File Photo/NBD

As the “618 Shopping Festival” approaches, platforms, merchants, and influencers are gearing up. On May 15th, Kuaishou hosted its annual E-commerce Gravity Conference amidst this wave of enthusiasm.

At the event, the venue was bustling with eager merchants and influencers, seeking new business growth opportunities amid fierce competition.

Wang Jianwei, Kuaishou’s Senior Vice President and head of both the E-commerce and Commercialization departments, announced that in 2023, Kuaishou’s e-commerce GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) exceeded one trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 1.18 trillion yuan, marking a milestone for the community platform with 700 million users.

Over the past year, new business opportunities and growth have been driven by expanded sales channels such as general merchandise shelves, short videos, and search functions.

Data indicates that Kuaishou’s e-commerce GMV continued to grow rapidly in the first quarter of this year, with general merchandise shelves accounting for over 20% of the GMV, e-commerce search page views (PV) increasing by more than 120%, and short video GMV doubling compared to the same period last year.

Wang Jianwei candidly expressed that consumers are becoming more discerning on e-commerce platforms, increasingly relying on search functions to make purchases rather than just content-driven traffic distribution.

Beyond the shift in traffic sources, changes in consumer demand represent new business opportunities. Wang observed that under the strong domestic consumption drive and broader consumer trends, the market is showing new changes and opportunities.

He noted that while Kuaishou was once predominantly used by users in Northern China, by 2020, users from the South had already surpassed those from the North. By 2023, the number of Southern users engaging with Kuaishou’s e-commerce platform had significantly increased, with more users from the South becoming active e-commerce participants.

Data shows that the Southern market and older consumers have become a significant source of new users. In 2023, a high proportion of Kuaishou’s new e-commerce users were from the South, with 49% from Eastern China and 55% from Southern China.

Moreover, an increasing number of older consumers have become the main shopping force on Kuaishou’s e-commerce platform. In 2023, users over 40 years old contributed to more than 47% of the GMV.

Wang highlighted that this growth segment has shown not only a broader range of consumption habits but also a more rational approach to shopping. This trend presents not only industry opportunities but also new demands for platform governance and merchant services.