Hong Kong SMEs are navigating the vast e-commerce market in mainland China

The vast e-commerce market in mainland China is unique and huge, posing a challenge for Hong Kong SMEs looking to access it. In 2022, the market value was CNY43.8 trillion ($6 trillion), up 3.5% year-on-year, of which CNY14 trillion came from online sales, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Among the many unique features that distinguish this gigantic market, we can mention the importance of live broadcasts for the promotion of products and services and universal electronic payment systems.

To help Hong Kong businesses looking to leverage mainland purchasing power adapt to this environment, a webinar hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Digital Academy on June 26 will explain how SMEs can increase cross-border sales.

Two mainland e-commerce portals, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, found that many SMEs have opened accounts and attracted traffic, but do not know how to monetize the traffic by generating sales.

Digital Academy invited Clement Yip, founder of Growforce, who has over 20 years of marketing experience in mainland China, and Dr. Bernie Wong, founder of Social Stand Media, to discuss Douyin and Xiaohongshu operational strategies and tactics for SMEs. They will also explain content planning solutions for lead discovery.

HKTDC staff will also explain HKTDC’s hybrid EXHIBITION+ model, which is designed to help SMEs maintain a promotional advantage and leverage online and offline synergies to leverage business opportunities.

The seminar will be held in person and broadcast live.

Last month, during the Digital Academy webinar, SMEs learned more about how they can reach consumers in leading ASEAN markets.

The main concern of SMEs in Hong Kong is that expanding globally requires huge amounts of money and effort. However, the webinar explained that entering foreign markets and discovering potential customers was easier than thought. Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have many customers waiting for goods from Hong Kong.

Dodo Kwong, director of Partipost in Hong Kong, outlined the trends and characteristics of Southeast Asian markets to help SMEs accurately identify potential overseas markets that are suitable for your business.

She also discussed popular social media marketing strategies in each of these regions, helping SMEs quickly increase their brand visibility at a low cost.

She said the social media landscape in Southeast Asia is vast, with more than 482 million users, representing 70% of the region’s population. To reach this market, effective social media activity is essential.

Apart from the renowned platforms Facebook and Instagram, she pointed out that X (formerly Twitter) is often ignored, although it is widely used in the region, especially in the Indonesian and Philippine markets, where more than 50% of the population uses it.

X-topics are often more news-oriented and professional, suggesting that active users are better educated and have greater purchasing power.

Another advantage of X is its text-dominant content, which is good for SMEs that don’t have many resources at their disposal to create graphic or video content.

The return on ad spend (ROAS) on X is also much higher than other social media, which indicates its effectiveness.

In addition to X, Ms. Kwong discussed the South Asian version of Xiaohongshu, Lemon8, its features and social media tips. ByteDance-owned Lemon8 has also been described as TikTok’s sister.