Successful strategies adopted by foreign brands to thrive in the Chinese e-commerce Market

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the strategies adopted by international brands to succeed and prosper in the ever-changing Chinese online market. To better understand the choices that brands, leaders in their fields, adopt to perform at their best on the main Chinese online platforms, it is first necessary to understand how China has become the largest e-commerce market in the world. In the first chapter, I analyze how the positive approach of the Chinese government has contributed to the spread of the internet and how the gradual opening of China to the rest of the world, thanks to economic growth, has influenced the habits of Chinese consumers. The second chapter is an overview of the situation of the marketplaces and platforms of the main players, analyzing their strengths and what makes them so attractive for foreign companies. In the final part of the chapter, I report the decision-making process of the companies that intend to market their products and services on the Chinese online market, underlining the importance of trade partners. The third chapter is dedicated to tailor-made marketing strategies for the Chinese market that leverage the main trends, such as collaborations with KOL, live streaming, social commerce and gamification. The last chapter focuses on the sustainability and repeatability of certain strategies, especially from the point of view of brands that are now turning to the Chinese market.