2021 618 e-commerce marketing report insights

This year's 618 promotion can be called the "longest 618". The pre-sale period was earlier than last year, and on June 1st it set off a small climax of "final payment day" and "good start". The choices of consumption venues are more diverse, and the battle across all platforms and ecosystems has been upgraded, further releasing consumption potential.

During the 618 period, what are the sales highlights, industry trends and new gameplay on each platform? GroupM E-Commerce was the first to review the overall situation and provide a comprehensive interpretation, and provided practical suggestions and marketing strategies for brand growth on various e-commerce platforms.

E-commerce platforms are launching 360-degree expansion to unleash growth momentum

In an environment where traffic and new user dividends are disappearing, major platforms this year have leveraged the power of the ecosystem to compete for users, linking all channels and making a comprehensive layout of "wide coverage, deep interaction, and selling good products."

1. Wide coverage

During this year’s 618, each platform fully leveraged its ecological advantages to expand new customer sources. In addition to the linkage between various channels, the platform has increased its investment in pan-entertainment content this year, from live broadcast ceremonies with luxurious star lineups and shopping carnival nights to cross-border activities between virtual idols and top IPs, constantly heating up the 618 shopping event. It is worth noting that the strong alliance between platforms has also brought many new highlights to this year's 618. For example: JD.com has joined hands with Douyin, and JD.com’s Douyin Blue V account and Douyin store can enjoy JD.com’s logistics and after-sales service without having to jump; Tmall has launched the first Douyin drama on Douyin, breaking the circle of new consumption scenarios with micro-short dramas. It may become a trend for platforms to jointly build e-commerce traffic pools.

2. Deep Interaction

Various fun interactive games are still a must-have for shopping festival promotions, and this year's games have enhanced the interactive fun. In addition, short videos, which have maintained a high growth trend in the past two years, have undoubtedly become the main force in promoting content for 618. In terms of content supply, in addition to celebrities, experts, and KOLs, everyone is a content promoter this year. Consumers are both buyers and sellers, which deepens user stickiness and interactivity.

3. Sell good products

618 is a grand event for all categories, but the platform has also put a lot of effort into vertical categories to accurately drive conversions of users in their circles. For example: JD.com focuses on Generation Z and has created a variety of check-in platforms for them, including Big Brand Factory, Special Product Z, Super IP Day, JD Super Box, Star Store Manager, etc., to penetrate the young trendy crowd; Tmall uses hot spots to circle the crowd and create a new consumption trend through the "Hot" series; Douyin uses 4 major holiday themes + special sections to help vertical categories explode. JD.com and Tmall have even launched a full-link marketing matrix for new products, expanding more new product marketing scenarios.

Brand Marketing

In response to the new changes and new gameplay on various platforms during this year's 618, GroupM E-Commerce is helping brands achieve business growth on various e-commerce platforms based on the 6T marketing key points: data-driven, strategic insights, traffic, content social networking, creativity and experience, and technology efficiency.

In the "2021 618 E-commerce Marketing Panoramic Insights" report, GroupM E-commerce provides a detailed interpretation of the marketing strategies, methodologies, tools, scenarios, resource package matrices, strategies and cases of the three major platforms of JD.com, Tmall and Douyin, providing marketers with a very practical e-commerce marketing guide.

Below is the full report

Author: GroupM China

Source: GroupM China