2023 China Brand Consumption Trend Insight Report

Wen | Xiao Mingchao-Trend Observation

Brand is the comprehensive embodiment of the competitiveness of enterprises and even the country. China brand, standing at the cusp of the changes of the times, has seized the opportunity of innovation and development, and has shown vigorous vitality in the new round of industrial revolution. China enterprises, which have the courage to break through and pursue Excellence, are anchoring high-quality development and constantly pushing brand competitiveness, reputation and influence to a new level.

In order to track the changes of China brand in consumers’ lives and explore the development path of China brand, Zhimeng Consulting Agency published "Distance and Path-Investigation Report on China Brand Consumption Behavior" and "Trust and Breakthrough: Research Report on China Brand Consumption Behavior and Attitude in 2020" on the occasion of China Brand Day in 2017 and 2020, respectively, which reported the image of China brand in consumers’ minds and how to break through in the future.

On May 10th, 2023, we ushered in the seventh China Brand Day. After three years of epidemic, how did China brand develop? What factors are behind it, promoting the development of China brand? What are the inspirations behind the progress of China brand? Zhimeng Consulting released the research on the consumption trend of China brands, and launched "Stand on the Tide, Leap Forward": 2023 China Brand Consumption Trend Insight Report. Let’s take a look at the development and changes of China brands in recent years and the breakthrough direction in the future.

From "Choice" to "Fans": The weight of China brand in consumers’ life is increasing.

In recent years, China brands in many fields have been favored by consumers. In 2023, 79.9% of consumers increased their consumption of China brands, which was higher than 73.3% in 2020. Consumers of all ages increased their consumption of China brands by a large margin. Compared with 2020, the increase of China brand consumption by the post-90s and Z generations was more prominent.

The survey shows that in 2023, quality improvement, higher cost performance, national fashion elements, better understanding of China consumers and strong cultural self-confidence of the country will become the top five factors. With the improvement of comprehensive national strength, China brands are constantly pursuing innovation, paying attention to the upgrading of quality, and strengthening the publicity of brand stories. "Made in China" has shed the prejudice of roughness and inferiority, which is not only "cheap" but also "good". Chinese people are willing to cast their "trust" votes. For consumers, China brand has become the first choice in their hearts.

With the continuous innovation of brands in various industries in China and the continuous construction of brand culture, consumers’ impression of China brand in 2023 is no longer limited to "good quality" and "practicality", but consumers’ perception of China brand includes "profound cultural background", "ingenious manufacturing", "trustworthy" and "reliable quality", which shows that the soft power and hard power of China brand have been recognized by consumers.

"Promotion" and "Joint Force": Five Driving Forces of Brand Development in China

Looking back at the rise of China brand, the driving force not only comes from the deep participation of Chinese enterprises in the background of economic globalization, but also lies in the driving force of their own development, including the leading of well-known brands, the diversification of brand innovation, the rise of regional brands, the development of new consumer brands and the creation and guidance of brand consumption atmosphere.

Driving force 1: The influence of leading brands has increased, which has promoted consumers’ love for China brands.

According to the survey, with a score of five out of ten, consumers’ overall love for China brands reached 4.17 points. Among the nominations of China brands that consumers like, leading brands in industries such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Haier, Midea, Anta and Li Ning are included. The influence of well-known brands in various industries has also promoted consumers’ love for China brands.

Driving force 2: Diversified innovation of brands has enhanced consumers’ trust in China brands.

Whether it’s focusing on the national trend, excavating traditional culture, "replacing" international brands through cost performance, or even innovating through hard-core technology, Chinese people’s brand confidence in China is quietly growing. China brand’s innovation breakthrough in product strength, cultural strength, development strength, innovation strength, influence and other aspects has made consumers’ trust in China brand continuously improve.

Driving force 3: New consumer brands inject innovation vitality and promote the development of China brands.

With the diversification of consumer demand, consumers tend to buy brands with uniqueness and individuality. Therefore, in recent years, many emerging new consumer brands have attracted more and more attention, broadening the boundaries of China brands and injecting innovative vitality into China brands. According to the survey, in 2023, 89.6% of consumers have bought new consumer brands, especially on the Internet platform, and many new consumer brands have achieved a certain penetration rate.

Driving force 4: The rise of regional brands has become a new force to promote the development of China brands.

According to the survey, more influential brands in the region have become consumers’ first choice, and 60.6% of consumers have bought characteristic brands in many regions in the past year, an increase of 10% compared with 2020. The development of Internet e-commerce and express delivery service has broken the regional consumption restrictions, making more China brands from the region enter the consumer’s field of vision and become a new force for brand development in China.

Driving force 5: The shaping of brand consumption atmosphere has played an important role in guiding brand consumption in China.

According to the survey, 65.7% of consumers’ perception impression of China brand comes from the central media, which benefits from the authority and appeal of official endorsement. For example, CCTV launched the "Brand Power Project", Xinhua News Agency launched the "National Brand Project", Zhongtian Cat launched the national tide plan on the e-commerce platform and this year’s "China Flow Plan", and online platforms such as short videos and social media promoted the brand to be further perceived by consumers.

"Upward" and "Leap": Suggestions on the Development Strategy of China Brand in the Next Stage

With the diversification of consumer demand, consumers put forward more requirements for brands. According to the survey, only 13.5% of consumers look for specific brands and generally do not change them. Therefore, how to win the long-term development of China brands is full of opportunities and challenges.

Strategy 1: Work hard on distinctive personality, lifestyle, values and cultural connotation.

The survey shows that distinct brand ideas and attitudes, advocating consumers’ favorite lifestyle, positive values and rich cultural connotations and stories are the reasons for consumers to continue to love and choose.

In this era of rapid information dissemination and fierce competition, the brand’s unique proposition, advocated values and cultural values are becoming more and more important. If China brand wants to be welcomed by consumers and has a large number of loyal fans, it needs to work hard from its distinctive personality, lifestyle, values and cultural connotation to find a resonance point with consumers.

Strategy 2: Maintain the long-term stability of the brand’s own image

Brand loyalty is a key indicator to measure brand power, but how can we win brand loyalty? The research shows that the long-term stability of the brand’s own image, maintaining the brand’s initial intention, sincerely solving problems, stabilizing product quality and consistency of brand concept are the keys for the brand to maintain the long-term loyalty of consumers.

Therefore, for China brands, how to integrate and spread around the core values of the brand, listen to consumers’ opinions when the brand is upgraded and refreshed, and ensure the stability of product quality through establishing a good management system are all long-term tasks.

Strategy 3: continuous quality improvement, technological innovation and innovation around consumer demand

In recent years, brand building in China has entered the fast lane, and in the rapid development, quality assurance is always the primary goal of brand building. 45% of consumers expect the quality of China brand products to improve, 44.2% expect the products to have scientific and technological content, and 42.6% expect the products to be innovative in meeting the needs of life. Therefore, China brand still needs continuous quality improvement, technological innovation and innovation around consumer demand.

Strategy 4: Practice social responsibility, strengthen consumer’s individual expression and scientific and technological innovation.

The survey found that consumers will increase their goodwill towards brands by participating in social welfare and sustainability issues, emphasizing individual expression, having scientific and technological innovation elements and creating content worth sharing. Visible, China brand wants to have a better development in the future, in addition to strict quality control, in the brand value level can win the favor of consumers through high social responsibility, strong emotional resonance and new scientific and technological innovation ideas.

Although China brand has made progress in stages, it still faces many challenges. In the future, how to further enhance the competitiveness of China brand, promote the high-quality development of China brand and tell the story of China well will become the breakthrough direction of China brand in the next stage, which is not only the expectation of Chinese people, but also the mission of every China enterprise.