Nomura Securities' research report points out that in October 2024, the number of monthly active users (MAS) of smart phones in china is expected to grow by 2.2% year-on-year, reaching 1.25 billion, remaining stable compared to previous months. The total online duration of users has increased by 5.8% year-on-year, maintaining a growth trend. The user engagement of e-commerce applications has improved during the november 11 shopping festival-related promotions, with alibaba's Taobao application and jd.com application seeing average monthly online durations increase by 21% and 23%, respectively, while pdd holdings, due to its lower reliance on significant promotional activities, only saw a 5% increase in average monthly online duration. Xiaohongshu (XHS) performed exceptionally, with an average monthly online duration growth of 39% year-on-year, daily active users (DAU) increasing by 16% year-on-year, reaching 0.107 billion, and the average online duration per DAU increasing by 20% year-on-year, reaching 86 minutes, close to WeChat levels.

Nomura Securities believes that although the recovery of the macro economy is still underway, the trend of stronger policies is clear. Under expectations of ahead of the curve, the overall consumer configuration attractiveness will increase. E-commerce platforms performed excellently during the november 11 shopping festival-related, especially jd.com and Xiaohongshu, showing strong appeal of e-commerce platforms during major promotional events.

The firm anticipates that user engagement and online duration on e-commerce platforms will continue to be affected by promotional activities, and the rapid growth of Xiaohongshu indicates its appeal among younger users. For the internet plus-related and new media industry, Nomura Securities recommends paying attention to changes in user growth and online duration, as well as the performance of e-commerce platforms during promotions, as these factors will have a significant impact on the future development of the industry.