Why RED is hot amongst Chinese fashionistas
Known as the app that combines Instagram with Amazon, RED (or Xiaohongshu — “Little Red Book”) is an online platform currently gaining explosive popularity among young fashion-conscious women in China. It sports an interface design that, while stylish, is truly outstanding in its way of anticipating latent consumer demand and intuitive purchase process.
On one hand, RED is an app where people can chronicle and share their lifestyles through videos, photos and blogs. But on the other hand, it’s an app where beauty and fashion products can be purchased. As of May this year, user numbers are said to have surpassed 100 million, and the MAU (monthly active users) have grown three-fold in the space of a year. Having recently raised funds of around $300 million from companies such as Alibaba, RED is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
When it comes to cosmetics and other luxury items, unlike products of daily necessity, the needs of users can be quite vague from the start. People may be just browsing casually with no intention of buying anything. If they try to explain what they want — for example, “an orange-reddish version of this brand with a bit of glossiness” — it’s usually not easy to articulate. Often, people are simply curious as to “what’s trendy at the moment” or “what would be good for regular usage”.
In these situations, it’s natural to first clarify what you’re looking for by taking a look at a variety of items. RED’s UI design very much panders to the desire to peruse, of which most women can relate to.
Upon opening the app, you’re greeted with two columns of photos, encouraging you to scroll down at your leisure..What’s different from Instagram is how the tabs at the top of the screen allow you to easily stream posts into categories of, for example, beauty, fashion or travel.
Another thing you’ll notice is how the top space in the stream of posts is quite different compared to regular online stores. Normally the top spot will have a design deliberated to make it easier to find what you want, or really what particular companies you look into.
However, in this top space RED simply places a variety of user’s posted images. It’s here that, instead of adopting a precise aim in the UI design, they’ve just assumed users will browse randomly and go wherever their interest takes them, and the result is a layout that effectively draws people in.
From browsing to buying
If you come across something that you’re interested while browsing , you’re able to buy it right there and then. The majority of posts feature a link to the corresponding product page which will guide you on to making a purchase. Also, below each post, related products that are also handled by the RED store are shown (for example, a post about a scarlet lipstick might also show lipsticks with similar shades), and these can be purchased as well. Or if you’ve already decided from the start what you want there’s always the traditional search box on hand too.
This is a UI design that works to clarify the needs of users, of which may previously have been vague and just simple curiosity, and after discovering those needs it swiftly leads users to the check out.
Knowing you’re buying the real thing
In China, the problem of counterfeit products is a serious issue. When buying luxury items, many people assuming that branded goods bought online are highly likely to be fake, and so opt to buy them either at the airport when they go travelling overseas, or ask a travelling friend to pick them up for them. In a 2018 study by China’s biggest search engine Baidu, it was found that the most common reason Chinese people come all the way to Japan to buy branded products, instead of just buying them online, is that they want to be able to verify they are not fake.
Despite the rampant retail of counterfeit branded products, RED has managed to win the trust of users through their sale of authentic goods. By cooperating with famous brands and trading companies from overseas, and stocking up over 80% of their registered products themselves, they have managed to secure their reliability.
In China, online stores such as Tmall and JD.com control an overwhelming portion of the market, and so in the realm of cross border e-commerce the rapid progress of an emerging platform like RED is quite remarkable. The app is a shining example of how good these types of systems have recently become at enticing people to purchase. From now on, when an online store from overseas attempts to crossover into China, RED will be a reminder that it’s worth checking out even if it’s not by a big, famous company.
Translation: Ching Li Tor
Original text (Japanese): Yoriko Takizawa
