Gen Z pushes social commerce boom

DHgate, a Chinese cross-border business-to-business e-commerce platform, is doubling down on the fast-growing social commerce sector, which means a person's entire shopping experience－from product discovery to the check-out process－takes place on a social media platform, as part of its broader push to accelerate the digital transformation of traditional global trade.

China's Generation Z consumers, those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, have shown a rising demand for personalized, niche and intelligent products, said Diane Wang, founder, chairperson and CEO of DHgate, adding the company attaches great importance to the purchasing power of the younger generation.

According to her, the sales of intelligent equipment, such as robot vacuum cleaners, scooters and wearable devices via the online platform of DHgate surged more than 200 percent year-on-year in 2021.