Luxury归档 -

We recently wrapped up our exclusive webinar “Rethinking Omnichannel Luxury Marketing for Chinese Consumers: At Home and Abroad,” hosted by YOYI TECH, which sparked some of the most meaningful conversations we’ve had this year.

Joined by forward-thinking experts from Digital Luxury Group (DLG) and LinkFlow, we explored how luxury brands can navigate shifting consumer values, data-driven personalization, and the evolving omnichannel ecosystem in China. As we heard from each speaker and panelist, the path forward isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing it smarter. And we believe YOYI TECH is uniquely positioned to help brands lead that change.

Setting the Stage: Understanding China’s Luxury Consumers

Opening the webinar, Pablo Mauron from DLG offered a sharp and timely perspective on how China’s luxury market is.

As Pablo pointed out, the future of luxury in China is neither linear nor predictable. While the country remains a key growth driver for global luxury brands, the consumer landscape has become more polarized and complex than ever. At one end, there’s continued appetite for prestige, novelty, and self-expression. At the other, a growing group of consumers are showing signs of value sensitivity, prudent spending, and cautious attitudes toward big purchases.

Pablo emphasized the need to move away from monolithic consumer definitions. For example, today’s affluent Chinese consumers aren’t defined solely by income, but also by mindset and behavior. More importantly, luxury isn’t always about visible status anymore — it’s increasingly about emotional return on investment: what value or meaning a product brings to someone’s personal identity, lifestyle, or values.

One insight that stood out was the disconnection between influence and transaction. Pablo noted that while luxury sales still often happen in physical spaces, most of the brand discovery, validation, and emotional imprinting happens well before the store, especially on platforms like rednote or Douyin. The consumer journey has become highly decentralized, and brands must ensure they are present across fragmented, yet high-intent digital touchpoints.

He also shared a cultural shift: consumers today are not just buying luxury. They’re buying what luxury means to them. And that meaning is shaped by content, context, and community. Whether a brand is perceived as aspirational, relatable, or culturally fluent can influence purchase decisions more than the product alone.

For us at YOYI TECH, Pablo’s presentation affirmed what we see across campaigns: brands that perform best are those that don’t just “advertise” luxury — they orchestrate nuanced narratives that reach consumers early, meaningfully, and in the right environment. As the lines blur between commerce, media, and community, there’s never been a greater need for precision storytelling powered by real audience intelligence.

Our Take: AI-Powered Orchestration That Elevates Luxury

At YOYI TECH, we’ve long believed that AI and data orchestration are the most powerful tools luxury brands can use to evolve alongside their consumers, and our International Managing Director, Andy Ng, shared exactly how.

In his talk, Andy walked through how we help luxury brands move from fragmented media planning to full-funnel, AI-powered orchestration. Using our integrated marketing engine combining DSP, DMP, creative automation, and optimization tools, we’re able to deliver personalized luxury experiences at scale.

A key highlight from Andy’s talk was the idea of “Precision + Relevance”. He emphasized that precision targeting isn’t just about reaching the right user, but about doing it in the right context, with the right creative, and at the right moment. For luxury, where brand equity is built not only through exposure but through experience, this level of orchestration is critical.

Andy also called out how YOYI TECH’s engine enables the generation of multi-dimensional personas, allowing advertisers to move beyond demographic targeting to behavioral, interest-based, and intent-based groupings — all updated dynamically through AI models. This ensures creative assets are matched to the emotional and functional motivations of each persona, allowing brands to deliver personalized storytelling at scale.

Owning the Relationship: The Power of Private Domain

From there, the conversation moved into an equally important space: private domain strategy. Chao Zheng, the product VP of LinkFlow (YOYI TECH) provided a great perspective on how brands can create more meaningful, long-term relationships by investing in their own customer data infrastructure.

His point on proactive personalization stood out. He shared how a premium fashion brand was able to identify VIPs who hadn’t interacted in 90 days — and instead of waiting for churn, the brand triggered one-to-one touchpoints via WeCom and exclusive offers. This is where the intersection of data and brand care becomes most powerful.

For us at YOYI TECH, this topic aligns perfectly with how we view first-party data strategy: not just as a CRM or loyalty play, but as a core marketing asset. The ability to unify online and offline data, and then activate it through dynamic media channels, is what turns private domain into a competitive advantage.

In Conversation: A Playbook for the Future

During the panel session, we had the chance to go deeper with our speakers about what it really takes to succeed in today’s landscape. And there was clear alignment on one key idea: Precision. Intimacy. Intelligence. Not as buzzwords, but as real capabilities.

Pablo reminded us that brand storytelling must reflect local emotion and relevance, not just translated ideas. Andy added that AI’s role is not only to optimize, but to predict, to help brands be ready for every intent signal, not just react to it. And Chao made a strong case for viewing CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) as the true north of any luxury strategy.

As the moderator, we were proud to guide a conversation that didn’t just summarize trends — it challenged assumptions and offered tangible direction for marketers looking to lead in 2025.

This webinar made one thing clear: growth in China’s luxury market won’t come from media volume, it will come from intelligent orchestration, brand-consumer intimacy, and data-led creativity.

At YOYI TECH, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this shift. With a powerful AI engine, integrated omnichannel platforms, and deep China expertise, we’re helping luxury brands create the next generation of consumer experiences — personalized, precise, and predictive.

If you’re ready to turn your China strategy into an intelligent growth engine, let’s talk. We’d love to help. Contact us at marketing@yoyi.com.cn and let’s start building your brand’s next chapter.

In recent years, China’s luxury market has faced significant challenges. Traditional luxury consumption has cooled, with declining performance, frequent store closures, and layoffs. While China is still considered a long-term growth engine, consumer confidence has yet to fully rebound in the short term, and high-net-worth individuals are becoming increasingly cautious with their purchases. Brands must abandon the illusion of “automatic growth” and confront the core issue of “declining traffic.”

Francesca Bellettini, Deputy CEO of Kering Group, noted during the company’s earnings expressed that their challenge is to improve conversion without diluting brand equity or resorting to heavy discounting.

To this end, some brands have turned to high-frequency entry-level products such as fragrances, beauty items, and scarves to attract foot traffic and drive conversion for higher-priced, less frequently purchased items, thereby stabilizing their market foundation.

E-Commerce Observation: rednote Emerges as a Second Battleground for Luxury

Traditional shelf-based e-commerce lacks the communicative depth needed to convey luxury brand value. However, rednote has emerged as a key breakthrough platform due to the strong overlap between its user base and the target demographic for luxury goods.

According to the 2024 QianGua rednote User Behavior Report:

17%+ are urban Gen Z (digital natives living in top-tier cities, fond of online shopping)
9%+ are urban white-collar workers (primarily born in the ’90s, convenience-driven)
7%+ are youth from lower-tier cities (with more disposable income and a trend-following mindset)
6% are refined mothers and urban middle-class
3% are silver-haired urbanites and middle-aged individuals from smaller towns

As of 2024, rednote boasts 300 million monthly active users, with 70% female ratio. Users born after 1995 and 2000 account for 85%, and users from first- and second-tier cities make up 50%. This young, high-spending user base provides an ideal foundation for luxury brands to precisely reach their target audience.

Rednote further strengthens this with a segmentation model based on the relationships between people, needs, and products, identifying six core lifestyle personas relevant to luxury:

Luxury Lifestyle Enthusiasts: Mostly 35+, see luxury as a status symbol that reflects their social standing, prioritizing exclusivity and highly personalized experiences.
Milestone Rewarders: Typically in early or rising career stages, associate luxury with meaningful milestones and treat themselves to premium products on special occasions.
Trendsetters in Luxury: Primarily under 35, see luxury as a form of self-expression and use high-fashion to showcase unique aesthetics and personality.
Quiet Luxury Connoisseurs: Also under 35, but favor understated elegance, viewing luxury as a refined expression of everyday life and personal taste.
Luxury Beginner: Mainly under 25, view iconic luxury items as social “passports” that help them integrate into new circles.
Circle Expanding Activists: Ambitious individuals under 25, leveraging luxury goods as tools to build networks and enhance professional presence.

Miu Miu’s Winning Formula: Lifestyle Marketing on Rednote Drives Breakout Growth

Miu Miu has achieved standout growth through strategic use of social media. After posting a remarkable 93.2% year-over-year sales increase in 2024, the brand continued to lead the luxury sector with 60% growth in Q1 2025, ranking second on Lyst’s Global “Hottest Brands” Index. The brand’s aesthetic blends a variety of styles—Y2K retro, quiet luxury, balletcore, and “rich girl” elegance—into a distinctive visual identity.

Its success is deeply tied to marketing strategies on platforms like rednote.

01 Viral Products: Rebellious Aesthetics Capturing Gen Z

Miu Miu partnered with former Balenciaga stylist Lotta Volkova to launch daring pieces like “underwear as outerwear,” low-rise mini skirts, and ballet flats. These counter-mainstream designs resonate with Gen Z’s desire for individuality and “social currency.”

From the viral midriff-baring looks in 2022 to the vintage college and ballet fusion styles in 2024, Miu Miu continues to capture attention. The brand also uses a centralized data system to monitor social buzz and identify breakout products within 72 hours. Each season, 1–2 “experimental pieces” (e.g., crystal socks) are released, with production volume adjusted based on social media response.

02 Expanding Visibility: Celebrity Endorsements & Localized Events

To appeal to Chinese consumers, Miu Miu signed Gen Z actress Liu Haocun as an ambassador. Her influence helped ignite a trend around the “Miu Girl” look across Instagram and Douyin. The brand also curated offline experiences aligned with rednote’s “check-in” culture—such as a Lunar New Year vinyl signing with artist Liu Boxin, flower boat cruises in Guangzhou’s Liwan Lake, and ice skating events at Beijing’s Shichahai—bridging online and offline engagement.

03 All-Ages Campaigns: Breaking Age and Gender Barriers

Miu Miu challenged traditional norms by featuring 70-year-old retired doctor Qin Huilan and 85-year-old actress Wu Yanshu on the runway. The brand also produced 29 short films in its “Women’s Stories” series and hosts Miu Miu Musings salons, addressing social topics and engaging high-net-worth, mature audiences.

04 Social Media Buzz Building

Miu Miu actively shares fashion shoots and celebrity street styles on rednote, promoting hashtags like #miumiugirls to encourage user-generated content (UGC). According to McKinsey, 70% of luxury shoppers consult KOL content before visiting physical stores. Miu Miu’s “dual-channel synergy” strategy successfully converts online engagement into offline purchases.

As traditional growth models lose momentum, rednote—with its highly aligned user base and content influence—has become a core battleground for luxury brands. Miu Miu’s case demonstrates that by capturing youth culture, crafting age-inclusive narratives, and executing deep social media engagement, brands can achieve remarkable growth in the Chinese market.

Looking ahead, luxury brands must deepen their cultural resonance—connecting product value with identity and emotional needs—to lead the next wave of social-first marketing.

Source of featured image: Photo by Yves Cedric Schulze on Unsplash