Target group Generation Z: COSSMA

photo: AlessandroBiascioli/Shutterstock.com

European beauty brands are in great demand in the Chinese market. The so-called Generation Z is characterised by a high propensity to consume as well as purchasing power. Wenjing Wang presents the results of a recent study.

table 1: Top five brands favoured by Generation Z. tables: Hylink

Generation Z is one of the most discussed topics when it comes to marketing. Young people born between 1995 and 2003 are now gradually reaching the age of purchasing power and are becoming the central target group for brands. With 226 million potential customers (16% of the Chinese population), Generation Z in China is so large that it alone can decide on success or failure for brands and products in China.

A typical persona of Gen Z consumer: trend setters yet still relying on influencers’ recommendations, unconventional with strong personalities, digital but highly social – the generation Z consumers in China are becoming the main force driving cosmetic consumption trends, and having completely different consuming concepts and behaviours than any other generation before. As a result, “why do they shop?” and “how do the shop?” become thought provoking questions. Hylink, an independent Chinese digital marketing agency, together with Sina Weibo, an influential Chinese social media platform, conducted a survey on Chinese Gen Z’ consumption perspectives and trends, for which, 2,855 Chinese people born between 1995 and 2003 were surveyed to formulate the analysis and results. A few key findings of the report to Gen Z’s shopping trends:

European premium cosmetic brands are preferred by Gen Z.
There are a diverse range of motivations behind Gen Z’s cosmetic purchases, that are influenced heavily by KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) and influencers’ recommendations.
Gen Z’s willingness to increase online spending is significant, 21% of Gen Z shop almost every day online.

Preferring European luxury cosmetic brands

Among all international cosmetics brands, including makeup, skin care and fragrances, a strong preference of European luxury brands were shown, with French brands leading the trend. The German cosmeceutical brands are loved by the niche group and on the rise. In terms of average purchasing price and frequency, for makeup products, the average single product purchase price is 49 Euros. Also, on average,more than 60% of high-income groups spend on cosmetics twelve times a year. While for skincare products, it is on average 54 Euros and almost once a month, fragrances have the highest average purchase price around 61 Euros, but less frequent.

Influencing factors of purchase decisions

There is a diverse range of motivations behind Gen Z’s cosmetic purchases. For daily consumption, Gen Z have a comprehensive checklist (see table 2), among which, the top three influencing factors are: brand advertising / publicity, product features and price. Compared to the fashion sector, Gen Z’s cosmetic purchasing decisions are even more influenced by influencers’ recommendations. As there is too much information about brands’ offerings and too many choices, the opinions of celebrities and wellknown spokespersons are priceless. Similarly, the recommendations of Gen Z’s closest friends and colleagues are also important and persuasive because of their powerful personal connections. The recent rise

of the KOC (Key Opinion Consumer), an imitation of the KOL, allows professional amateurs and consumers to convince others of what to buy through their own recommendations. They often appear down-to-earth and grounded, appealing to Gen Z. Nevertheless, many of their consumption motivations are still tied to impulse shopping to relieve stress.

table 3: Gen Z’ online shopping frequency and the preferred reasons. tables: Hylink

Willingness to increase online spending

One of Gen Z’s light-hearted sayings is: “Whenever surfing online, something will be bought”. Around 21% of survey takers shop almost daily online, while on average, Gen Z shop 13 times a month online, and the frequency of women and high-income groups is even higher. 66% of them shop online because there are ‘more choices,’ and 60% value the ‘door-todoor delivery’ and ‘saving time.’ ‘Convenient price comparisons’ and ‘better prices’ are also considered as the main purpose of online shopping. There is no obvious difference between the purchase channels of the different product categories. Of course, with the diversification of e-commerce platforms and the rise of derivative social e-commerce platforms such as Little Red Book, the frequently used purchasing channels by Gen Z, varied from the initial vertical social platforms (WeChat and Weibo) to sharing communities and short video sites. Gen Z can recommend products to friends and share products from comprehensive shopping websites and apps to social platforms, thanks to the powerful and well-developed social shopping tools. Generation Z’s cosmetic shopping trends are very diversified, leaving lots of room for innovative and creative ideas for brands and marketers. It is vital to continually re-evaluate the trends, as they change and evolve consistently and fast.