Raised from different cultures, there is a huge variety of hats. Just like the clothing category, the demand for hats is also changing fast with the season and trends. Knowing what kind of hats are getting popular in the local market is essential for hat brands who are willing to join the Chinese market. While China has become a huge market for all kinds of accessories, it should be interesting for you to know more about the fashion hats and caps market and trends in China.
Overview and Insights on the Chinese Hats Market
The Chinese Hats & Caps Market Value
When you want to enter a market, the first thing you need to know is definitely the value of the market. Is the market important? It is big enough for so many competitors? According to Statista, the Chinese hats and caps market has a 6.63 billion USD market value in 2022. Compare to the Worldwide hats and caps market with 25.87 billion USD, the Chinese market is currently taking 25.6% of the global hats and caps market.
The Hats & Caps Market for Men, Women, and Children in China
Who is the main audience of hat products in China? In 2022, the women’s hats & caps market in China has a 3.37 billion USD market value. This is 50.8% of the total market of China. The men’s and children’s hats & caps market counted for 2.45 and 0.81 billion USD, taking 36.9% and 12.2% of the market share. In 2022, the women’s hat market is still the most important category in China.
Chinese Customers are More Willing to Buy Hats Online
With their advanced e-commerce in China, Chinese customers are usually relying more on online shopping than offline retail. In 2022, the online sales of women’s, men’s, and children’s hats and caps are taking 58.7%, 59%, and 60.4% of their market value. Compared to the Global market with 35.2%, 35%, and 32% online sales, brands need to put more emphasis on online sales in China.
Trends in China: What is On Time? What is Emerging?
Street Wear Leading to the Rise of Fisherman Hat
The Chinese fashion lovers among the younger generations (Gen Z) are putting more emphasis on the fisherman hat. With the raise of the hip-hop trend in China, many fashion youths are willing to dress in a street style. It has been a common choice for them to show their taste and find similar people through their outfits. They will show some featured detail in outfits inadvertently with their choice of accessories and clothing. This benefited fisherman hats with a growing popularity. In the winter of 2022, the search for fisherman hats on Douyin had a 58.1% year-on-year growth. The image of fisherman hats has been changed from outdoor headwear to a symbol of fashion.
Berets are Popular for Making your Face Looks Smaller
When Chinese customers are buying hats, they are very likely driven by the wearing appearance. This made berets popular in China for making their face looks smaller. According to CBN Data, the search for berets on Douyin has grown by 64.7% in 2022. More female customers are willing to buy a beret for this reason.
The Unisex Trend and the Boyish Girl Trend
The unisex trend is making the fixed gender of apparel blur or showing a feeling of contrast by mixing the elements of different genders. This trend is affecting more and more fashion lovers in China, especially girls. The boyish girl is an idea born from the unisex trend, Gen Z girls are discovering themselves from the fashion trends. In 2021, videos about boyish girls on social media have grown by 59.5%, with a +147.8% growth in total views.
Show How to Make an Outfit on Social Media
People never wear a hat alone, so they always need a hat that matches their outfit. Promoting on social media to show how your hat looks in different outfit styles can be a good strategy. Chinese customers are now putting more eyes on the outfit’s appearance than the brand name. So when your hat looks good on different outfits, it convinces your customer to purchase.
Xiaohongshu: The Fashion-Focused Social Media
In 2022, Xiaohongshu now has more than 200 million monthly active users, of which 70% of them are female, 72% of them are younger generations, and 50% of them are from first and second-tier cities. This user base made fashion a top topic on Xiaohongshu. According to the data from Qiangua Research, the Top 1 tag on Xiaohongshu is Fashion lovers, counting for 19.6% of their users, while 8.96% of them are focusing on outfits. Promote your hats on Xiaohongshu can target your audience directly and effectively.
Baidu SEO: A Must for Your Online Reputation
This is on your brand level, it’s the solution when your customers doubt your reputation. Chinese customers are more willing to purchase a product from a brand with an online reputation. The very basic demand is to see you on the top when they search your brand name. Just like what you might be doing on Google, search engine optimization on Baidu is very necessary for China. Since Google is blocked in China, you really need to repeat what you did with Google on Baidu, the No.1 search engine in China.
E-commerce is the Key to Sales in China
As we have discovered, the online sales of hats in China have taken around 60% of the market value. This made e-commerce very important for your brand. In China, there are 3 main e-commerce platforms Tmall, JD, which saves you time and effort in applying for a Chinese business license.
How Can GMA Support You
GMA always makes our marketing plan based on our current situation and your demand. We can help you start from the previous market research to know your position and competitors in China. Based on the result, we carefully make your marketing strategy. GMA never tries to sell as many services as possible, all we want is your success with the best ROI. The strategy won’t be our final step, GMA can offer 360°services based on what you need. E-commerce, Social media, Baidu SEO, all you need is all we offer.
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