Shanghai, May 28, 2026 – “Worth Every Glance” 2026 Xiaohongshu Luxury Summit was held at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai. More than a hundred senior executives from luxury brands across leather goods, jewelry, watch，and ready-to-wear gathered to dissect the shifting mindset of consumer decision-making and explore new ways for brands to be “seen” by users in the new cycle.
01.
Shift in Consumption Mindset: From “Owning Status” to “Witnessing the Moment”
Within Xiaohongshu’s content ecosystem, the intersection between luxury goods and users’ life moments has become increasingly clear: the first paycheck spent on an accessible luxury bag, a classic watch to celebrate a promotion, a dazzling diamond ring before the wedding – behind every luxury purchase stands a user experiencing or aspiring to a significant life moment.
Mi Yang, Group General Manager of Luxury and Services, Commercialization Department, Xiaohongshu, pointed out that today’s consumers no longer measure a luxury product’s “worth” merely by the logo, but by whether it can represent who they are at that moment. For example, when Xiaohongshu users share their luxury purchases, they increasingly mention emotions such as a sense of control, belonging, admiration, stability, achievement, and contentment – all indicating that consumers are redefining “worth” through their inner feelings.
Emotion is the starting point, and aesthetics the language. Following the threads of emotion, Xiaohongshu identifies timeless styles from the sources of aesthetics – time, culture, geography, and psychology – helping brands find resonance with their users.
Powered by massive volumes of authentic UGC and active search behavior, Xiaohongshu has become the first touchpoint where users’ “impulses” are sparked, as well as the first-stop in their decision-making journey. Connecting hearts through emotion and delivering value through aesthetics represents a new path for brands to build deep connections with users on Xiaohongshu.
As Mi Yang emphasized: “What brands need to do is no longer unilaterally declare ‘who I am’, but accompany users in witnessing ‘this moment of me’.” When every moment of desire is precisely responded to, luxury brands can find sustained growth echoes within the life milestones of their users.
02.
On Xiaohongshu, Finding the Resonance Solution Between Brands and “Life Moments”
Facing the profound changes in consumption triggers, Xiaohongshu systematically released a set of replicable growth solutions at the summit – centered on three pillars: high-quality content, great products, and major events – helping brands transform the intangible “user moment” into sustainable and measurable growth.
First, High-Quality Content Inspires Aspiration
Great content is not just information delivery; it is emotional connection. As Xuan Shuang, Head of Creator Marketing and Commercial Services, Xiaohongshu, said: “From brand-building to real-life experiences, content sparks users’ longing.”
From celebrities, scholars to diverse creators across different circles, Xiaohongshu has built a rich ecosystem of expression – where content and commercial seeding capability reinforce each other.
Along the path from discovery to purchase, Xiaohongshu has built a five-tier influencer matrix – from brand narrators to persona definers to life translators – forming a complete brand discourse system. The extension from influencers to buyers allows seamless transition from seeding to conversion, helping brands cultivate new business models on Xiaohongshu, turning every moment of desire into a product that can be acquired.
When online content deeply resonates with offline scenarios, an immersive store-visit note, a live stream of a pop-up event, a gallery tour shared with creators – all can become reasons for users to set out, turning the brand’s physical space into a new heartland of desire.
Second, Great Products Grow Organically
“Great products are not just chosen; they are nurtured.” Chang Le, Head of Luxury, Commercialization Department, Xiaohongshu, shared the omni-seeding methodology– using data to identify the most promising products, continuously calibrating through content, and accompanying the whole journey with refined operations, moving from “finding more people” to “finding the right people.”
Coupled with back-end capabilities such as Xiaohongshu in-platform conversion and CID,the platform further helps brands complete the entire journey from content exposure to user retention, from seeding to conversion and long-term operations, ushering in a new era of precision, resonance, and omnichannel capabilities.
Third, Make Major Events Emotional Assets
Offline mega campaigns are the rarest emotional amplifiers for luxury. From brand runways and art exhibitions to city pop-ups, Xiaohongshu leverages content seeding, search takeovers, and offline experiences to turn every life anchor point into a brand-related emotional peak, letting consumers naturally gravitate toward the brand at the right emotional moment.
Behind this process lies Xiaohongshu’s unique community ecosystem, which continues to ferment. Whether the delicate recording of beautiful moments in “Xiaomeishuo（小美说）” or co-created new trends through RED GALA – all amplify these small but precious user moments into community-wide “marketing highlights”.
As Cun Xi, Head of Luxury, Integrated Marketing Center, Commercialization Department, Xiaohongshu, said: “A truly great event is not a short-lived firework, but a deep resonance between offline ritual and online in-depth video, podcasts, and UGC, moving the brand from ‘briefly seen’ to ‘long remembered’.”
03.
Making Every “Witness” Resonate: Xiaohongshu introduces a New Luxury Business Ecosystem
When consumption behavior shifts from external expression to self‑driven narrative, brands need to be not narrators but witnesses. This view resonated strongly in the roundtable discussion.
Hong Fu, Platform Expert Lead of Luxury, Commercialization Department, Xiaohongshu, together with Kathy Jiang, Roland Berger Partner; Fil Xiaobai, Fashion Creator / Co-Founder of WHMEDIA; Riley Luo, Fashion & Lifestyle Creator / Brand Founder; and Vanilla Qian, General Manager, Client Solutions, WPP Media noted: luxury is moving from external symbols to inner experiences. Emotional fulfillment and life texture are becoming new value anchors. Xiaohongshu’s authentic content ecosystem and data capabilities help brands engage users across different life stages,enabling the narrative shift from “being looked up to” to “being witnessed.”
From the starting point of consumer desire in consumption decisions, to the triple value of great content, to the omni-seeding methodology, to the emotional amplifier of major events – Xiaohongshu is redefining how luxury brands cultivate desirability and inspire lasting aspiration in China.
In the future, Xiaohongshu will continue to build on the “life moment” as its core anchor, using genuine user insights as foundation, accompanying brands to find sustainable, deterministic growth – charting a new path for luxury growth in every moment worth glancing.
About Xiaohongshu
Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is one of China’s leading lifestyle and interest-based communities, where users share their daily lives through images, text, video, and livestreaming. Over the past 12 years, the platform has developed three major business pillars: community content, commercial advertising, and e-commerce.
Today, Xiaohongshu has grown into a cross-generational platform for sharing daily life content, and a hub for interest and hobby exploration. Committed to the mission of “Inspire Lives,” Xiaohongshu combines technology with human-centered storytelling to create a community rooted in authenticity, inspiration, and emotional connection.
For more information, please visit https://www.xiaohongshu.com/en
