vancements and changing societal norms.  From the rise of intuitive e-commerce experiences to the burgeoning influence of platforms like TikTok and Douyin, the landscape of digital consumption is undergoing a profound transformation.  The rise of TikTok According to Rabia Yasmeen, senior consultant for Apac at Euromonitor International, the Apac region features many markets where the rise of TikTok is shaping consumer behaviour and influencing the strategies of brands and retailers. “For example, the #jbeauty hashtag that encapsulates Japanese beauty trends, products and rituals has seen an explosion of over 19,000 posts on TikTok,” she told Inside Retail. She went on to say that this burgeoning online community serves as a hub for exchanging product recommendations and reviews. Content creators, irrespective of gender, enthusiastically divulge Japanese beauty secrets and hacks while endorsing various products through their insightful reviews.  “Similar trends are observed with hashtags such as #kbeauty and #Asianskincare. What’s particularly fascinating is the expanding reach of these posts, as they now actively promote these products beyond their traditional markets and into other regions,” she added. Second-hand luxury goods Another trend highlighted in the report was around ‘re-commerce,’ which involves the sale of second-hand goods. According to Yasmeen, in China, the growth in the second-hand luxury goods market is primarily fueled by Gen Z consumers residing in first and second-tier cities.  This trend is a response to the economic impact of the pandemic, leading more individuals to sell their luxury items for cash while luxury buyers adjust their spending habits.  Additionally, travel restrictions during the pandemic have hindered Chinese luxury shoppers from travelling abroad to purchase goods, highlighting the significant price difference between domestic and international markets. “This has opened up a new growth segment of pre-owned luxury goods where brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton can find possibilities in the Chinese market. However, counterfeit products are a big challenge for these products,” she noted. Yasmeen said that partnering with platforms focusing on re-selling pre-owned items is becoming a key strategy for the three major players: Plum (Hongbulin), Alibaba-owned Idle Fish (Xianyu), and Tencent-backed Zhuan Zhuan are reshaping the second-hand shopping in China.  “These platforms capitalise on the ingrained e-commerce behaviour of Chinese consumers. Idle Fish and Zhuan Zhuan function as consumer-driven marketplaces, similar to popular platforms like Vinted or Depop, facilitating peer-to-peer transactions. Meanwhile, Plum stands out by offering an end-to-end solution, overseeing the entire consumption process for luxury goods,” she pointed out. Yasmeen said this includes services such as authentication, photography, and logistics management, streamlining the experience for both buyers and sellers. However, the scope of second-hand shopping is going beyond luxury goods as well. Vintage products are also becoming a key trend.  Intuitive e-commerce Another trend highlighted in the report was ‘intuitive e-commerce’. Yasmeen said that the expanding influence of the digital channel is putting pressure on companies to improve the online shopping experience.  “In part, this means ensuring the online channel is more akin to what a consumer might experience in person. This is becoming possible due to evolving data-gathering strategies and emerging technologies from AR to IoT to Generative AI,” she said. These advances have the potential to completely transform the shopping experience, leading to one that is more intuitive. In 2024, she believes that generative AI is one type of emerging technology that is poised to play a key role. “Gen AI chatbots can offer personalised interfaces that respond to and meet consumer needs based on their query on digital platforms, giving rise to another trend – intuitive e-commerce,” she elaborated. A brave new world Gen AI will enable consumers to find the best value items, in terms of both price and other attributes, with its ability to integrate predictive analytics and personalised recommendations. “Alibaba has integrated its generative AI-powered personal assistant, Taobao Wenwen, on its e-commerce platform Taobao. The tool empowers users to refine searches by asking more pertinent questions and providing relevant product suggestions in diverse formats like text and short videos. This forms part of a broader rollout of AI-powered tools across Alibaba’s ecosystem as the company seeks to be ‘User First’ and AI-driven’,” she opined. Another example she cited was India’s fashion e-commerce giant, Myntra, which recently introduced MyFashionGPT – a ChatGPT-powered feature – for enhanced product discovery.  “According to the company, this not only translated into higher conversion rates, but also a greater number of categories that consumers made purchases from as they explored a complete look across products,” she said. Yasmeen said other Asian e-commerce giants have launched similar tools like Lazada Group’s LizzieChat in Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia, and Naver Corp’s HyperCLOVA X in South Korea. Untapped potential She thinks there is a rising challenge for brands to work in more authentic ways, and one way is to embrace the power of viral video trends to influence sales. In her opinion, businesses could see faster and stronger ROI if they made investments in these areas. “It should be noted that many areas of retail development in Apac remain untapped. Businesses need to have a good understanding of their target consumers and internal business processes,” she pointed out. Yasmeen thinks that businesses in Apac should integrate data analytics to gather insights for actionable strategies, as the region is home to diverse cultures with unique cultural differences. “Hence, in most cases, businesses operating in different markets in Apac will not find a ‘one size fits all strategy’ as customers would just seek greater personalisation and customisation. Technology will be a key enabler for that,” she concluded.