Can an app with a mere three Chinese characters top the App Store charts in the United States?

On January 19, TikTok will face its final ruling in the United States. Based on previous judicial debates, TikTok may be at risk of being banned. This looming threat has prompted a significant influx of users to Xiaohongshu, akin to a wave of "refugees," causing Xiaohongshu to soar past Lemon8 and ChatGPT to the top of the App Store's US download rankings.

This is not the first time Xiaohongshu has experienced a surge of foreign users, but this influx is larger and more intense, compelling Xiaohongshu to reevaluate its strategy of using a single app to "conquer the world" for its overseas expansion.

Xiaohongshu's overseas expansion journey has always been fraught with challenges. Multiple apps launched exclusively for international markets have frequently failed, while the Xiaohongshu app itself has consistently attracted waves of overseas traffic. With this new influx of TikTok users, can Xiaohongshu seize this opportunity to achieve a significant breakthrough in its global ambitions?

I. The Surge of Foreign Users: A Recurring Phenomenon

Xiaohongshu has witnessed a notable surge in traffic from TikTok.

Currently, the #tiktokrefugee hashtag on Xiaohongshu boasts 108,000 notes, 1.821 million discussions, and 64.906 million views. Random posts yield thousands to tens of thousands of interactions, with many netizens urging Xiaohongshu to swiftly introduce a "translation" function.

According to some American TikTok users, they joined Xiaohongshu after hearing that it was similar to TikTok, expressing their dissatisfaction with the US government's attempts to block TikTok under the pretext of national security threats.

A content creator with the username allieusyaps stated that he and others would not return to Instagram or Facebook but had chosen Xiaohongshu instead. He humorously wrote in his post: "Look, I might not have a job next week, but we're going to learn Mandarin, baby!"

Another creator, Krystan Walmsley, shared a video demonstrating how to set up and decorate a Xiaohongshu account, enthusing, "This app is so cute and has been very fun so far."

This user influx has also led to a rapid increase in Xiaohongshu's downloads. As of Monday (January 13), Xiaohongshu shot to the top of the US App Store download charts, surpassing ByteDance's Lemon8 and OpenAI's ChatGPT.

The arrival of American users was sudden. When Chinese netizens opened Xiaohongshu in the morning, they were greeted by a screen full of English posts, all with IP addresses originating from the United States. Chinese users were understandably confused, wondering, "Who am I? Where am I?" Every few steps, they encountered a "foreigner," forcing Chinese netizens into English reading comprehension mode.

This is not the first time foreign users have flooded into Xiaohongshu due to TikTok's influence.

At the beginning of 2024, a large number of foreigners unexpectedly appeared under the "Listen to Advice" tag on Xiaohongshu. They came from diverse IP addresses, posting similar notes and uploading front and full-body photos holding paper with the words "Listen to Advice" written on it, sincerely seeking renovation advice from Chinese netizens.

Although this sudden overseas "Listen to Advice" influx initially puzzled Chinese netizens, they nonetheless endeavored to provide various renovation suggestions. The friendly responses from Chinese netizens thrilled overseas users, many of whom continued to share updates on their renovation projects.

Their uniform actions were spurred by a video on TikTok. The video stated that Xiaohongshu netizens could effectively help posters transform their appearance and informed TikTok users in the caption that they could download Xiaohongshu to obtain advice from Chinese netizens. Upon its release, the video sparked curiosity in the comments section, with users discussing Xiaohongshu's download guide and login tutorial.

However, at that time, Xiaohongshu did not make any refined operational moves in response to the influx of foreign users, so this wave of overseas traffic faded away. It remains to be seen whether Xiaohongshu can sustainably capitalize on the surge of traffic brought by TikTok this time. According to Ifeng Technology, there is no consensus within Xiaohongshu on this incident, with the core controversy centering on the fact that the challenges of globalization outweigh the joy of receiving increased traffic.

II. Paving a New Path for Xiaohongshu's Overseas Expansion?

Xiaohongshu's overseas expansion primarily follows two paths: one is similar to Douyin, where apps exclusively for overseas markets like TikTok are launched, and the other involves Xiaohongshu being launched overseas so that netizens from other countries can also download and use it.

Starting in 2021, Xiaohongshu tested the overseas market, building segmented community categories in different markets. In three years, it has successively launched six community apps: Uniik, Spark, Takib, Catalog, habU, and S'More. It introduced the fashion and outdoor community Uniik in Japan, overseas shopping in Southeast Asia, and home furnishing Catalog in North America and Europe.

Overall, Xiaohongshu's apps tailored for overseas markets have encountered numerous obstacles. At the end of 2022, user growth stagnated and product updates ceased for Uniik in Japan; Catalog stopped updating just two months after its launch; and Spark's product positioning was adjusted due to difficulties in retaining creators.

Lemon8, launched by ByteDance, has frequently topped the download charts, earning the moniker of the "overseas version of Xiaohongshu" and stealing the limelight from the real Xiaohongshu.

The other path for Xiaohongshu's overseas expansion involves Xiaohongshu going overseas directly. Xiaohongshu already boasts a vast overseas Chinese user base.

In Southeast Asia, where there is a significant Chinese population, Xiaohongshu entered the Malaysian market in 2018. Since 2021, the number of Malaysian Chinese using Xiaohongshu has been on the rise, reportedly exceeding 2 million. Many users from Malaysian IP addresses often add a flag icon to their Xiaohongshu note titles to distinguish themselves from users in other regions.

Another notable group of overseas Chinese users comprises young international students, who contribute a wealth of diverse content to Xiaohongshu. Overseas students are eager to share their living experiences abroad, explore, and check in at various locations on Xiaohongshu. Simultaneously, Xiaohongshu serves as an all-encompassing search tool for them, covering various needs such as travel, study, and food. Following this group of overseas students, Xiaohongshu has gained traction in popular study abroad destinations like the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Xiaohongshu began as a platform for sharing global overseas shopping experiences and has not operated separately for users in different countries. It has seamlessly integrated into the daily lives of overseas Chinese and international students, attracting users from around the world. According to the data analysis website Similarweb, in January 2023, 88.3% of Xiaohongshu's main traffic originated from mainland China, with 2.14% from the United States, 1.97% from Taiwan, China, and 1.77% from Hong Kong, China.

This influx of users may prompt Xiaohongshu to reconsider its strategy of using a single app to conquer the world, given that the path of going overseas through exclusive apps has not been smooth.

Using one app to conquer the world could potentially be more user-friendly.

For the influx of foreign users, Xiaohongshu's "non-partitioned" model means they do not need to spend time adapting to the rules and content preferences of different regions.

From a content dissemination perspective, "non-partitioned" breaks geographical barriers, enabling high-quality content to rapidly spread worldwide. A note about Japanese cuisine preparation, for instance, might instantly capture the attention and likes of users from diverse countries like Brazil and Russia, significantly enhancing the content's influence and reach.

However, "non-partitioned" also poses significant challenges.

The influx of a large number of foreign users will intensify the pressure on platform content moderation and algorithm recommendation. This means that while ensuring content quality, Xiaohongshu may need to invest more resources to strengthen content moderation to uphold platform security and compliance.

Moreover, different countries and regions have distinct cultures, languages, and laws and regulations. Xiaohongshu must ensure that content adheres to global universal values while respecting multiculturalism and does not violate the legal and regulatory boundaries of various countries. For example, when addressing sensitive topics, it is crucial to strike a balance that is acceptable to users from diverse cultural backgrounds.

This influx of foreign users could prompt Xiaohongshu to reassess its overseas expansion strategy. However, using one app to go global will undoubtedly face challenges related to culture, language, law, and other aspects. This is not an issue that can be resolved by merely optimizing the platform's algorithm and operational mode. The challenges it poses are even greater than those faced by TikTok.