Chinese Influencers to Tour Aussie Healthcare Retailers

• 19 AUG 2016 JULIAN THUMM (Power Retail)

A group of influential online celebrities from China will arrive in Australia next week for the ‘Walk Into Australia and New Zealand’ campaign.

The campaign is focused on strengthening ties between Chinese online shoppers and Australian retailers by offering face-to-face interactions to help them understand the authenticity and reliability of ethical products from Australia.

Organised by e-commerce solution provider Azoya and China’s leading online shopping guideSMZDM, the event will see a 12-person delegation participating in a series of events in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland between 21st and 30th of August.

The delegation, which includes four high-profile online celebrities as well as editors from SMZDM, will be taken through the production, supply, marketing, fulfilment and customer service operations of five of Azoya’s partnered retail customers: Pharmacy Online, Pharmacy 4 Less, Amcal, Kiwi Discovery and Pharmacy Direct.

Deterred by safety and quality issues with domestic products, particularly for healthcare products and food supplements, Chinese consumers are increasingly looking to Australia to buy directly through cross-border e-commerce.

“China’s e-commerce landscape is rapidly evolving, offering Australian brands and retailers a huge opportunity to take advantage of it,” said Sylvia Wei, deputy managing director – Australia for Azoya. “If they’re going to survive in such a competitive market, they’ll need to build relationships with key online influencers, who are invaluable sources of promotion in China. This campaign will help them develop more effective and rewarding channels, as well as better understand what Chinese consumers need and want.”

Online celebrities and influencers — or key opinion leaders (KOLs) as they are known — are hugely powerful marketing channels in China. For Australian retailers working to tap into the lucrative e-commerce market, understanding and gaining access to these KOLs can provide a leg up in a massive and competitive market.

As part of the event, the KOLs will share their experiences via SMZDM and other platforms. The tour will also be promoted in China and broadcast via live streaming channels.

“We’re really excited to be able to offer our healthcare retail customers in Australia such an amazing opportunity to strengthen their brands with Chinese consumers,” said Wei. “China’s healthcare sector keeps developing at an astonishing rate, fuelled by favourable demographic trends, continuing urbanisation, an increasing disease burden, the overall economy’s healthy expansion and income growth. The campaign will help drive awareness of their quality healthcare products in China and take their e-commerce businesses to the next level.”