As the curtains close on a turbulent 2024 marked by global economic headwinds and widespread fatigue, many brands, marketers, and consumers find themselves looking ahead to 2025 with cautious optimism.
Economic indicators suggest a modest rebound—what some analysts are calling a “wobbly recovery.” However, from the reemergence of brand advertising to the proliferation of AI-driven creative content, the year ahead is likely to usher in a variety of nuanced shifts rather than a dramatic turnaround.
Below are ten key marketing trends poised to define 2025, drawn from industry data, consumer behavior surveys, and the evolving realities of an uncertain global marketplace.
1. Brand Mindshare Revisited: The Comeback of Brand Advertising
After years of “traffic-first” strategies, which focused heavily on short-form video promotions and livestream sales to drive immediate conversions, brands are waking up to the stark limits of pure volume-chasing.
As user acquisition costs rise and short-term sales plateau, the long-term value of brand equity is becoming increasingly apparent.
Shift to Brand Building. China’s leading digital platforms—such as and TikTok’s Chinese counterpart, Douyin—are spotlighting “mindshare” as a critical metric.
Traditional brand advertising is being revisited by marketers who realize that brand loyalty and sustained awareness cannot rely on fleeting viral moments alone.
What’s Driving the Change. Ad fatigue and higher competition in short-video platforms have reduced the returns on performance-focused campaigns.
New or reconfigured tools from major tech players now measure “brand recall” or “brand mindshare,” reaffirming the need to invest in brand advertising that resonates beyond a single purchase.
“We’re seeing advertisers look past immediate traffic,” says a Shanghai-based marketing consultant, “and instead return to building stories that stick in consumers’ minds.”
2. Low-Spend Culture Continues, White-Label Products on the Rise
Global economic uncertainties, stagnant wages, and consumer wariness over discretionary spending have sustained what is often termed the “consumption downgrade.” With this, demand for lower-priced alternatives and white-label goods remains robust.
Expansion of White-Label Chains. In major Chinese cities like Beijing, lower-priced clothing chains and supermarkets offering no-name or in-house brands are proliferating.
Shoppers—once keen to pay top dollar for global labels—are prioritizing cost-effectiveness.
Implications for Established Brands. This shift challenges high-margin brands reliant on brand premium. Though some consumers still crave brand cachet, many now weigh functionality and price over logos, pushing established brands to rethink pricing strategies.
3. “Value-for-Money” Overtakes “Bargain Basement”
While certain shoppers are chasing the lowest possible price, a growing middle segment of consumers is gravitating toward products that offer solid “quality-price ratio”.
They are willing to pay more than rock-bottom prices—provided the products meet higher standards of quality and reliability.
Rising Middle-Market Opportunities. According to a report by First Financial, “quality-price ratio” now trumps purely low-cost propositions for a significant number of urban consumers.
Brands that successfully balance decent quality with fair pricing stand to gain in 2025.
Moving Beyond a Race to the Bottom. Critics of pure “price wars” note that they often lead to shrinking profit margins and compromised quality.
In contrast, emphasizing “value for money” allows for modest price points without eroding brand image. It is a positioning strategy that resonates with cost-conscious yet discerning consumers.
4. Livestream E-Commerce Cools, Shelf E-Commerce Regains Momentum
Just a couple of years ago, livestream e-commerce felt unstoppable, epitomized by marathon broadcasts from star influencers who could sell out entire inventories in minutes. Now, signs of fatigue have set in.
Slowing Livestream Growth. Recent data shows annual growth in China’s livestream e-commerce dropping to around 18%—a far cry from the segment’s previously explosive double- or even triple-digit surges.
Even top hosts like Li Jiaqi have moderated their broadcast schedules, underscoring a maturing market.
Return to Shelf E-Commerce. As livestream excitement wanes, more brands are refocusing on “shelf e-commerce”—online storefronts where consumer purchases are driven by search, loyalty, or habitual use rather than impulsive livestream promotions.
Because shelf e-commerce hinges on brand recall and search behavior, marketers who invest in brand mindshare can more consistently convert sales without heavy promotional spending.
5. Rising Contenders: Video-Driven Social Commerce on WeChat and Xiaohongshu
China’s e-commerce landscape is notoriously dynamic. While established giants like Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo still dominate, newer ecosystems are seeing accelerated growth.
WeChat Channels Surge. Leveraging the existing social graph of WeChat’s billion-plus user base, video-based selling has become a strategic priority for Tencent.
Features like “gift-giving” and direct product links in live videos are transforming WeChat into a powerful social commerce platform. Analysts believe it could reach a GMV of 1 trillion RMB in the near future if growth continues apace.
Lifestyle Commerce on Xiaohongshu. Often compared to Instagram for its highly visual interface, Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) takes a lifestyle-oriented approach, focusing on curated, high-trust communities.
Despite relatively modest overall GMV, its growth is rapid. Marketers note that authenticity remains crucial, so balancing commercial pushes with organic, user-generated content is essential.
6. AI: The Double-Edged Sword for Marketing
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing advertising at breakneck speed: from automated copywriting to image or video generation, marketers are witnessing a sea change in creative output.
While AI drastically slashes production costs and timelines, it poses existential threats to traditional roles in the ad industry.
Automation vs. Human Creativity. Research firm Forrester predicts that by 2030, AI could replace up to 7.5% of advertising-related jobs in the United States alone.
“Goodbye, Don Draper,” reads a recent headline in The Economist, hinting that iconic ‘Mad Men’-style creative directors may become relics of the past.
Opportunities for High-Level Creatives. Not all is lost. Specialists skilled in storytelling, strategic insight, and user psychology may thrive, as AI becomes a powerful tool rather than a rival.
Some agencies already see senior creatives using AI to handle repetitive tasks, freeing up more time for conceptual thinking.
7. The Founders Go Live: CEO IP and EGC Strategies
Another prominent trend is the rise of “founder IP” and EGC (Employee-Generated Content).
Brands increasingly recognize the marketing power of a charismatic CEO or product engineer communicating directly with consumers.
Authenticity and Personal Branding. From Xiaomi’s Lei Jun to executives at automotive brands, founders are stepping onto livestream platforms, weaving personal stories, product demos, and candid Q&A sessions.
This approach humanizes the brand and fosters deeper trust.
EGC Comes of Age. Beyond top-level appearances, companies are also encouraging employees to generate relatable content that highlights behind-the-scenes operations, workplace culture, and in-depth product knowledge.
The result is a more transparent image, which resonates well with skeptical audiences.
8. The Waning “Seed Marketing” Gold Rush
“Seeding” or “种草” once promised near-magical solutions for new brands seeking buzz. Platforms like Xiaohongshu and Zhihu teemed with user-generated posts praising the latest “hidden gem.”
Over time, however, consumer savvy increased, and overly promotional “seed” content lost credibility.
ROI Under Scrutiny. Early adopters of seed marketing, such as Chinese beauty brand Perfect Diary, poured staggering amounts into working with thousands of Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) and micro-influencers.
Yet high turnover and diminishing returns led to a “sustainability crisis.”
From Novelty to Red Ocean. As more brands deploy nearly identical seeding strategies, the clutter makes it difficult to stand out. Coupled with rising consumer skepticism, the once sky-high returns have fallen sharply.
9. Luxury Brands: Weathering a Global Slowdown
Not even the traditionally resilient luxury sector is immune to macroeconomic uncertainties. Bain & Company and Altagamma both note a 2% drop in global personal luxury sales, the first such significant decline since the 2008-09 financial crisis.
China’s Luxury Slowdown. Once the engine of luxury growth, China’s market has softened considerably, with sales of high-end goods forecast to contract by over 20% in 2024.
Leading conglomerates like LVMH report modest dips in major categories such as leather goods and jewelry, reversing years of expansion.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs project a fragile rebound in Europe’s luxury markets by late 2025, while China’s path to meaningful recovery could be equally tentative.
The days of double-digit growth in luxury now appear a distant memory, replaced by more cautious forecasts.
10. Tough Times for Multinationals
From beverages and fast food to smartphones and automobiles, foreign brands in China once enjoyed near-unassailable market shares. Today, a confluence of factors is making life harder for these global giants.
Shrinking Growth Opportunities. China’s overall economic transition reduces the easy growth that once propelled foreign conglomerates to record sales.
Meanwhile, local upstarts in various sectors—from coffee to clean energy vehicles—have grown more sophisticated and competitive.
A More Discerning Consumer. Chinese consumers are increasingly rational in their spending and more open to domestic alternatives.
“The old aura around foreign labels has faded,” explains one Beijing-based retail analyst, “and they’re now pressured to prove real value beyond a famous logo.”
Conclusion: A Year of Quiet Realignments
While 2025 may not dazzle with dramatic market expansions or blockbuster product categories, it will likely serve as a crucible for marketers recalibrating their strategies under tough conditions.
Economic uncertainty, content overload, and evolving consumer mindsets necessitate a return to fundamentals—building genuine brand stories, offering tangible value, and forging long-term relationships.
For brands that embrace these shifting tides, the subdued climate could be a time for patient groundwork and strategic positioning.
“Recovery won’t be quick,” says a Hong Kong-based marketing veteran, “but for brands that invest in real connections and authentic storytelling, 2025 could lay the bedrock for stronger growth in the years to come.”