NovaBay Pharmaceuticals takes to TikTok and Douyin to boost skincare e-commerce sales

30 Nov 2022 --- NovaBay Pharmaceuticals is leveraging social media to boost its virtual marketing and brand visibility in the US and China. The company is also promoting Dermadoctor’s skincare products via an online TikTok store.

NovaBay relies on lifestyle promotional video campaigns on TikTok and Chinese short-video app Douyin – owned by the same parent company, ByteDance – to reach new customers for its Avenova and Dermadoctor brand products. 

Douyin is the leading short-video app in China, and its new influencer videos provide opportunities to reach 550 million active monthly users, says Justin Hall, CEO at NovaBay.

“We are expanding our e-commerce presence for Dermadoctor products in China, which is the world’s largest e-commerce market, accounting for more than 50% of global e-commerce transactions.”

“UNQ Group, our new marketing partner in China, is running influencer videos through its Fancy subsidiary on Douyin while also developing e-commerce strategies and offering integrated solutions to promote our Dermadoctor products in this huge market for skincare products.”NovaBay’s online store has gained 15,000 followers, with more than 30,000 consumers placing Dermadoctor product orders through Tmall.

Chinese consumers bring success
Influencer ads via Douyin are noted to drive a 26% increase in Dermadoctor sales and 258% more visitors to its online Dermadoctor stores during Double 11 – also known as China Singles’ Day – the world’s biggest shopping event.

“We recently ran a successful campaign in China during the 12 days of Double 11, so named because it ends on November 11. This is the world’s highest-grossing online shopping festival, generating several times more revenue than Black Friday in the US,” says Hall.

“Earlier this year, we engaged Doumai, a leading e-commerce solution provider, to refresh our Dermadoctor e-commerce store on TMall, the Chinese counterpart to Amazon in China. Our online store has gained 15,000 followers, with more than 30,000 consumers placing Dermadoctor product orders through Tmall.”

Meanwhile, Wang Yong, chairman of UNQ Group, adds that working with NovaBay and promoting Dermadoctor’s skincare products aligns with the company’s mission to promote quality and exciting products for a healthy life.

Why TikTok?
NovaBay is using TikTok to promote products in the US, as the company touts the platform as being among the world’s most powerful forces in digital advertising.

Notably, the advertisements can reach young consumers and an audience of one billion users worldwide. Novabay also believes that TikTok is on track to more than double its ad revenue versus the prior year.

The fun lifestyle videos on TikTok are reportedly effective in creating brand awareness. An example of a video is Novabay reminding consumers to use Avenova Antimicrobial Lid & Lash Spray before putting on mascara. Another advertisement was created by teaming up with a physician to create a video message about managing blepharitis, an eyelid inflammation.

Novabay says brand awareness also drives sales on online platforms like Amazon. UNQ Group is running influencer videos through its Fancy subsidiary on Douyin.

E-commerce on the rise
In related news, the personal care space is witnessing increasing e-commerce success following Black Friday and China Singles’ Day.

Amyris shared that its brands’ sales in its direct-to-consumer channel reached record levels during Black Friday week. Newly launched Biossance took the spotlight as the top-selling brand, with Amyris expecting it to achieve US$20 million in retail sales combined with the two shopping events. Amyris expects to see growth in retail despite COVID-19 rules reportedly constraining Chinese shoppers.

As parts of the world reduce COVID-19 rules, the Chinese government is enforcing the Zero-COVID policy, imposing stricter measures three years into the crisis, which might explain why Chinese consumers are increasingly shopping online.

Last week, Global-e warned British retailers to expect an underwhelming Black Friday after its research found that 48% of UK consumers shop online from international retailers to find better deals in the US and China. Meanwhile, research from Beauty Daily by Clarins revealed that women in the UK are ditching skincare products due to the cost-of-living crisis.

By Venya Patel