(Ninth China International Import Expo) New demands emerge and foreign companies try to “understand” Chinese consumers

At the ongoing 9th China International Import Expo, foreign-funded enterprises are bringing not only new products, but also new insights into the Chinese consumer market. Capturing new consumer demands and exploring innovative paths are becoming important directions for it to deeply explore the Chinese market.

"In the past, consumers paid more attention to one-time decoration after buying a new home. Now more and more families are beginning to pay attention to daily life needs." Li Lei, chief financial officer of IKEA China, is concerned that more consumers hope to make existing homes more comfortable and adaptable to changes in lifestyle through partial renovation, space optimization and functional upgrades.

Based on this trend, IKEA launched its "lightly customized" home furnishing solution at this CIIE, which takes into account the characteristics of personalized adaptation, flexible adjustment, quick check-in and budget control, and provides more convenient home renewal options through modular products, flexible combinations and professional design services.

French food company Lesaffre has noticed that consumers' demand for salty breakfasts and salty light snacks continues to grow, and the sourdough flavor has attracted market attention. It launched China's first sourdough product at this CIIE, which can be used in different types of bread such as sea salt rolls and ciabatta to meet consumers' needs for diverse tastes.

Kaixi Shen, vice president of Nike Group and general manager of Greater China, said that Chinese consumers' needs in terms of sports performance, comfort experience and style expression are increasingly diverse, segmented and rapidly changing, providing companies with innovative insights.

At this CIIE, Skechers demonstrated a new generation of retail format created in the Chinese market - Smart Store (Skechers Cloud Store), which integrates AI smart inventory, AI product selection, AI size and matching recommendation and other technologies.

Chen Weili, partner of Skechers China and CEO of Skechers China, Korea and Southeast Asia, said that in the future, it will continue to increase investment in technological fields such as artificial intelligence and use technology to reach consumers more quickly and efficiently to provide a better service experience.

Many foreign companies following China's new consumption wave are no longer just introducing products to China, but are innovating based on local needs.

Timothe Dupont, president of Lesaffre Asia Pacific, mentioned that products and solutions developed in China are often promoted to other markets in the Asia-Pacific and further adjusted according to local tastes and needs. Some product innovations also have the opportunity to be promoted globally.

Shen Kaixi mentioned that the NikeSKIMS slow flash space opened in Shanghai has established in-depth connections with Chinese female consumers through long-term operations, personalized services and community interaction, and further understood their needs for style, style and brand experience.

"The consumer insights, local innovation practices and operational experience accumulated in this process not only help Nike better serve Chinese consumers, but also provide useful reference for other markets around the world." Shen Kaixi said that in the future, more local innovative products will be brought to Chinese consumers.

The Estee Lauder Group's "Artiste Future Beauty X" project in China has attracted more than 1,000 start-ups and innovation teams to participate. Fan Jiayu, President and CEO of Estee Lauder Group China, said that he hopes to accelerate the transformation of more innovations originating from China and bring more inspiration from China to global beauty innovation.