Selling to China from elsewhere no longer necessarily requires heavy set-up costs and local product registration. Yet it still requires a close understanding of Chinese consumers, how they select products and what makes them tick. So how is e-commerce helping brands to be successful?

French fashion house Christian Dior has become the first luxury brand in China to take advantage of WeChat's live streaming function, as it attempts to leverage social shopping – which is popular among the nation's young – on a platform that has one billion monthly active users.

Growing up in a more open and richer China, post-90s youth are the driving force of luxury sales growth. As their approach to buying luxury is less about financial status and more so to express themselves and flaunt knowledge, brands are adapting to appeal to this new spending power.

Known as ‘Wang Hongs’, highly relatable internet stars in China now surpass bloggers when it comes to doing business with major brands. But the superficial nature of the lifestyles presented on social media can have a negative impact on the mental health of these influencers and their audiences.