1. Introduction: The New Battleground for Short Video Platforms
In recent years, as internet users' information consumption habits evolve, content-driven product recommendations have become crucial in digital commerce. Photo-based content, with its information density and ease of dissemination, remains vital despite the rise of short videos.
Xiaohongshu has dominated this space with high-quality content and vibrant community engagement. However, Douyin—the short video leader—is now making strategic moves to capture this market, signaling intensified competition between video and photo platforms.
2. Douyin's All-In Strategy: Completing the E-Commerce Puzzle
2.1 Elevated Strategic Importance
At its 2022 Creator Conference, Douyin elevated photo content to unprecedented strategic importance. The platform positioned photo functionality prominently in its app interface and launched a "Photo Partner Program" with substantial traffic incentives for creators.
2.2 Functional Enhancements
Douyin is testing an "Explore" feature displaying photos in a dual-column format with search functionality, aiming to improve content discovery. Official data shows daily photo views exceed 10 billion, with 70% of active users browsing multiple photo posts daily.
2.3 Ecosystem Transformation
This represents more than interface changes—it signifies fundamental platform evolution. Photo content excels at detailed guides and product reviews requiring focused attention, while videos prioritize quick entertainment.
2.4 Strategic Objectives
Douyin's photo expansion serves multiple purposes: lowering creation barriers, enriching content diversity, increasing user engagement, and crucially—strengthening product recommendation capabilities. Recent e-commerce festival results (333% sales growth in Douyin Mall) demonstrate this strategy's potential.
3. Persistent Challenges: Douyin's Rocky Path in Recommendations
3.1 Past Attempts
This isn't Douyin's first recommendation endeavor. Its 2018 standalone app "Xincao" failed within a year due to algorithmic limitations restricting user choice—a critical flaw for recommendation platforms.
3.2 Market Position
Despite ranking fourth in e-commerce market share (5%), Douyin trails leaders significantly (Taobao 53%, JD 20%, Pinduoduo 15%). With slowing user growth, photo recommendations represent a strategic pivot.
3.3 Data Insights
Industry reports show Douyin's photo content achieves 1.47x higher save rates and 1.32x greater interaction than videos. Experts note photo content's enduring relevance, suggesting Douyin's massive user base could unlock new opportunities.
4. Industry Competition: The Rush for Recommendation Dominance
Research indicates 67.8% of consumers consider recommendations highly influential in purchases. Major platforms have responded:
• Taobao upgraded its review section to "Guangguang" recommendation platform
• JD rebranded its discovery section as "Browse"
• Pinduoduo launched expert recommendation features
Yet none have matched Xiaohongshu's dominance, highlighting the challenge Douyin faces.
5. Future Prospects: Balancing Growth and Quality
Douyin leadership emphasizes "recording and co-creating better lives" as its vision. Success requires balancing commercial objectives with content excellence—overemphasis on either could undermine user experience.
The true test will come when photo recommendations become organic to Douyin's ecosystem rather than an add-on feature.
6. Conclusion
Douyin's photo strategy demonstrates serious intent to challenge Xiaohongshu and strengthen its e-commerce position. While its vast user base provides advantages, success requires sustained improvements in content quality, community building, and user experience design.