Unicorn Xiaohongshu refines social commerce model after stumble, as bigger players jostle in

China

5 min read

Mar 02, 2020

By Li Yuan

Image: Shutterstock

Once the epitome of China's O2O social commerce success, Xiaohongshu (RED) tries to reinvent itself amid challenges from internet giants, influencers and short videos

When Xiaohongshu ("Little Red Book") was launched in 2013, many Chinese who wanted to buy fancy foreign goods did not know what to buy or where to go. They turned to friends or family living or traveling abroad or professional buyers outside China, who made a living by purchasing popular products for customers in China.
To cater to their needs, Xiaohongshu, which later rebranded itself as RED outside of China, built a modest social media platform on which any registered user could post product reviews, shopping and travel trips. It was so popular that within a year, it amassed over 220m reg...

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Edited by S. Mani, Wang Xiao'e

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