The curtain came down on Dec 9 on the ‘Restarting New Consumption in the Post-pandemic Era' Chapter at WIM 2020. Industry executives gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges brought by the COVID-19 crisis, and shared their thoughts on the post-pandemic outlook in the consumer goods & services – ‘New Consumption’ – sector.
On December 9-12, EqualOcean was holding the World Innovators Meet (WIM) 2020. This year, the event's main topic was 'Technology and Innovation Connect the World.' WIM2020 gathered innovators from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas to share their knowledge and key achievements, promoting the concept of 'Tech for Equal.'
At the 'Restarting New Consumption in Post-pandemic Era' Chapter, one of the Industry Chapters of WIM2020, EqualOcean invited executives from some big names in the consumer goods & services sector, including Pinduoduo, Maoyan Entertainment, ORVIBO, Energy Monster, Genki Forest, BIOHYALUX, ICY Design, Zuodashi, Bamaying, Meerkat Works and Edge. Gathering at WIM2020, the speakers shared their insights on visible new patterns, new opportunities, brand upgrades and technological innovation in the industry.
Meanwhile, EqualOcean released a series of relevant reports and lists at this chapter, including 'Next 50 in Global Tech: Consumer Technology,’ 'Next 50 in Global Tech: Retail’ and 'Next 50 in Global Tech: Education.’
Restarting Consumption: New patterns, new opportunities, and new technology
The COVID-19 crisis caused a blow to the consumer goods / services sector, and companies are faced with unprecedented disruption in the industry. Nevertheless, there are always some enterprises which can create and seize the opportunities in such a difficult time, showing leadership in the post-pandemic era.
Speaking of the opportunities brought by the restarting of the consumer goods & services industry, Qiu Chen, the vice president of Pinduoduo, believed that the key to solve the inequivalent demand in the market is to prioritize customers' needs. Production-related decisions should be made from the perspective of the customers.
Brian Zhang, the vice president of Maoyan Entertainment, shared his experience in exploring new patterns in the entertainment industry. He claimed that consumers are getting younger and younger, and what they expect to consume beyond content and people is experiences.
Thanks to 5G technology, people are able to continue to work seamlessly online in livestreaming under the impact of the pandemic. According to Admiral Tong, the vice president of marketing operation at ORVIBO, what 5G will do is more than that: it will turn our living space upside down, with everything literally connected. Our living space will become a product that can be sold just as other products, which is a great commercial opportunity.
In terms of brand management, Victor Zhang, the founder & CMO of Energy Monster, pointed out three key steps to achieve brand upgrading. Firstly, create an innovative form with the connection between on-line and off-line practice. Secondly, strengthen customer relationships via partnerships with celebrities, IPs and other brands. Thirdly, extend the brand to more aspects of life to shape a lifestyle brand.
As one of the most popular brands among young people, Genki Forest features in healthy lifestyle developments. When talking about the secret of company's success, Hao Zong, the vice president of Genki Forest, claimed that the key to navigate the ever-changing consumer goods industry is to satisfy customers' needs, which requires revolutionary innovation and the ability to re-construct brands and products.
Jun Yang, the general manager of BIOHYALUX, said that continuous technological innovation is the driving force behind successful products. To stand out from competitors, it is important to know what the customers want and to meet their needs.
Yingying Gu, the founder, chairman and CEO of ICY Design, claimed that the time of pandemic has led to great social change, which brings huge opportunities to new consumer brands. The innovation in products and channels can help a brand distinguish itself and seize the chance.
Consumption Upgrade: new brand, new marketing and new growth
In 2020, consumer brands are not only faced with the stress caused by funds and operation, but also challenged by live-streaming selling platforms. How to harness innovation in marketing, product development and distribution channels is a universal problem across the industry. To address the problem, executives from leading consumer brands gathered for the New Consumption Chapter to have a panel discussion on “new brands, new marketing and new growth.”
Digital transformation is a hot topic across the consumer industry, yet is it a must-do for industry revolution? For consumer brands, how to adapt to the wave of digital change that is happening across the industry?
Justin Li, co-founder of Zuodashi, considered big data to be a great source of help, as it can make a more precise positioning of new product launch, cut failure costs, and improve management efficiency.
Tinco Zhao, founder & CEO of Bamaying also reckoned technology as necessary. Thanks to technological innovation, her company has the capability to improve operation efficiency. Without technological help, it is impossible for a consumer company to survive the digital change.
Lloyd He, the partner of Meerkat Works pointed out the trend that the enterprise focuses more on the technology development for commercial purposes than marketing and distribution channels. In the future, new technology will be a deciding factor for the corporate technological planning.
According to Adam Hua, the founder of Edge, the barrier to entry in terms of technology will be set higher content-oriented platforms, especially when it comes to algorithm, which will make it more difficult for new consumer brands to enter the market.
Consumption Integration: technological innovation born out of industry revolution
In the face of the next round of industry revolution, the traditional consumption sector will be confronted with reconstruction. Certain technologies are seen as having the potential to change the future and to create countless opportunities for innovation. Therefore, EqualOcean released Next 50 in Global Tech: Consumer Technology, which covers enterprises with growth potential in the sub-sectors of the consumer industry and presents an in-depth analysis of the market of consumer technology.
The rise of customer acquisition cost in e-commerce, the bottleneck of the rising off-line retail, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 have caused huge challenges for retail outlets. To deal with these issues, the retail industry has entered the expansion stage marked by intelligence and digital transformation. In Next 50 in Global Tech: Retail, EqualOcean presents the research results on the digital application and illustrates how to reactivate retail industry with innovative patterns.
Furthermore, EqualOcean released Next 50 in Global Tech: Education which articulates the change that the education market is going through. Driven by technology, the education ecosystem is also changing, which suggests the importance of the integration of education and technology. With technological help, education will be more accessible to the people in need.
At the 'Restarting New Consumption in Post-pandemic Era' Chapter, EqualOcean gathered executives from leading consumer brands to discuss the ongoing transformation of the industry. Driven by new technology, the consumer industry will be reactivated and head towards innovation in the future.
About WIM
Hosted by EqualOcean, the World Innovators Meet (WIM) (click to watch the online event on December 9-11, 2020) is a global event for innovators. It provides limitless opportunities to learn from and connect with the most sought-after technology pioneers.
About WIA
The World Innovation Awards (WIA) are announced at WIM to recognize game-changers across various industries and geographies. Selected by a committee of distinguished experts, entrepreneurs and investors, WIA are designed to acknowledge technology disruptors striving to make a positive impact on a global scale.
See this year's WIA lists and download the research reports in English and Chinese on EqualOcean and 亿欧智库 respectively.