“达人直播的佣金比例越来越高”

Core Viewpoint - The beauty industry in China is facing a flow dilemma, with increasing commission rates for live streaming influencers, which has led to a significant rise in marketing costs and a decline in profit margins for local brands [3][4][8]. Group 1: Industry Challenges - The commission rate for influencers in live streaming is projected to rise from 40% in 2024 to 60% in 2025, indicating a growing cost burden for beauty brands [8]. - Local beauty brands, such as Proya, have heavily relied on traffic-driven strategies, resulting in high sales expenses. In 2024, Proya's sales expenses reached 5.16 billion yuan, accounting for 47.9% of its revenue of 10.77 billion yuan [8][17]. - The marginal returns on channel expenses are diminishing, as Proya's revenue growth rate fell 8 percentage points behind its sales expense growth rate in 2024 [8]. Group 2: Shift in Marketing Strategies - Many companies are transitioning from influencer-driven sales to self-operated content, as the era of influencer marketing is perceived to be declining [9][10]. - The CEO of Youmai Technology noted that the current trend is moving away from reliance on influencers, with brands needing to develop strong in-house content capabilities to survive [12]. - Proya has established its content department in 2025 to adapt to the changing landscape and improve its marketing effectiveness [12]. Group 3: R&D Investment Concerns - The beauty industry in China has a common issue of under-investing in research and development (R&D). Proya's R&D expenditure was only 210 million yuan in 2024, representing just 1.9% of its revenue [16]. - The lack of R&D capabilities among most beauty companies is a significant concern, especially as the market becomes more competitive and consumers demand higher quality products [16][17]. - The disparity in R&D investment between local brands and multinational companies is stark, with companies like L'Oréal investing approximately 10 billion yuan in R&D in 2024, nearly equivalent to Proya's total revenue [17]. Group 4: Market Dynamics and Future Outlook - The beauty market has seen a slowdown in new brand emergence, with the flow of traffic becoming more expensive and less accessible [14][18]. - The competitive landscape is intensifying, with local brands needing to focus on brand building and R&D to avoid being outperformed by more established competitors [16][18]. - The path to becoming a globally recognized brand is challenging for local companies, as they must overcome significant organizational and operational differences compared to multinational firms [17].