**|Tech Planet
text|Zhai Yuanyuan
During the Spring Festival, a blogger posted on the Internet that the Spring Festival homecoming ** became popular. The blogger mentioned in ** that when he returned to his hometown of Jiangxi during the Chinese New Year, he found that the people in the county were much better than those in the first-tier cities: some of the people who stayed in the county drove BMWs, and some lived in villas.
The consumption level of the county is also higher than imagined, the blogger said that it is better to buy clothes than a little bit, and the down jacket is also more than 1,000 yuan. Internet celebrity teas such as Luckin and Hey Tea, people in the city are not only familiar with them, but they are also tired of drinking them. There is even a consumption upgrade format in the county: Hema Fresh and Sam's ** stores, the store owners go to the provincial capital ** every day or two specifically for consumers in need**, and Boston lobster is in short supply. Originally, she still had a sense of superiority, and she had to admit that her return to her hometown was not for the city people to return to the village, but for the country people to go to the city.
Aside from the exaggerated elements, the current consumption level of third-tier and below new-tier cities has indeed undergone earth-shaking changes compared with the backward image in everyone's stereotype. A number of returning netizens said that they felt the impact of the county's economy when they returned to their hometowns, and everyone was richer than themselves, and they were willing to spend money, and their happiness index was higher.
In fact,The gap between the development of new-tier cities and first- and second-tier cities is indeed narrowing, and the latter is downgrading the consumption of urban residents, while the former is not only not downgrading, but is upgrading consumption.
With nearly 3,000 county-level administrative regions and more than 1,800 counties in China, there are infinite business possibilities hidden in the vast new line market. Xing Ziqiang, chief economist of Morgan Stanley China, has said that "youth in new-tier cities" will be a new force in consumption in the next decade, and it is expected that by 2030, the total consumption of third- and fourth-tier cities will reach 45 trillion yuan.
A cup of milk tea costs 10-15 yuan, a barbecue is 200 yuan, a clothing store sells hundreds or even thousands of clothes, and a movie ticket for 80 yuan, and people queuing up to buy it crowd the ticket hall. This is not a first-tier city, but a real county consumption level.
During this year's Spring Festival, whether it is in the circle of friends or on social networking, many topics with a high degree of discussion are related to the county economy. "The county town is the least concerned about consumption downgrade", "opening a snack shop in the county town can sell 2 million during the Spring Festival", "Go home and feel the impact of the county economy" and other Weibo topics have been hot.
People who return to their hometowns from first-tier cities such as "Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou" will feel particularly obvious, well-known Internet celebrity stores have captured the county, and the county catering is becoming a first-tier urbanization. Starbucks, which has always been known for its high-end, also drove into the county.
In the past, the county town, which was regarded as economically backward and dirty, now there are even many boutique coffee shops, dozens of yuan a cup, and the business seems to be very good.
In the various homecoming stories posted by netizens, there is envy of the life in the county everywhere. In the county, although the income is not as high as in the first-tier cities, there is no economic pressure such as housing and car loans, and the infrastructure is perfect, so the consumption concept will be bolder. In the society of acquaintances, people care about the sophistication of people, courtesies are still exchanged, cars, tobacco and alcohol are of high grade, and face is more important than the inside.
Unlike the consumption downgrade of young people in first-tier cities, who are delicate and do not buy big names and choose to replace them, new tier cities, including counties and towns, are experiencing a new round of consumption upgrades.
The new line of consumers has now undergone fundamental structural changes. The report shows that the proportion of young people and the proportion of people with middle and high education levels in the new line market continue to be optimized, the number of high-income and high-consumption people has increased year-on-year, the concentration of Internet users aged 18-24 is higher and continues to grow, and the educational structure continues to be optimized.
According to data from QuestMobile, in September 2023, first-tier cities accounted for 17%, and second-tier cities accounted for 291%, and third-tier cities and below accounted for the highest proportion, reaching 442%。
Another set of data also confirms the value and possibility of the new line market. The report shows that the new line market shows stronger consumption potential. From 2018 to 2022, the per capita disposable income and consumer expenditure in the new line market have shown a year-on-year growth trend. Among them, the per capita disposable income increased from 32,328 yuan to 40,613 yuan.
The economic base determines the superstructure, and the level of consumption depends on the amount of income. As of October 2023, the retail sales of urban consumer goods in 2023 reached 33,388.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 68%, and the retail sales of consumer expenditure were 5,155.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 76%。The year-on-year growth in rural areas is higher than that in urban areas, and the trend is improving.
It can be said that the value of the new line market was previously seriously undervalued. Whether it is income or consumer group, the value of new tier cities is worth revaluing. Data shows that China's third-tier cities and below account for more than 70% of the country's consumers, accounting for 59% of the country's GDP, while third-tier cities and below also contribute two-thirds of China's economic growth.
The new line market contains unlimited opportunities and possibilities, who can grab the new line market, who can seize the new growth code at the moment when the dividend is gradually peaking.
In fact, many brands have consciously redeployed to the new line market.
During the Spring Festival, the automobile brand Jietu Automobile, together with Kuaishou, launched a variety show "Fireworks Chinese Year" to visit new line markets such as Daji and villages. The program has a total of 4 episodes, each of which lasts about 5 minutes, and invites cross talk actors Sun Yue and Sun Zizhao to lead the team to take the shortcut mountain and sea L9 to explore the traditional characteristic culture of dragons in various parts of Yunnan.
From Chenggonglong Street in Kunming, Yunnan Province to Baicao Village in Yunnan, from catching up with the big market to interacting with red envelope games, "Fireworks Chinese Year" not only conveys happiness in a humorous atmosphere, but also deeply integrates humanities and cultural tourism, and at the same time promotes traditional culture.
In the form of on-site visits, superimposed on specific scenes such as Yunnan Daji, Jietu Auto staged a comprehensive product display, effectively realizing the brand's reach and coverage of the new line market.
According to the rules of the game, Sun Yue's master and apprentice went to Daji to buy New Year's goods, and they needed to match the code with Daji merchants to clear customs. After an in-depth visit to each stall, Sun Yue's master and apprentice purchased New Year's goods were packed with a full trunk with Jietu Shanhai L9. Product features such as spaciousness, speed up and family-friendly travel between destinations are also vividly demonstrated.
Coincidentally, Alipay Yue Bao also exclusively named Kuaishou's "More Than Every Year" activity during the Spring Festival. The event invited four short** creators to Zibo, Xi'an, Zhongshan, and Shenyang, which were popular on the whole network last year, to start live broadcasts, and led Lao Tie to catch up with the big gathering. The collection of local characteristics full of fireworks awakens people's memories of the Spring Festival.
In addition, Yu Bao also invited 8 head anchors with tens of millions of fans to open the live broadcast PK of New Year's goods with the five keywords of "blessing, lu, longevity, happiness and wealth" on the station. In the lively interaction, the brand successfully reached more users in the new market.
Not only Jietu Auto and Yu Bao, but also the beverage brand Minute Maid is also targeting the new line market. Different from the other two brands, Minute Maid and Kuaishou jointly created a unique "Village Evening" feast, which gathered village flower experts from 17 provinces and cities across the country, including Shaanxi, Anhui, Hunan, and Liaoning. In the process, Qinhuai lanterns, Quanzhou hairpins, glutinous rice cakes and other local traditional folk culture have also been fully displayed. Finally, on the day of the village evening, local villagers were also invited to attend, and everyone watched the party and had a reunion dinner together.
Whether it is a variety show, a live cloud gathering, or a village evening feast, brands are going deep into various new-tier cities in their own creative forms, so as to build the user's mind of the brand in the new-tier market.
Tier-1 cities are frequently shouting for consumption downgrades, overall consumption tends to be conservative, and market dividends are approaching the ceiling, making it difficult for brands to continue to gain more incremental markets in high-tier cities. Nuggets new line market, so it has become a common choice for brand growth.
How to maximize the reach of users in the new line market?
The right channels and media are undoubtedly the shortest path for brands to find the second growth curve. A number of brands such as Jietu Automobile, Yu Bao, and Minute Maid have all chosen to make efforts in Kuaishou.
The reason for this is nothing more than the unique advantages of Kuaishou in the coverage of the new line market. According to data from Questmobile, Kuaishou's share of users in first-tier and new first-tier cities continues to increase, approaching 20%. However, in comparison, people in third-tier cities and below are still Kuaishou's unique user groups, accounting for more than 60%. You must know that Kuaishou's average DAU in the third quarter of 2023 will reach 38.7 billion, through the Kuaishou brand, there is an opportunity to easily reach more than 200 million new line users.
Not only that, the proportion of Kuaishou 30-44 years old consumption backbone is higher, the number of high-consumption people has increased slightly, and the proportion of high-consumption people has increased significantly. In addition, Kuaishou is also diverse enough in terms of content scenarios, such as short dramas, short **, live broadcasts, and variety shows, which can more accurately provide marketing scenarios for brands and screen segmented groups.
JD.com is also one of the brands that has seized the new line market through Kuaishou. The new line market is an important battlefield that JD should not miss, and it has been in Kuaishou many times and strives to broaden its user boundaries.
During the Spring Festival, Jingdong has successively passed the mascot joy and Kuaishou mascot Xiaokuai's Year of the Dragon figure out of the circle, Jingdong Fashion and Kuaishou cooperated with "Dragon Night", invited a number of dragon element stars represented by international superstar Jackie Chan to release brand short films, and jointly launched the combination of "One Thousand and One Nights, Lao Tie Gala" with Kuaishou, realizing the ultra-long cycle of the brand at the key marketing nodes of the Spring Festival**.
JD Motors even co-launched a star short drama "All the Way Home" with Kuaishou. Short dramas were one of the few outlets last year, and Kuaishou's "2024 Kuaishou Spring Festival Report" shows that during the Spring Festival, short dramas have become an important leisure method for users, and the number of Kuaishou Xingmang short dramas has increased by 41% year-on-year.
The novel narrative successfully screened a group of target audiences for JD Auto. The short drama "All the Way Home" invited comedian Song Muzi as the starring role, and Qiao Shan, the spokesperson of Jingdong Car Maintenance, made a cameo. Through various scenarios such as short-distance travel, car maintenance, and car washing, the JD Auto brand is implanted into the content of the series, and then deeply connected with the new line users on the Kuaishou platform.
In addition, JD.com's maternal and child, rice, flour, grain and oil, digital and other categories of business jointly launched wonderful activities with Kuaishou during the Spring Festival. With multiple categories and scenarios, Kuaishou has verified a large number of cases and shortened marketing conversion paths, adding more certainty and possibilities for brands to tap the incremental market.
Conclusion:
The consumption upgrade of the new line market is at the right time, and behind the rise of "small town youth" and "small town lady", there are infinite business possibilities. How to seize the dividends of the new line market is the key to solving the growth anxiety of the brand at present.
In the second half of brand growth, the importance of new line market and channel selection continues to increase, and in the competition for user attention, Kuaishou has undoubtedly become one of the most important marketing positions for brands. Kunpeng Project