General

According to the observation of Huacheng's import and export data, although the economic growth is facing uncertainty, on the e-commerce platform, the main body of innovation and entrepreneurship - small, medium-sized and micro enterprises are still reaping more deterministic growth.

The report "New Kinetics of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises: 2023 Taobao Ecological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Observation" recently released by Taobao and Ali Research Institute shows that, as the capillaries of the national economy, small, medium and micro enterprises have contributed new diversified supplies to Taobao's ecology, explored new business models, ran out of the new trend track, and continuously injected new momentum and vitality into it. According to the Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report, as of November 30, Taobao Tmall had a net increase of more than 1.3 million online stores and 550000 live broadcast accounts; In the year ended November 30, the annual turnover of more than 1.75 million Taobao small and medium-sized businesses increased by more than 100% year on year.

"In the case of small, medium and micro enterprises, we not only see the resilience of China's economy, but also see that they bring dynamic business through warm innovation. Small, medium and micro enterprises are important promoters and participants in the new business track, and the most important supplier of long tail demand. At the same time, platforms with full chain digital tools and capabilities provide fertile ground for the realization of entrepreneurial dreams and the satisfaction of consumer demand." This is the basic view of experts and scholars at the report seminar held on that day.

Three new trends in entrepreneurship and innovation

According to the observation report of Huacheng's import and export data, recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Outline of the Strategic Plan for Expanding Domestic Demand (2022-2035), which clearly pointed out that final consumption is the lasting driving force of economic growth. In line with the trend of consumption upgrading, efforts should be made to meet personalized, diversified and high-quality consumption needs.

The policy direction has been shown in the entrepreneurship and innovation of SMEs on the platform. The report shows that, with the change of consumption structure and consumption concept, small, medium and micro enterprises on Taobao platform are focusing on subdividing the consumer market to meet personalized needs; Innovate goods and services and provide differentiated new supply; Enhance content management capability, create immersive trust consumption, and find and form a new momentum of development with certainty.

In terms of meeting individual needs, the current consumption is upgrading from function satisfaction to experience satisfaction, and the continuous subdivision of consumption needs has also released a small, specialized and beautiful entrepreneurial space. As in recent years, the pet consumption segment has ushered in a period of concentrated outbreak, the data shows that the cultivation of a cat is closely related to more than 140 kinds of goods. In terms of the industry, Taobao Tmall has added a number of first level industries to its subdivided consumer market. For example, it separates outdoor sports industry from clothing, pets and fashion play from rare families, and the fragrance and fragrance in beauty makeup has also been upgraded to the first level industry; In terms of categories, Taobao Tmall added more than 2100 physical commodity leaf categories in two years, including more than 150 new leaf categories with an annual turnover of more than 100 million yuan.

The segmentation of the consumer market means that the production organization on the supply side is also changing. New styles, new styles, new tastes, new fabrics, new functions... SMEs continue to open new markets with unique new supplies. From coffee powder to coffee liquid, from high Baijiu that men like to drink to low alcohol wine that women like to drink, from "versatile" clothing styles to hair technology fabrics, from single function air frying pans to small household appliances with double baking and steaming functions, the data shows that Taobao Tmall's daily average number of new products on the line is about 230 million.

With the continuous upgrading of e-commerce format to immersive experience economy, content has also become a necessary business capability for SMEs. The report shows that as the content field of Taobao Center, Taobao Live is one of the main entrances for young people to start businesses. In the past year, Taobao has added 550000 live broadcast accounts. Professional anchors focusing on vertical fields are the common features of new faces. Luo Yonghao has become the spokesman of "all boys", Li Xiaoshazi focuses on mothers and babies, and Brother Z specializes in outdoor sports, and steal the month club specializes in food. At the same time, capable people from all walks of life are also moving from the background to the front through the e-commerce platform, reaching target users quickly and accurately with highly recognizable "artificial content+high-quality goods" and establishing a stable trust relationship. According to the Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report, tens of thousands of Taobao stores have accumulated more than 200000 fans,.

Subdivision market breeds new growth space

Looking at the general trend of social consumption and the layout of related industries, combined with the new consumption concept and lifestyle, as well as the new product categories and new scenes of the continuous growth of Taobao Tmall platform, the report also combs out new tracks that will have certain growth space in the next few years, such as stylized, suitable for the old, accompanied, anti-aging&decompression, refined parenting, wild fun, living alone, cultural innovation, flexible office, professional scene purchase, and industrial live broadcast, Provide more choices for small, medium and micro enterprises to innovate and start businesses.

For example, Taobao Tmall has shown great potential in the elderly market, which is composed of elderly friendly bathroom, elderly friendly furniture, elderly friendly catering appliances, elderly friendly daily necessities and elderly friendly services. In particular, with the promotion of policies and the popularization of knowledge, the market space for bathroom armrests, bath chairs, lift up sofas and other products around the "fall prevention" demand is accelerating to open.

For another example, as pressure has become an unavoidable topic for contemporary young people, new decompression products and services have been emerging, and the decompression economy with a huge market has gradually become a good business. At present, there are more than 20000 kinds of decompression toys on Taobao. In addition, decompression snacks, low alcohol wine, tabletop plants, aromatherapy, fresh cut flowers, etc. are also popular choices for young people to decompress.

Moreover, due to the miniaturization of Chinese family structure and the increasing number of solitary groups, the solitary track is also in the ascendant. In Taobao Tmall, the market size of small household appliances emerging around the living alone lifestyle has reached 10 billion. The "one person food" drive the demand for small kitchen appliances such as small rice cookers, single person wall breaking machines, and small air fryers; The consumption of smart appliances such as hand free sweeping robots and floor washers has continued to grow; The "solitary youth" pays more attention to the clean and beautiful living environment, and the storage box, storage rack, hand-operated storage, aromatherapy storage, etc. have also become the trend products, maintaining a double-digit growth rate.

Li Jizhen, vice dean of the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University and professor of the Department of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, said that the change of consumption structure is a key factor to stimulate these new trends. At the same time, changes in consumption structure and business innovation stimulate each other, and e-commerce platforms play an important role in this process. At first, the main value of the platform was to provide transaction information and match transactions. But today, the platform has created incremental value in product research and development, creative realization and other aspects through demand data feedback and production guidance. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

"Compared with large enterprises, SMEs have the advantage of shorter chains and closer to consumers. Especially through e-commerce platforms, every feedback of consumers on products and services will affect the minds of businesses. They are willing to spend energy listening, maintaining relationships, and improving the quality of products and services, which also creates more new trends and new tracks." Du Guochen, deputy director of the E-commerce Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said, And digital technology is helping entrepreneurs of this era accelerate their dreams. The scale economy and scope economy of the platform make the threshold for entrepreneurs lower, the efficiency higher, and the iteration cycle shorter. "It can be said that the functions and services of the platform provide the best path for the realization of entrepreneurial dreams and the satisfaction of consumer needs."