Despite China’s economic slowdown, its luxury market rose by 20% last year, as brands have been adapting their digital strategies to a new Chinese luxury consumer. Traditional luxury brands have embraced Gen Z trends like streetwear and sneakers, leveraging a new breed of Chinese brand ambassadors — particularly young pop idols — to promote their products online. Brands are also responding to increasingly assertive Chinese luxury consumers with high purchasing power, as they can make or break brands’ reputations on social media. Protective of brand equity, luxury brands prefer to control their e-commerce experiences and customer relationships, as brand-owned WeChat stores and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sites remain more popular than mass e-tailers like Tmall and JD.com.