“From an unknown time, at the university campus delivery station, the eye-catching Poizon blue boxes are often piled up on the shelves, becoming a unique scenery. Nowadays, the contents of the Poizon boxes are becoming more diverse, expanding from the earliest trendy shoes and clothing to beauty and personal care products.
As the e-commerce platform with the highest concentration of young people today, Poizon firmly grasps the opportunity to cater to young consumers who have a higher pursuit of quality. This is not only Poizon’s expertise but also another opportunity for beauty merchants to gain new business volume.
In this regard, CHAILEEDO attempts to explore, from the perspective of consumers and the business experiences of brand merchants, how beauty merchants can win a larger market on Poizon and the possibility of another form of healthy beauty business amid intense competition.”
Poizon breaks the milestone of 10 billion yuan in beauty and cosmetics GMV, an unnoticed new battlefield for young consumers.
To a large extent, Poizon’s strong penetration among the post-95 generation has been overlooked.
In February of this year, Net Economy Society published the “Top 100 List of China’s Digital Retail in 2023,” which included eight comprehensive e-commerce platforms. Apart from the well-known Taobao, Pinduoduo, and JD.com, Poizon also secured a place, becoming one of the leading comprehensive e-commerce platforms in China.
It is worth mentioning that Poizon’s success follows a completely different path from traditional e-commerce platforms, largely due to its dominant influence among young consumers.
According to data obtained by CHAILEEDO, the number of Poizon app users has exceeded 300 million, with over 90% of them being post-90s users. The penetration rate among the 260 million post-95 young people in China is as high as 70%. The male-to-female user ratio is evenly balanced at 52% to 48%.
A highly representative scene is that in almost every university delivery station, you can see the iconic Poizon boxes neatly stacked together.
Xiaoxin, who has just graduated from university as a post-00s, is very familiar with Poizon. She says, “Almost all of my classmates have made purchases on Poizon. For me, I use Poizon because I can find the trendy shoes and clothing I want here.”
CHAILEEDO has noticed another significant change in the past two years: an increasing number of consumers are starting to purchase cosmetics on Poizon.
Jin Ying, who has been in the workforce for a year, recently bought an Armani lipstick on Poizon. When asked about the reasons for purchasing on Poizon, she told CHAILEEDO, “I used to buy shoes and bags on Poizon frequently, and the quality was very good. I already have a lot of trust in Poizon. Moreover, Poizon has advantages in terms of price and delivery speed.”
Building on the foundation of trust established through trendy shoes and clothing in the minds of young people, as Poizon expands into a full-category platform, young consumers with high stickiness and high average order value are equally willing to buy cosmetics on Poizon.
According to information obtained by CHAILEEDO from Poizon, the beauty and cosmetics GMV on the Poizon platform exceeded 10 billion yuan ($137.6 million) in 2023. The categories of sunscreen, makeup, and perfume have shown rapid growth, particularly with sunscreen and personal care categories growing by over 100%. Categories such as personal care, colored contact lenses, wearables, and essential oils have seen strong consumption among young users with impressive growth rates.
At an investor communication conference in 2023, the head of Poizon’s beauty and cosmetics division provided even more astonishing data: Poizon’s beauty and cosmetics segment has an annual growth of 12 million users, with a customer acquisition growth rate of 70% in the past three years. The average order value is above 300 yuan ($41.28), and the consumption frequency increased to 1.6 times in the third quarter of 2023. Female users account for over 60% of the beauty segment, far exceeding the overall female user ratio on the Poizon platform.
The essence of the market lies in the absence of a single correct answer. In the beauty e-commerce platform saturated with anxiety, Poizon’s beauty and cosmetics segment has achieved counter-trend growth by relying on a vast number of young consumers. It offers a more self-sustaining solution and provides a broader space for imagination in the beauty market.
Saying goodbye to the anxiety over traffic, a group of beauty merchants found certainty in “answers” on Poizon.
In the face of various strategies and emerging trends in the current beauty industry, beauty professionals often have one question: where are the certain business opportunities in the beauty market?
If we take a long-term perspective and look at the time horizon, including Generation Z consumers, they may be one of the few certain answers.
According to the “China Innovation Economy Report,” the overall consumption scale of China’s Generation Z is expected to grow fourfold to 16 trillion yuan ($2.2 trillion) by 2035, making it a key driver of future consumption market growth.
Recently, Pan Kaijie, Senior Vice President of L’Oréal North Asia and China Operations, also publicly stated, “In the course of history, the decline of some classic brands often stems from the decline in influence among the younger generation of consumers, which is often overlooked in the interpretation of L’Oréal’s success by the outside world, but it is crucial.”
Poizon, a platform targeting the “young,” is also becoming the definitive answer for domestic beauty brands seeking a healthy business and betting on the future.
C Ka Beauty, a rising domestic brand that gained popularity with its small jar masks, was one of the beauty brands that first discovered the potential of Poizon and achieved results.
“In October 2021, through relevant articles and asking friends around me, I discovered that Poizon had potential because it is a trendy platform for young people, a very large dividend platform,” said the C Ka Beauty brand.
Soon, C Ka Beauty tasted success. After joining Poizon, C Ka Beauty’s sales increased nearly tenfold during the same period, and in the first half of 2023, the brand’s overall sales increased nearly fivefold, ranking first in domestic facial cleanser sales.
In addition to C Ka Beauty, a large number of beauty brands quickly achieved results on Poizon. For example, the brand Grain Rain experienced a 272% year-on-year growth on Poizon in 2023, and the makeup brand Pinkbear achieved a 200% year-on-year growth on Poizon.
In addition to seeking rapid business growth on the Poizon platform, beauty brands often have larger goals, namely, strengthening the connection and communication with young people to make their brand image more youthful.
For example, KANS, which joined Poizon in May last year, stated, “KANS joined the Poizon platform to better expand KANS’s consumer age group and make more young consumers aware of the KANS.”
Winona, too, has stated, “The Poizon user profile is younger than the brand profile, and the overlap between Poizon users and Winona brand users is very low, which has high strategic value.”
As an e-commerce platform that has grown among young people, Poizon understands the lifestyle and changing beliefs of young people today, forming an operating model and pace of play that differentiates itself from traditional platforms.
One of the biggest characteristics of the Poizon platform is its strong gifting attribute.
Regarding this, Chen Lan, a Poizon distributor who specializes in unique brands like Dr.lrean Eras and Watercome, said, “Poizon hardly runs major promotions like 618 or Double 11. The explosive moments occur more in gifting scenarios. Poizon’s consumers make interest-based purchases and like things with a sense of ceremony.”
Nowadays, young people’s attitude towards gifting has shifted from the past “social obligation gifting” to a sense of “responsibility gifting.” They believe that gift-giving is vital for nurturing intimate relationships, and Poizon, which was the first to recognize this change, has made the gifting mindset the key to the performance explosion of beauty merchants.
Different from infrequent major promotions, the strong demand for gifting and multiple gifting occasions, along with the advantage of staggered promotions from e-commerce giants, greatly increases the probability of performance growth throughout the year for beauty merchants.
In 2024, based on Poizon’s unique gifting mindset and marketing strategy focused on the perspective of young consumer groups, KANS used community content to guide tens of thousands of daily transactions during the 520 period, amplifying the “product power,” “price competitiveness,” and the 520 mindset through community content, contributing one-third of the total transaction volume.
Specifically, KANS’s daily GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) for the brand increased fivefold, achieving over 10 million yuan ($1.38 million) in sales in 20 days and expanding its customer base by 40,000. During the 520 period, sales skyrocketed 33-fold, firmly securing the top spot in the domestic beauty and personal care category on Poizon.
In addition, during the 520 event, Poizon became one of the best-performing platforms for KANS’s men’s skincare gift boxes across all channels.
Regarding this, the KANS stated, “Over the past year, KANS has achieved rapid growth on the Poizon platform, steadily moving forward on the path to achieving performance targets. We have been steadily and steadily advancing, looking forward to even more stable growth and greater breakthroughs in the future.””
Old-established domestic brand Danzi Group’s sub-brands, WETCODE and Mu Lan Chun, also collaborated with Poizon to create a customized gift box for the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day). The gross merchandise value (GMV) exploded by over 7 times, and the percentage of consumers aged 19 to 25 increased from 37% to 63%, helping the brand to rejuvenate its user base.
In addition to brands, beauty distributors have also performed remarkably well on Poizon. By actively targeting gifting occasions, offering a range of gift boxes at different price points, and having a portfolio of over 3000 SKUs, Chen Lan, a beauty distributor with a team of 20 people, achieved an astonishing annual sales of 60 million yuan ($8.26 million) on Poizon last year.
“Next Stop” for Beauty Business: Let Genuine Demand Drive Business Growth
From January to June this year, CHAILEEDO visited over fifty well-known beauty companies and found that expensive traffic, platform saturation, and insufficient returns on advertising spending have become common concerns for beauty merchants in the online channel. Faced with sluggish growth in online channels, companies are urgently seeking ways to increase their sales.
The recent Chinese 618 shopping festival further amplified the anxiety between beauty merchants and platforms. Issues such as increased return rates, high advertising costs, and heavy online operational burdens have prompted merchants to reconsider their direction. Several traditional e-commerce platforms have resorted to a low-cost strategy in a rush for sales.
In the face of this situation, one cannot help but ask whether the price-driven competition, fueled by anxiety, is a healthy business model for the beauty industry. Is there another possibility for running a beauty business?
CHAILEEDO recognized a business model in Poizon that is closer to the essence of the beauty industry.
First and foremost, Poizon boasts an extremely low return rate. Thanks to Poizon’s innovative “inspect before shipment” model and accurate matching of products to customers, the beauty return rate on the platform is significantly lower than the industry average.
Wang Wei, a skincare distributor who joined Poizon in 2021, stated that the return rate on the platform is only 1%, much lower than the industry average. He said, “Poizon focuses on matching products to consumers’ genuine needs, rather than simply generating traffic or impulsive purchases. With real consumer demand and corresponding product matching, the return rate is comparatively low.”
In addition, Poizon platform offers advantages such as no advertising spending required, professional customer service, and no need for product listing images, significantly reducing operational and labor costs for merchants and allowing them to focus on the essence of their business.
Wang Wei, who leads a small team of six people, achieved sales of 16 million yuan ($2.2 million) on Poizon last year solely through product assortment and competitive pricing. He said, “Operating on Poizon is relatively simple. Each time we launch a new product, we receive support in terms of traffic. The wider the product range we offer, the greater the exposure. We bid on hundreds of SKU (stock-keeping unit) options, and in the end, around 100 SKUs have a competitive advantage, so we increase investment and maintain a consistent supply of those popular items.”
Moreover, Poizon’s platform attracts a large number of accurate and high-quality young consumers, offering a streamlined operational process and minimal costs for launching new products. Therefore, Poizon has become a core testing channel for many brands.
C Ka Beauty brand stated, “On Poizon, I can efficiently test products or create content with just a small team of two or three people to develop new products. This provides the company with greater and more efficient feedback compared to other platforms, where it might require a team of over ten people for operations.”
CHAILEEDO noticed that beauty brands generally have a strong demand for content creation and brand value accumulation. Poizon’s platform model, which combines content operations with commercialization, allows brands to achieve success in both content and business, meeting the real needs of beauty brands and aligning with the future development direction of the beauty market.
All of this stems from Poizon’s respect for “user experience” and its emphasis on the “real business environment.”
Yang Chen, an individual seller specializing in high-end products such as SK-II, YSL, and Helena Rubinstein, expressed deep appreciation for Poizon, stating, “We don’t do much marketing on Poizon, so marketing costs are not an issue. By sharing content and highlighting product advantages while communicating and interacting with users, we can generate more traffic and sales.”
Yang Chen told CHAILEEDO that during occasions such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day last year, she and her partner focused on selling popular items like YSL gold bars and Givenchy velvet lipsticks, and they achieved rapid growth in sales without relying on complex marketing strategies. Their gross merchandise value (GMV) exceeded 4 million yuan ($550,400).
Upon closer investigation, CHAILEEDO found that 90% of the traffic on Poizon is organic, with very little commercialized traffic. The fundamental reason for this lies in Poizon’s model, which is not primarily focused on monetizing through advertising traffic. Consequently, Poizon’s commercialization revolves around fulfilling consumers’ genuine needs, abandoning gimmicky marketing techniques, seasonal promotions, and discount vouchers, and returning to the true essence of business, where genuine demand drives business growth rather than relying on short-term traffic influx.
Looking back at Poizon’s development in the beauty industry, since its official launch in the beauty category in 2019, Poizon’s investment in the beauty sector has been increasing. Recently, Poizon partnered with the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology to establish the first domestic research base for cosmetic identification. The two parties will collaborate extensively in areas such as service standards for cosmetic identification, product quality control, and consumer education.
On the other hand, for beauty brands, a lack of deep insight into young people is precisely the missing link. As the beauty market becomes more refined, the new demands, product preferences, and consumer values of young people will play an increasingly critical role. How brands can continuously grasp and maintain their influence among young consumers, entering the Poizon platform may be the most direct and effective way.
Currently, many well-known beauty brands such as KANS, Proya, Winona, Grain Rain, Perfect Diary, CHANDO, C Ka Beauty, HBN, Pink Bear, Carslan, Mistine, and others have officially partnered with Poizon.
It is noted that Poizon is increasing its efforts to attract beauty merchants, with significant demand for personal care, contact lenses, wearable armor, essential oils, and other categories. It is reported that this year, Poizon will introduce new business initiatives such as billions of traffic, zero thresholds for entry, and one-on-one support to bring in a more diverse range of categories and merchants.
In addition, for new merchants, Poizon has launched policies such as a 30-day commission-free period and zero deposit for entry, and provides support through programs like the New Merchant Training Camp and personalized guidance for the first 30 days, helping new businesses to take off quickly. At the same time, Poizon will also help merchants achieve sales peaks through differentiated marketing during new-generation festivals.
Regarding new products, Poizon has introduced specific support programs such as targeted support for high-quality natural traffic, commission-free promotion of breakthrough products, and differentiated marketing and content operations, assisting potential new products in quickly standing out.
The power to choose the future of the beauty industry lies in the hands of young people, and as an e-commerce platform that understands young people the most, Poizon is building a bridge for beauty merchants towards more possibilities, gradually growing into a promising force in the beauty e-commerce industry.
Note: The interviewees mentioned in the text are pseudonyms.
Currently, there is strong demand for personal care, contact lenses, wearable armor, essential oils, and other categories on the Poizon platform. The platform provides various preferential policies for new merchants, including subsidies from billions of traffic and zero-cost entry. Friends interested in Poizon can scan the QR code for more information on platform benefits.
