(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction
As China’s digital ecosystem evolves at lightning speed, advertising budgets in 2025 are shifting dramatically toward performance-driven, full-funnel, and AI-powered channels. Overseas brands that understand these shifts early can secure cost-efficient growth and stronger ROI in one of the world’s most competitive markets. This article breaks down the five major budget trends shaping China in 2025 and shows exactly how leading brands are reallocating their spend.
1. Performance Marketing Takes the Largest Share of Budget
1.1 Douyin & Kuaishou Short Video Dominates Spend Short video platforms now account for over 35% of many brands’ digital budgets in China. ROI on Douyin and Kuaishou often exceeds traditional e-commerce ads because of seamless “see-now-buy-now” conversion paths. Brands are moving 40-60% of former Tmall/Taobao budgets into short video feed ads and live streaming.
1.2 Lower-Funnel Effect Ads Gain Priority Search, information flow, and livestream ads that drive direct conversion are receiving 70%+ of performance budgets in 2025. Upper-funnel brand awareness campaigns are being reduced or merged into always-on micro-campaigns to maintain cost efficiency.
2. Private Traffic & Mini-Program Ecosystems Absorb More Budget
2.1 WeChat Mini-Programs & Video Accounts Become Core Channels Overseas brands are increasing WeChat ecosystem budgets by 50-80% year-on-year because private traffic delivers 3-5× higher LTV than public platforms. Mini-program stores combined with Video Accounts and Official Accounts create closed-loop conversion without leaving WeChat.
2.2 Member Loyalty Systems Justify Higher Retention Spend Brands now allocate 15-25% of total budget to member acquisition and reactivation (points, coupons, exclusive content), turning one-time buyers into repeating high-value customers.
3. AI-Driven Creative & Bidding Tools Reduce Waste
3.1 Giant Players’ AI Creative Suites Cut Production Costs 60% Tools like Douyin’s “AI One-Click Generate” and Baidu’s intelligent creative platforms allow brands to produce thousands of ad variants in hours instead of weeks. This dramatically lowers creative spend while improving CTR and relevance.
3.2 Smart Bidding Captures 80% of Performance Budget oCPM, oCPC, and value-based bidding models now dominate because they optimize toward ROAS instead of just clicks or impressions. Manual CPC bidding is almost extinct among mid-to-large advertisers.
4. Cross-Platform Full-Funnel Strategies Replace Single-Channel Focus
4.1 Integrated RED + Douyin + WeChat Budget Allocation Top-performing overseas brands in 2025 use a 30/40/30 split: RED for premium exposure and community, Douyin for reach and conversion, WeChat for retention and private traffic. This full-funnel approach delivers 2-3× better overall ROAS than single-platform strategies.
4.2 Live Streaming Budgets Double Year-on-Year Regular weekly or bi-weekly livestreams with KOLs or self-broadcasting teams now receive dedicated budget lines separate from regular feed ads, often 20-30% of total spend for consumer brands.
5. Data Compliance & Brand Safety Force New Budget Lines
5.1 Mandatory Data Compliance Tools Eat 5-10% of Budget With stricter personal information protection laws, brands must now invest in compliant CDP and DMP solutions to keep running personalized ads legally.
5.2 Anti-Fraud & Verification Tools Become Standard Expense Third-party monitoring and anti-brush traffic services are no longer optional—overseas brands routinely allocate 3-8% of budget to ensure every yuan is spent on real users.
Case Study: European Luxury Beauty Brand – 340% ROAS in 9 Months A well-known European luxury skincare brand entered China in early 2025 with PLTFRM. We reallocated their original 80% Tmall-focused budget into a 40% Douyin & Kuaishou, 35% WeChat Mini-Program & Video Account, 25% RED + private domain strategy. Using AI creative tools and smart bidding, creative production costs dropped 62% while ROAS climbed from 80% to 340% in nine months. Member retention rate reached 68% thanks to WeChat private traffic nurturing.
PLTFRM is an international brand consulting agency that works with companies such as Red, TikTok, Tmall, Baidu, and other well-known Chinese internet e-commerce platforms. We have been working with overseas brands for over a decade, helping them navigate budget shifts and platform changes exactly like the ones outlined above. Contact us, and we will help you find the best China e-commerce platform for you. Search PLTFRM for a free consultation!
