AuMake launching social marketplace for Australian brands

Daigou business AuMake announced the second major shift in its business model in the last year, noting it will launch a new online marketplace specifically aimed at helping Australian brands reach influencers in Asia.

The platform will function as a social e-commerce marketplace – a fast growing segment of the Asian e-commerce ecosystem driven by the emergence of sites such as Pinduoduo and Xiaohongshu.

Through this platform, AuMake will help Australian brands to connect with Asian influencers and their social networks, allowing access to new customers in the region while providing influencers with lower prices for their fans.

“We’re absolutely delighted to provide a new way for Australian brands to meet the demands of the fast-changing Asian consumer market,” AuMake executive chairman, Keong Chan, said.

“Asian consumers are increasingly using using integrated platforms to buy products based on opinions within their social network and increasingly less on what the brands, retailers or advertisers are telling them. In China, it’s now about discovering products with friends, sharing that experience and buying on that same platform – with product is part of the journey, not simply the end point.”

The social commerce market in China is estimated to be worth $499 billion (2,419.4 billion yuan) in 2022, with user-generated content having become one of the most effective ways to increase engagement and customer reach for brands in the region.

And while AuMake will continue to have a physical foot print, these stores will increasingly be used to convert in-store traffic to the online platform and future marketplace.

This story first appeared on our sister publication Internet Retailing