LIANG TAO sold 80 pink Givenchy bags in 12 minutes. Becky Fang sold 100 Mini Cooper cars in just five. Both are wanghong, literally “red-hot on the web”. Every day millions of Chinese search social media for wanghong posts or tune in to live-streams for wanghong's opinions on everything. The fans are helping this new Chinese Internet star to make money out of their popularity—and to shake up the country's e-commerce industry in the process.
A few of wanghong have been hired by luxury brands. Jaeger-LeCoultre, a Swiss watchmaker, hired Papi Jiang for a video ad targeting young urbanites (都市人), including her 27m fans on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblog. Zhang Yi of iiMedia Research, a consulting firm, estimates that up to 15% of sales on shopping sites like Taobao or social-media apps such as WeChat are influenced by wanghong's public support. The length of a dress might be decided by a survey of a wanghong's fans; its launch date might be based on the number of hits, shares or comments it collects, some of which can cause last-minute design changes.
This poses a new challenge for retailers(零售商), whose supply chains must respond ever more quickly to wanghong's opinions. Whereas previously a company would look for a celebrity to match its image, wanghong and their admirers are shaping goods.
Another challenge comes directly from wanghong themselves. They increasingly make money not merely from online support or advice but by launching their own e-commerce stores. Sales of goods accounted for just under half of wanghong earnings of 53bn yuan ($8bn) in 2016, estimates Analysys, a Chinese market-research firm (the rest came mostly from live-show tips and adverts).
Some wanghong are going a step further. In November Becky Fang launched her own clothing line. Part of her motivation, she says, was that the brands she supported did not always match the trends she was sharing with her followers. By creating her own brand, Becky's Fantasy, she have full control of the quality. She also gains a new income. For the time being only 3-5% of wanghong follow Becky Fang's example, iiMedia Research estimates. But it expects the model to become an industry in its own right, including entertainment and e-commerce, and driven by online data.
