China Cross-Border E-Commerce on a Video Social Platform Used by 600 Million People Daily!

This series introduces business opportunities in China cross-border e-commerce.

This installment focuses on short-form video social platforms, which are expected to expand as the new main battlefield for e-commerce.

<Table of Contents>
▼ Information finds people, not the other way around. Douyin's "Interest Commerce"
▼Seeding and Harvesting Are Fundamental in Social Commerce Too!
▼ "Speed-Driven Multi-Content Creation" is Key to Selling Products on Douyin!

People don't seek information; information seeks people. Douyin's "Interest Commerce"

Mizuno: Douyin is now a massive platform virtually everyone in China knows. From a business perspective, I believe its major strengths lie in its "recommendation engine," which delivers content tailored to individual interests, and the "Interest Commerce" that evolved from this foundation. Could you explain again what Douyin advocates as Interest Commerce?

Takahashi: Traditionally, when people acquired information or bought things online, the mainstream approach was "search-based behavior" where they actively sought out information themselves. Interest Commerce, however, is the exact opposite concept—it's an approach where information seeks out and connects with people. Reversing this arrow from "person → information" to "information → person" was the beginning of a major game-changer.

Douyin uses its own highly advanced recommendation engine to deliver "content matching user needs," seamlessly connecting them to purchasing products right then and there.

Mizuno: Douyin is a social platform where users post videos and enjoy interacting, but the high-precision interest commerce happening there represents a new trend not seen in traditional e-commerce. Is commerce on Douyin increasing?

Takahashi: Yes. On Douyin, creators can add "product tags" within their videos, enabling direct purchases from those tags. The number of videos with such product tags, as well as the volume of "live commerce" videos using real-time streaming, has been increasing since 2020. There's a palpable sense that interest-based commerce—both the exposure to information and the act of purchasing products on Douyin—is becoming commonplace and ingrained among users.

Mizuno: Are there any categories that sell particularly well on Douyin?

Takahashi: Sales are gradually growing in categories that are relatively well-suited to e-commerce, such as "apparel," "cosmetics," "daily necessities," and "food." Regarding cosmetics, even lesser-known local brands have achieved monthly sales of approximately 1.7 billion yen solely on Douyin.

Mizuno: 1.7 billion yen monthly for a non-famous brand is an incredible figure! What kind of content do these brands distribute?

Takahashi: They aim for "multi-content"—a mix of catch-up videos, sale information, and branding videos. Since user interests and preferences vary, they prepare diverse content types anticipating this.

Another example I'd like to share is a seasoning brand. They first used video content to spark user interest—cooking videos showing homemade stir-fries—and this content drove massive sales.

Mizuno: On Douyin, content recommended to the right users sparks their "interest," leading directly to "purchase." It's clear how the funnel is condensed—users see it, want it instantly, and buy it.

Case study of a Chinese seasoning manufacturer. Clicking the product cart button embedded within the content takes users directly to the product page for purchase.

Seeding and harvesting are fundamental in social commerce too!

Mizuno: You mentioned a game-changer earlier. A completely different trend from traditional marketing—which relies on massive advertising budgets to build awareness—is emerging within a single platform. Even small and medium-sized manufacturers without abundant advertising budgets might be able to tap into the huge Chinese market with limited resources, depending on their content. After all, Douyin has 600 million daily users.

Takahashi: I agree. Beyond Douyin's highly accurate recommendation system that delivers content to the right audience, a major appeal is that social commerce doesn't follow a typical funnel like "Awareness → Interest → Comparison → Purchase." Instead, it connects directly to purchase through an extremely short funnel: "Awareness → Interest → Purchase." The seasoning example from earlier illustrates this perfectly (laughs).

Mizuno: On the other hand, I feel that in recent years, the image of Chinese "spending sprees" and certain news stories like "live commerce sales hitting over a billion yen in a single session" have taken precedence, creating a mistaken perception that "high-quality Japanese products will sell unconditionally in the Chinese market."

Takahashi: That's right. The quality of domestic manufacturing in China has also improved significantly in recent years, so it might be a bit hasty to assume "Japanese-made products will sell" based on perceptions from just a few years ago.

Mizuno: What strategies are Japanese companies actually using to succeed in cross-border e-commerce on Douyin?

Takahashi: Companies that strongly emphasize the fundamental marketing cycle—thoroughly implementing Seeding before moving to Harvesting, and repeating this process—are the ones succeeding.

Especially now, with the pandemic preventing Chinese consumers from visiting Japan and experiencing Japanese products firsthand, the key lies in how content can cultivate that "seeding" to build trust with users.

Mizuno: Focusing solely on sales or harvesting tactics without solid groundwork in "trust-building" won't create a positive cycle. Especially for Generation Z and beyond, who will drive future consumption, they tend to judge things based on a brand's worldview, storytelling, and content quality rather than "which country's product it is." This might not be unique to China.

T akahashi: Yes. In that sense, Douyin allows for multidimensional, rich expression through video and is a platform that maximizes the "power of content." Then, by creating better content, the recommendation engine ensures it reaches the right users, turning them into fans—that's the cycle.

The key to selling products on Douyin is "rapid multi-content production"!

Mizuno: To succeed with cross-border e-commerce on Douyin in China, creating good content is essential. So, what should companies focus on?

Takahashi: There are several factors, but the critical point on Douyin is the "speed" of content strategy. Companies often get bogged down trying to create videos focused on quality and world-building, spending too much time on production. On the Douyin platform, it's more effective to upload various types of content frequently and test what resonates.

It's less about the traditional PDCA cycle and more about rapidly cycling through Do→Check→Action ("DCA cycle") while simultaneously keeping the "Plan" phase continuously running.

Mizuno: Precisely because the Interest Commerce algorithm can deliver content to diverse users, it's more effective to optimize through rapid cycles rather than narrowing down creative options from the start, thereby identifying the optimal target audience.

Takahashi: Exactly. Rather than meticulously defining demographics from the start, it's more effective to enter the market with a minimal start, test the results of multi-content distribution, and then refine.

Of course, to grow brand fans, there will come a time when meticulously crafted content is essential. But since Douyin also sees rough videos go viral, balance is key.

I personally feel that Douyin, which demands this multi-content approach, has a high affinity with Dentsu Inc., which excels at marketing and creative work based on a deep understanding of the client's brand.

Mizuno: Thank you. As Mr. Takahashi mentioned, creative and branding through multi-content is precisely an area where we can leverage the Dentsu Group's accumulated insights and expertise to provide support.

Furthermore, the strength of the Dentsu Group lies in our ability to provide comprehensive marketing support—not just shop operations and product sales, but also overall business strategy design and PDCA cycles. Douyin is a platform enabling end-to-end marketing, from seeding activities like branding to harvesting results like conversions. We aim to closely collaborate with Douyin to support Japanese companies' marketing efforts in China.

Japanese companies interested in Douyin content creation or other aspects of doing business in China are encouraged to contact Dentsu Inc. CXC!

Dentsu Inc. China Xover Center
&nbsp;＜ dentsucxc@dentsu.co.jp＞