Foreo heads East to share in China’s live commerce boom

21 Sep 2021 --- The Swedish beauty technology brand Foreo teamed up with China Duty Free Group (CDFG) in the summer to host a livestreaming event in Hong Kong. The hour-long session, which was held on the WeChat Mini Program, was designed for audiences in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. It was Foreo’s first entry into the booming live commerce market in China.

“The pandemic has caused the purchasing pattern of consumers to change drastically,” shares Gary Leong, Director of Global Travel Retail at Foreo. “If before consumers were happy to purchase from brick and mortar stores, the current trend has pushed a larger segment of consumers online.” 

Leong adds: “The consumer is seeking more informative and engaging content when it comes to deciding on a purchase. We notice that live commerce combines instant purchasing of a featured product and audience participation through a chat function or reaction buttons.”

Click to EnlargeForeo's livestreaming with China Duty Free Group took place in July. Source: CDFG.According to management consultants McKinsey, China’s live commerce market rose at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 280% between 2017 and 2020, reaching an estimated US$171bn. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated China’s live commerce growth, with sales predicted to more than double by the end of this year.       

“Livestreaming e-commerce is raging in China, with livestreaming as a way to boost customer engagement, boost sales and solidify social selling presence,” highlights Leong. 

The format has become a way to replicate the in-store experience, but with more educational, informative and interactive experiences. Foreo’s recent livestream with CDFG Beauty saw the platform host giveaways of Foreo products and also highlight exclusive travel retail sets. 

Detailing the potential of live commerce, Leong reveals: “In China, live commerce has transformed the retail industry and established itself as a major sales channel. Foreo has managed to adapt to this trend and hosted numerous livestream sessions with different influencers and retailers, hoping to cater to this new target audience.” 

“There is definitely a greater digital adoption compared to pre-pandemic, where more time and money was spent out of the home. COVID-19 has led to more budgets being spent on services and really highlighted just how dependent we have become on e-commerce and the internet,” adds Leong.

“Through the partnership with CDFG we seek to reach the group of Chinese customers living in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China who have a keen interest in skin care and beauty tech products and are seeking information-rich digital contents.”

Consultation combined with commerce

Back in May, Foreo worked with livestream influencer Viya, who has 74 million followers, to give out the special edition of the facial cleansing brush range, LUNA Play Series. One of the biggest trends Foreo sees in digital beauty today, especially with the current pandemic, is remote consulting. 

Click to EnlargeForeo uses livestreaming to impart practical knowledge to consumers. Source: Foreo.“Foreo has tackled this specifically by ensuring that our beauty consultants are available to demonstrate device usage and answer questions through remote channels,” notes Leong. “This has assisted us by making sure that we are with the customer from start to finish, from educating them on the benefits of purchasing the product to ensuring a well-rounded post-purchase experience.”

As a beauty device brand, during livestreams Foreo typically provides information to consumers through tutorials and instructions. The livestreaming event in Hong Kong also enabled Foreo to showcase its products live, inform consumers of product features and explain device usage.

“Customers were seeking interactive and educational content when they attended the session,” says Leong. “Our brand ambassador host was there to solve the questions that customers were having and to deliver the most accurate product knowledge to the information-savvy customers.”

In the session, Foreo discussed its Foreo For You app which it describes as “one of its most frequently asked topics”. The app offers a personalised treatment routine setting for its app-paired products, whereby users can personalise cleansing and facial routines through their mobile. 

By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist