CIW News 21 Mar

Author

Elaine Wong
March 21, 2024

CIW Weekly, is now CIW News, an email newsletter on China digital and tech trends.

Join us as we navigate through the bustling digital streets of China's internet economy, uncovering insights and strategies that are setting the pace for the global digital future. Let’s dive in…

A recent QuestMobile report on China's mobile internet landscape reveals pivotal demographic shifts, with a significant 10.5% increase in users from first-tier, new first-tier, and second-tier cities, against the backdrop of a total user base reaching 12.27 billion and maintaining a steady growth rate of 2%.

This urbanization of China's digital domain underscores a pronounced clustering effect, where urban centers become hotbeds for digital consumption and innovation.

These shifts not only highlight the evolving consumption patterns and the potential for targeted digital services in urban areas but also draw attention to the challenges of the urban-rural digital divide.

Addressing this divide is crucial for fostering an inclusive digital economy, ensuring equitable access to digital infrastructure and services across China's diverse landscape. The report's insights call for forward-looking strategies that cater to the sophisticated demands of urban consumers while promoting digital inclusivity nationwide.

As of 2023, the platform has astonishingly surpassed a daily Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) of 1 billion yuan (US$141 million), marking a colossal shift in consumer behavior towards the second-hand market.

The platform’s success is underpinned by its massive user engagement, with over 100 million individuals listing their idle goods, contributing to a vibrant circular economy.

The platform sees 4 million items listed on a daily basis, ranging from tech gadgets to apparel, highlighting a shift towards more conscientious consumption among Chinese netizens. Read more on CIW.

For Q4 2023, Weibo’s net revenues amounted to $463.7 million, a 3% increase year-over-year. This growth, albeit modest, is reflective of the company’s efforts to stabilize and grow its advertising and marketing revenues, which also saw a 3% increase, reaching $403.7 million.

Weibo’s user engagement metrics offer a silver lining, with monthly active users (MAUs) increasing to 598 million by the end of December 2023. This growth, primarily driven by mobile users, highlights Weibo’s continued relevance in China’s digital ecosystem.

The company's adjusted net profit experienced a significant increase of 126.3%, reaching RMB 19.3 billion, exceeding market expectations and marking a high in its profitability since listing. Total revenue for the period was RMB 271.0 billion.

The company retained its position as the third-largest smartphone vendor globally, with a total shipment of approximately 145.6 million units.

A notable strategy was the premiumization of its smartphone offerings, which led to an over 19% increase in the average selling price in mainland China.

The number of connected IoT devices on Xiaomi’s AIoT platform as of December 31, 2023, stood at 739.7 million, a 25.5% increase year-over-year.