Top traffic sources and verticals for Chinese New Year

Top Traffic Sources and verticals for Chinese New Year

The upcoming 2024 Chinese New Year festival will begin on February 10th and end on February 24th. With a staggering population of 899 million people, China is currently one of the largest consumer economies worldwide. And one of China’s main yearly events is Chinese New Year, a highly popular online shopping event, presenting a valuable opportunity for online vendors to increase their revenues and enhance brand recognition. 2024 is also the year of the Dragon, symbolizing strength, courage, and good fortune, making this an extra auspicious time for businesses! If you are wondering Why bid for ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources? In this article we will look at the benefits of using ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources, to help you convert your online offers during this huge online shopping event in China. We have gathered exclusive Network stats and market trends, on the top traffic sources and verticals for Chinese New Year, as well as expert Account Manager tips to help you make your campaigns thrive!

Why bid for ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources?

During the Chinese New Year festivities, we have observed valuable online sales trends that can greatly benefit your campaigns targeting this event. The number of orders placed on Chinese New Year’s eve in 2023 jumped by 171% year-on-year, indicating a market with significant buying power.

In order to help you prepare your Chinese New year advertising campaigns, we have analyzed ExoClick’s Network data from the Chinese New Year period 2023. By comparing impressions before and during the festival (from January 6th to January 19th and from January 22nd to February 9th), we have identified significant increases in impressions across the four highest performing verticals to help you decide which offers are best to promote. Additionally, we have examined click-through rates (CTRs) for the top most popular verticals and their top performing ad formats during the event dates (from January 22, 2023, to February 9, 2023), as well as the best performing device. This has helped us to compile the top traffic sources and verticals for Chinese New Year 2024! These findings can help inform your strategies and optimize your campaigns for maximum impact during this event.

Impressions share across devices (Mobile, Desktop, Tablet)

During the Chinese New Year 2023, Mobile devices were the preferred choice for consumers to make their purchases, representing an impressive 85% of the total impressions share. Desktop devices accounted for 12.8% of impressions, while Tablets had a 2.2% share. These statistics suggest that Mobile devices hold the greatest potential for ad impressions in China during Chinese New Year 2024.

Impressions share across devices (Mobile, Desktop, Tablet) January 22 to February 9, 2023. 

Chinese New Year ad formats and verticals

Now that we have analyzed the device breakdown, let’s explore some of the top traffic sources and verticals for Chinese New Year. The top verticals include Casino, Games, VoD and Live Streaming. In this section, we will explore the top verticals and their best performing ad formats during the period of January 22 2023 to February 9 2023. We will also compare the increase in impressions from January 6th to January 19th (Approximately two weeks before Chinese New Year 2023) to January 22nd to February 9th, which are the dates Chinese New Year took place in 2023. Please note that the information provided is based on internal Network Business Intelligence data and market trends during the specified time period.

#1 Casino:

Chinese New Year and games offers go hand in hand, the Chinese online gambling market size reached US$ 9.9 Billion in 2022, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% during 2023-2028, reaching US$ 15.7 Billion by 2028. During Chinese New Year 2023, the online entertainment industry, particularly the Gambling and Casino verticals, experienced significant growth. Internal data reveals that the best performing ad formats during Chinese New Year 2023 for the Casino vertical were Fullpage Interstitial, Sliders, and Banner ads, which had the highest CTR.

Top ad format CTRs for the Casino vertical on January 22 2023 to February 9 2023:

Top Ad Formats for Chinese New Year

Please note that in China, the Chinese New Year is a great time for Casino and Gambling offers as the Chinese have a gambling tradition during the New Year celebrations. Gambling is said to remove the bad luck of the previous year and provide good tidings for the new year. Therefore there will be a lower CTR during the Chinese New Year but you may see the largest increase in impressions on the Casino vertical. This is why you should bid for ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources, you will increase your qualified leads and you are investing in the buying power available in China. This makes Casino a worthwhile vertical to invest into in China during the Chinese New Year.

Based on the data collected between January 6th-19th compared to January 22nd-February 9th, 2023, there was a significant increase in impressions across different devices. Mobile impressions saw a remarkable growth of +71.4%, Desktop impressions increased by +42.3%, and Tablet impressions experienced a substantial rise of +60.8%. This shows that Chinese New Year games offers are a good vertical to promote during the festival for a high return on investment.

Comparison of Impressions for the Casino vertical: 6th-19th January vs. 22nd January-9th February 2023

Casion Vertical and

#2 Games 

In 2022, the online Chinese Gaming market achieved a revenue of 6.31 billion U.S. dollars, attracting 654 million Chinese gamers. During Chinese New Year 2023, the highest CTRs were observed for Fullpage Interstitial, In-stream, Slider, Banner, and Outstream ad formats. Notably, In-Stream ads performed exceptionally well for games, with a CTR of 7.7% on Mobile, 3.7% on Desktop, and 20.6% on Tablet devices. Chinese New Year games offers do very well during the festival. With ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources, we recommend exploring the various video options, such as In-Stream, Slider, and In-Stream, to optimize your offerings in this domain.

Top ad format CTRs for the Games vertical on January 22 2023 to February 9 2023:

Top traffic sources and verticals for Chinese New Year

Comparing the 6th-19th January with the 22nd January-9th February 2023, we can see a 49.7% increase in impressions on Mobile and 15.4% increase on Desktop and 9.9% increase on Tablet during Chinese New year 2023.

Impressions increases for the Chinese New Year games offers: 6th-19th January vs. 22nd January-9th February 2023

Chinese New Year games offers

#3 VoD sites

In 2022, China was estimated to have about 429 million video streaming users, second only to the United States. The Chinese VoD industry is expected to reach a value of €26.01bn in 2027 

For the VoD vertical, the most popular verticals were  Fullpage Interstitial, In-Stream, Push, Slider, and Outstream. The best performing ad format on Mobile devices was the Fullpage Interstitial, which achieved a CTR of 4.7% on Mobile, 6.2% on Desktop, and 4.2% on Tablet.

Top ad format CTRs for the VoD vertical on January 22 2023 to February 9 2023:

Chinese New Year games offers

Based on the data collected between January 6th and January 19th, compared to January 22nd and February 9th, 2023, there was a significant increase in impressions for the VoD vertical. Specifically, there was a +42.7% increase in impressions on Mobile, a +45.4% increase on Desktop, and a +38.3% increase on Tablet during the Chinese New Year in 2023.

Comparison of Impressions for VoD vertical: 6th-19th January vs. 22nd January-9th February 2023

Chinese New Year games offers

#4 Live Streaming

The China Internet Network Information Center reported that by December 2022, the number of live-streaming users had reached 751 million, a 47.28 million increase from the previous year. The live streaming market’s user base and usage rates have been on a steady rise. Entertainment is the most compelling content for Chinese viewers with 75.5% of participants indicating that they watch entertainment content. Streaming services offer a wide range of content, including live game play and interactive games between influencers and fans. The top formats for streaming ads were In-Stream, Outstream, Sliders, Banners, and Native. Among these formats, In-Stream videos achieved the highest CTR with 9.2% on Mobile, 8.6% on Tablet, and 3.9% on Desktop.

Top ad format CTRs for the Live Streaming vertical on January 22 2023 to February 9 2023:

ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources

According to the data collected between January 6th and January 19th, compared to January 22nd and February 9th 2023, we observed significant increases in streaming activity during the Chinese New Year. Specifically, there was a 43.2% increase on Mobile, a 51.0% increase on Desktop, and a 9.9% increase on Tablet. These findings indicate that during this festive period, there is a heightened demand for new entertainment content and subscriptions.

Comparison of Impressions for Live Streaming vertical: 6th-19th January vs. 22nd January-9th February 2023:

Top Traffic Sources and verticals for Chinese New Year

Top tips to convert your offers using ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources. 

Based on this information, we have curated a comprehensive list of tips shared by our Account Managers. These valuable recommendations will assist you in selecting the top traffic sources and verticals for your brand with ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources thus maximizing your Conversions during the upcoming Chinese New Year 2024.

1. Understand the cultural significance and embrace festive themes: Incorporate traditional Chinese New Year symbols, colors, and imagery into your ad designs. Use the color red for good luck and include symbols like lanterns, firecrackers, and zodiac animals, particularly the dragon. These visuals will capture attention, create excitement, and resonate with your audience during this festive period.

2. Offer exclusive discounts and promotions: Chinese New Year is a time when people are actively seeking deals and discounts. Create exclusive offers and promotions tailored to this occasion to attract customers. Consider limited-time promotions, bundled deals, and personalized offers that cater to the preferences and needs of your Chinese customers.

3. Create engaging video content: Video content is highly engaging and can capture the attention of your audience effectively. Develop creative and visually appealing videos that highlight your Chinese New Year offers and share them across various platforms. For more tips and tricks on video content read our blog on how to optimize video advertising campaigns.

4. Thorough localizations: There’s a total of 302 spoken languages in China, including Standard Mandarin, Min Chinese, Wu Chinese, Cantonese (Yue) and Jin Chinese. Make sure to have your ads translated especially for your target audiences. Also, especially if you are using push notification ads, remember to use dynamic tokens for regional targeting to reach specific locations. These tokens could be by city, region and country.

5. Optimize for Mobile: Ensure that your website and landing pages are Mobile-friendly, as a significant portion of online activities in China are conducted through Mobile devices. A seamless Mobile experience will enhance user engagement and increase conversion rates.

6. Monitor and Analyze Performance: Optimize your campaigns using The Bidder, ExoClick’s bidding automation tool, which allows you to automate the optimization of your campaigns by adjusting your bids by ad zone and blocking non-converting ad zones. Read our guide on The Bidder here.

Conclusion: The Top traffic sources and verticals for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year presents a golden opportunity for Advertisers to connect with their target audience and maximize online offers. To answer the question at the beginning of this article “Why bid for ExoClick’s high quality Chinese traffic sources?”, by implementing these creative tips and using ExoClick’s high quality traffic sources you can increase your impressions and brand recognition in one of the largest markets in the world. By paying attention to the top traffic sources, verticals and ad formats that excel during Chinese New Year you can help you create impactful advertising and creatives that resonate with your audience, drive engagement, and ultimately boost your conversions during this festive season. Embrace the spirit of Chinese New Year and if you want more information about how ExoClick can help you make the most of your offers in China Contact our Team or Sign Up today to increase your brand visibility and conversions this Chinese New Year.

Alice Naughton