P&G bets on Douyin to support China recovery

The news: Procter & Gamble is ramping up its investment in TikTok’s sister app, Douyin, to help combat both subdued consumer sentiment and fierce competition in China.

How we got here: P&G is far from the only company turning to fast-growing ecommerce platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou to make up for sluggish demand in China.

Estée Lauder, H&M, and Inditex’s Zara have also established a foothold on the platform to take advantage of Chinese shoppers’ affinity for livestream commerce and to offset slowing growth from China’s two largest ecommerce retailers, Alibaba and JD.com.

Is it working? For P&G, at least, those efforts are paying off: Its investments on Douyin enabled its Pantene brand to grow online share for more than a year, while its “portfolio is leading category growth” on the platform, P&G head of beauty Alex Keith said during the company’s investment day.

• P&G is spending more on influencer marketing and building virtual storefronts for Olay and other brands. That gives it more control over its brand messaging and more visibility on the platform.
• P&G is also taking advantage of price-conscious consumers’ propensity to use Douyin and other social platforms to comparison shop. The CPG company is offering discounts of as much as 30% off to livestream shoppers.

Our take: Brands embracing platforms like Douyin illustrates the competitive pressures facing Chinese ecommerce incumbents Alibaba and JD.com—as well as retailers like Pinduoduo.

With retail sales in the country remaining sluggish due to the property crisis, high youth unemployment, and growing concerns about the impact of Trump tariffs on local manufacturing, retailers need to seize every opportunity they can to get in front of Chinese shoppers.

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