Why brands in China should pay attention to Tmall Luxury Pavilion

China is on track to become the growth engine for the world’s luxury goods market, powered by digitally-savvy consumers shopping on platforms like Tmall Luxury Pavilion

China is the world’s second-largest luxury market thanks to a rising middle class and many high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with huge disposable incomes. According to a recent Morgan Stanley report, Chinese consumers will make up 60% of total global spending growth on luxury items by 2030. In fact, mainland Chinese buyers will boost demand for luxury items by 20% in 2023 alone.

Much of this growth is being driven by digital platforms, which are not just being used as shopping channels but also for content-based product information. Among these platforms is Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion, which hosts 200 premium and luxury names from around the world and uses the latest technology – including AR, VR and live streaming – to engage Chinese luxury consumers.

According to the latest data from Tmall Luxury Pavilion, more than 80 million people with a strong interest in luxury goods browsed, collected or purchased more than 10 times on the Taobao App over the last year.

The importance of Tmall Luxury Pavilion was underscored recently when its general manager, Janet Wang, was inducted into the Business of Fashion 500, an influential list of the people shaping the global fashion industry.

Wang has led Tmall Luxury Pavilion since 2021 and has spearheaded a range of cutting-edge initiatives, including live streaming new season fashion shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris, and launching Tmall Luxury Pavilion’s first immersive offline art exhibition, New and Beyond, in Shanghai. Tickets to the exhibition were distributed for free through gamified interactions on Taobao, and visitors could experience various blended online-offline interactions on-site such as the virtual try-on of clothes, as well as receive digital collections.

As Wang told BoF in 2022, brands in China should view platforms like Tmall Luxury Pavilion – including social commerce platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu (RED) – as more than just sales channels. Instead, they should take advantage of the technological tools and consumer interactivity the platforms offer to gather insights and use them to shape their strategies in China.