"Tiktok refugees" flood Xiaohongshu

Author | Liu Baodan

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

In recent years, Xiaohongshu has been trying to break into the European and American markets, but has not made much of a splash. Now, Xiaohongshu has finally welcomed a good opportunity.

Recently, many users have been greeted by a group of foreigners when they open Xiaohongshu, who call themselves "TikTok Refugees." Most of them are American users coming from TikTok, sharing their lives, making friends, and even correcting homework for Chinese elementary school students, with views often reaching thousands or even tens of thousands.

In just one day, the topic #TikTok Refugee on Xiaohongshu has garnered nearly 2.4 million discussions, over 94.6 million interactions, and over 100 million views.

One user described the current atmosphere on the Xiaohongshu platform as "a mix of Chinese and English, a chaotic blend, and extremely lively." This globally shared social media app has achieved harmonious coexistence amid the process of de-globalization. The massive traffic brought by American users has also allowed Xiaohongshu to break out of its niche, climbing to the top of the free app charts in the US App Store.

The sudden popularity of Xiaohongshu has also boosted the A-share market. On January 14, many Xiaohongshu concept stocks in the A-share market hit the daily limit, including Yiwan Yichuang, Yaowang Technology, Yili Media, Aimer, Ge Li Si, and Pianao, while Tianxiaxiu also hit the limit after opening, with Dian Sheng Co., Huayang Lianzhong, and Yaoji Technology seeing significant gains.

Wall Street Journal has learned from internal sources that Xiaohongshu is taking a cautious approach to this wave of traffic but is also working on product function optimization to better serve newly registered American users. Meanwhile, the company's compliance team is also stepping up its efforts.

In the past, Xiaohongshu had made many carefully designed attempts to expand in overseas markets. In its early days, it launched Xiaohongshu apps in regions such as Japan, the United States, and Singapore, but did not generate much market response. After 2021, Xiaohongshu's pace of going overseas began to accelerate, launching multiple apps in Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America.

Xiaohongshu's overseas products are community-focused, covering fashion, outdoor activities, home, and urban topics. For example, it launched the fashion community Uniik in Japan and the urban community A’more in New York. Overall, Xiaohongshu has adopted a trial-and-error approach to going overseas, but has not yet made enough noise in the international market.

Although Xiaohongshu has long had plans for internationalization, including drawing on TikTok for product details such as comments and collections, this wave of unexpected fortune still comes as a surprise.

The uncertain fate of TikTok in the United States has led many foreign users to seek a new platform. It is worth noting that about 170 million Americans are using TikTok, which presents an unprecedented opportunity for Xiaohongshu.

As a content platform with lower barriers to entry, Xiaohongshu's product form is similar to Instagram, making it easier for many foreign users to join Xiaohongshu.

However, the current influx of American users into Xiaohongshu is more about emotional expression and stance declaration. After the brief excitement, whether these American users can stay will test Xiaohongshu. After all, Xiaohongshu's ability to serve overseas users still needs further validation From a product perspective, Xiaohongshu is not well-prepared, lacking even a built-in translation function. The registration process for overseas users is relatively simple, with no detailed review or content segmentation.

The greater challenge lies in the competitive pressure and regulatory risks that Xiaohongshu faces, which are no less than those faced by ByteDance. On the contrary, the situation for Xiaohongshu may be even more severe.

It is well-known that global social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Shorts have all grown from the U.S. homeland, with more mature product features and commercialization models. In contrast, the vast majority of Xiaohongshu's users are domestic, and the appeal to American users in terms of community atmosphere and localized content supply still needs further observation.

Compared to the localized approach of TikTok, Xiaohongshu has a lot of homework to do and must also face ByteDance's counterattacks. In fact, ByteDance has long been well-prepared for TikTok's situation, with its alternative being the lifestyle community platform Lemon8, which ranks second in downloads just behind Xiaohongshu.

As a domestic internet company known for its slow pace, Xiaohongshu was founded in 2013 and only began to rise significantly in recent years. In June 2021, Xiaohongshu's daily active users reached 50 million, showing exponential growth. The following year, daily active users surpassed 100 million. In 2023, Xiaohongshu's monthly active users continued to grow by 20%, reaching 300 million.

According to insiders, Xiaohongshu is expected to double its profits and exceed $1 billion in 2024. After becoming profitable, Xiaohongshu can invest more confidently in international markets.

After more than a decade of development, Xiaohongshu has finally entered a golden period of growth, with notable achievements in user engagement and commercialization, while also catching the wave of internationalization. Whether Xiaohongshu can seize this unprecedented influx of traffic and successfully elevate its status will be a test like no other.

In summary, Xiaohongshu is about to embark on a new round of upgrades and challenges