蘑菇AV

After a rapid rise in China, Douyin is now seeking to increase revenues per user. TikTok鈥檚 sister app Douyin had a meteoric rise in China. By the end of this year, 4 in 5 social network users in China will use Douyin. However, user growth will slow to 5.8% YoY in 2024.

YouTube has more users than Facebook, Netflix, or Spotify. But its advertising revenues do not match its vast reach. This report contextualizes the opportunities and scope for growth in various media spheres.

China is a global leader in online shopping, with high digital buyer and retail ecommerce penetration. Shoppers are comfortable buying luxury goods online and embracing livestreaming commerce.

Digital鈥檚 share of total media ad spending in Asia-Pacific will reach a milestone in 2025, surpassing $200 billion for the first time. The region鈥檚 digital ad spending will increase 8.6%, led by India, while China鈥檚 growth will slip noticeably amid the country鈥檚 economic struggles before a rebound the following year.

A series of major milestones are on tap for total media and digital media ad spending around the world in 2025, although growth will be uneven across countries and regions.

China鈥檚 retail sector will grow from government stimulus, retail鈥檚 genAI revolution will have a far-reaching impact, India鈥檚 quick commerce will heat up, China鈥檚 retailers will face pushback in the region, and Xiaohongshu will further establish itself.

Luxury brands are grappling with downturns in the US and China, the largest markets for personal luxury goods, and will have to seize opportunities for growth from new markets and product innovation.

While the retailer recorded considerable losses on both transactions, it鈥檚 betting that a more streamlined business will help it make up ground lost to newcomers like Pinduoduo, Kuaishou, and Douyin. Our take: Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty are forcing retailers to rethink their approach to China.

Douyin, the ByteDance-owned sister app to TikTok, drove $500 billion in social commerce sales in 2023. TikTok, meanwhile, fell short of $4 billion. The Black Friday sales figure and increase in shoppers show that TikTok is making inroads with US consumers and getting them more comfortable with shopping in the app.

I think, because TikTok really showed how social commerce can work in a new way in the US, among US consumers, and it's broadly based on the roadmap of its sister app, Douyin in China, which in just a few short years became one of China's top E-commerce players, and that's in a very, very competitive online retail market in particular.

Douyin is growing significantly faster than any other retail channel. Douyin鈥檚 low-cost shoppertainment strategy has been effective, helping the short-video app gain market share in retail ecommerce sales against giants such as Alibaba and JD.com. Overall Douyin retail ecommerce sales grew 55.0% in 2023, compared with 11.4% for China鈥檚 total retail ecommerce sales, to reach $324.42 billion.

Alibaba loses market share to up-and-comers Douyin and Pinduoduo. Ecommerce titans Alibaba and JD.com are facing stiff competition from short-video platform Douyin (China's TikTok counterpart) and group-shopping discount platform Pinduoduo, both known for their competitive pricing strategies.

Pinduoduo is projected to generate $22.4 billion in ad revenues this year, capturing 15.7% of China's digital ad market鈥攖railing only Alibaba and Douyin. In ecommerce channel advertising specifically, PDD now commands a 35% share, dwarfing JD.com's 11%. PDD's international expansion through Temu highlights its ambitions beyond China.

In comparison, Facebook will nab 14.6% and TikTok/Douyin will grab 7.1%. 鈥淭he problem Twitter has faced now, and even well before Musk took over, is that it was never a very high-performing social channel for brands.

Why it matters: This international growth underlines TikTok鈥檚 importance to ByteDance, especially as its China-based apps like Douyin and Toutiao face lower ad demand due to economic slowdowns. TikTok鈥檚 expansion through initiatives like TikTok Shop, which is doubling down on creator livestreams, positions the platform to remain competitive in the US despite regulatory scrutiny.