How Chinese Gen Z Consumers Connect With Brands

by · WWD
Silvio Campara, Xiaoyuan Fang, Yu Shijiao, and Bao Yifenglgeometry/WWD

For brands trying to reach young consumers in China, the old playbook of presenting an aspirational lifestyle may be giving way to something more personal — helping users find interests, creators and communities that feel like their own.

That was a central thread in a panel moderated by Bao Yifeng, general manager of Activation PR and cofounder of Art021 Group, featuring Xiaoyuan Fang, general manager of FMCG and Luxury at Xiaohongshu, Yu Shijiao, head of operations of beauty and luxury goods industries of Ocean Engine at Douyin, and Silvio Campara, chief executive officer of Golden Goose.

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“The core reason people stay, express themselves and even make purchases is that they come together around hobbies and interests,” said Xiaoyuan. “We have marked over 3000 distinctive interest groups on the platform, this is how users have evolved, they want to discover a new self by participating in events and activities offline,” added Xiaoyuan.

Xiaoyuan said consumers are increasingly interested in interpretations by creators — including people outside fashion — who can explain a brand in more accessible terms. “These creators can become both translators and sources of inspiration, giving audiences something to discuss beyond an official brand livestream,” said Xiaoyuan.

Yu made a related point about discovery on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

“Our users are developing increasingly sophisticated tastes and are looking for more differentiated content, we have more than 40 content verticals, and we’ve taken young people to places that many creators might not otherwise have access to, such as the development of undersea tunnels and satellite launch sites. Last year, we introduced a niche genre called blackwater photography, which captures bioluminescent plankton and other marine organisms at night,” said Yu.

“Young people love a sense of discovery — behind even the most niche interests lies a large community of like-minded people,” said Yu.

For brands, that means relevance may come less from chasing micro trends and more from making room for distinct communities and creative voices.

Campara framed authenticity as essential to that connection. “If there are no real-life stories, it will be repeating yourself. It will be boring,” said Campara, who shared that around 57 seven percent of shoppers return to the brand’s offline stores seeking opportunities to co-creation content online.

“We need to generate sentiment, bring people together — it could be in a store — and create connections and stories, and then we can amplify with social networks,” added Campara.

Xiaoyuan Fang also described fashion and luxury exhibitions and other offline brand experiences as useful “containers” for activating co-creation — but said the challenge is ensuring experience gives users substantial content that they can frame an online conversation around.