduced. At present this is only a situation in the adjustment period. In the future it will definitely develop to be more stable. In the process of adjustment new dividends and opportunities will show up." Cheng Yingqi, Founder of Blispring Chewing Gum Toothpaste, believes.

In this regard, the Dr. Irean Eras Operations Head also agreed. He believes that the involution of brands and platforms has influenced consumers' attitudes towards big promotions. At the same time, the rise of live streaming such as Douyin and Kuaishou has made consumers feel that there are promotion sales every day, and their attention to the promotion and its price has decreased significantly. "In this process, it is a permanent solution for the brands to return to the deep cultivation of products and the operation of the private domain.".

Since consumers' enthusiasm for the "big promotions" is decreasing, can new platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou seize a wave of new dividends in the "big promotions"?

"For traditional e-commerce big promotion can enhance fan stickiness, precipitate fans, and create a closed loop." “Interests e-commerce” such as Douyin and Kuaishou is more 'explosive'. The two are mutually reinforcing in the process of "big promotion". One reflects the precipitation, staying power and foundation of the brands, and the other reflects the explosive power and personality characteristics of the products. Cheng Yingqi believes that there are opportunities for new platforms, but traditional e-commerce platforms are still the main battlefield, and its closed-loop brand building is the basis for the steady development of brands.

Dr. Irean Eras is also a new emerging cutting-edge brand, the Head of Operations said that there are still dividends on the Douyin and Kuaishou platforms, but this dividend is realized through different ways of playing, such as brand self-live streaming, experts sub live streaming, and linkage with head hosts.

“Our brand has just started on Douyin, and through the experts sub live streaming and other methods, sales exceeded several million yuan in February. Although this figure is still very small, you can see the rapid increase in sales. For new emerging cutting-edge brands, in the Douyin ecology, there can be a very good and fast entry point. At present, this year our GMV on Douyin is impressive.” The person in charge said.

However, the Head of Operations of Dr. lrean Eras stressed that this does not mean that traditional e-commerce platforms such as Tmall have lost their competitive advantage. For the brands side, Tmall is a must-compete platform. Tmall is also the only platform that has all international brands settled in it, and its advantages are huge, whether it is in operations or supporting service methods.