At present, the fast fashion market has become the mainstream in the fashion industry. In this market, SHEIN, as one of the leading brands, has always been leading the trend and has many fans.

But in recent years, the rise of Cider has attracted more and more attention and love from consumers. As a rising star of SHEIN, many people in the industry often compare the two and speculate that "Cider will become the next SHEIN".

With the continuous development and growth of Cider, people have also begun to pay attention to the differences and complementarities between it and SHEIN. Can Cider set off a new wave in the fast fashion market, threatening SHEIN's status in the fast fashion industry?

This article attempts to explore the differences between these two brands, in order to better understand Cider's pursuit of SHEIN and explore its future development trends in the fast fashion market.

Cider was founded in 2020, and compared to SHEIN's establishment in 2008, the time difference between the two is more than ten years. Cider really needs to be called SHEIN's "predecessor" of fast fashion.

Although Cider was established for a short period of time, it is difficult to conceal its ambition to go global. Among many fast fashion brands that went global during the same period, Cider has the highest voice and has also been favored by many well-known capital. Within just one year of its establishment, it has received over $130 million in financing, with a valuation of over $1 billion, making it one of the fastest growing unicorn companies in the world.

Among investors, except for those who have invested in SHEIN and Anker's IDG; There is also A16Z, which has invested in international giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb. It must be said that Cider's background is indeed very strong.

Cider founder Wang Chen has years of VC experience and accumulated a large amount of network resources. He has 4 years of VC experience at KKR and IDG; In 2016, I made an A+round investment in the clothing rental platform Yi Er San, and also served as a co founder as COO for 5 years, responsible for market strategy.

Therefore, the fast fashion industry is not unfamiliar to Wang Chen, but rather has a deep understanding of the industry. Whether in terms of market strategy, supply chain system, or internet gameplay, Wang Chen is not a problem, which may also be the reason why capital firmly believes in its development.

According to data from the analysis company Sensor Tower, as of August 2022, Cider's cumulative download volume worldwide has exceeded 7.4 million, with the US region accounting for 43% of its total global download volume. In the first half of 2022, 2 million downloads were obtained in the United States, an increase of 1686% compared to the same period last year.

In 2021, SHEIN received 170 million downloads worldwide. Although in terms of volume, Cider is simply a small feat compared to SHEIN, its rapid development in a short period of time and its power cannot be underestimated.

Although Cider appears to be a direct consumer oriented DTC brand, its internal operations still have similarities with SHEIN, as they develop independently rather than relying on third-party cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.

At present, Cider's independent website (Shopcider. com) ranks 9038 globally, 3661 in the United States, and 206 in categories; The ranking data of SHEIN are 104, 84, and category ranking No.1, respectively.

Cider's monthly visits can be maintained at around 6 million, while SHEIN's monthly average visits have reached 200 million. Regardless of the user's visit duration, number of pages visited, and bounce rate, SHEIN is slightly better than Cider. According to the above website indicators, Cider's user stickiness needs to be strengthened.

Cider's overseas territory, like SHEIN, is mainly expanded in the United States, Brazil, France, Spain, and Germany. As shown in the figure, among the five countries mentioned above, SHEIN has already accounted for over 90% of the market share, while Cider only accounts for less than 4%.

These five countries are important consumer markets for fast fashion brands. Based on SHEIN's successful experience, it has occupied a dominant position in these countries, and in these markets, SHEIN appears more mature and stable compared to Cider;

In order to achieve better performance in these markets, Cider may need to strengthen its understanding of local consumer needs and preferences, and provide products and services that are more in line with local market demands.

Looking at the drainage channels, natural traffic is the largest source of channels for the two sites. The proportion of direct access+natural search is 50% of all sources. Cider has a relatively large source of social channels, while the rest of the drainage channels have similar situations.

The social traffic proportion of Cider's independent website (Shopcider. com) is 21.23%, with Facebook accounting for 84.37%, YouTube accounting for 8.62%, and Instagram accounting for 3.2%.

Overall, Cider's social traffic heavily relies on the Facebook system, but SHEIN also has the same current situation, which is not uncommon in the industry.
Currently, Cider has placed 3900 advertisements on Facebook, while SHEIN has as many as 20000. In terms of overseas strategy, Cider and SHEIN also have their own shining points.

Cider employs various strategies and tools in marketing, including social media promotion, KOL collaboration, open community, and metaverse social platforms, aiming to increase brand awareness, attract target users, and enhance user brand identity and loyalty.

Firstly, Cider utilizes social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest to post photos of internet celebrities or brand models, as well as some promotional videos, and uses # Cidergang topics to attract user attention and participation, thereby expanding brand influence and exposure.

The open community # Cidergang created by Cider has joined millions of members worldwide, aiming to provide a free and open social communication platform for users worldwide, allowing them to share their outfits, chat and communicate, and provide feedback and suggestions on product design, further enhancing their sense of brand identity and loyalty.

The topic tag # ciderclothing on TikTok has had over 3.9 billion views and has become one of the representatives of the new viral fashion brands on TikTok, consolidating its position as one of TikTok's most popular fashion brands.

In addition, Cider has a large number of followers and fans on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, with 130.7w and 448.8w followers respectively. Currently, the total number of followers on all social media platforms has

exceeded 6.6 million, forming a huge social media fan base;

Secondly, Cider collaborates with KOL to drive target users' attention and purchasing behavior towards the brand through its influence and appeal. This cooperation method can not only attract the attention of target users, but also increase brand sales and market share;

Thirdly, Cider has also created a deeper Discord community - InCider, with a current user base of 11000. Discord Community is a popular online social network that provides a dedicated venue for fans to discuss and share related topics.

This platform is suitable for Generation Z users, who can freely discuss the latest trends, emotional topics, and more in the community. Once no one responds to the user's questions, Cider's administrators will use Generation Z's popular online language or emoji expressions to actively participate and guide, creating a positive, inclusive, and friendly atmosphere.

It is worth noting that Cider adopts a strategy of social media marketing funnel, starting from the main Instagram account, guiding users to join the Instagram community account, and finally reaching the Discord discussion group, filtering layer by layer, making loyal fans increasingly fixed and brand loyalty improved.

For other brands, they can learn from Cider's marketing strategy how to

leverage the power of social media and community interactivity to attract target consumers and enhance brand loyalty. At the same time, attention should also be paid to establishing a positive, inclusive, and friendly atmosphere on social media platforms and communities, providing users with a good communication and experience environment.

Finally, Cider also launched multiple activities on the metaverse social platform Zepeto, attracting a large number of Generation Z users to participate through collaborations with Zepeto, creating virtual clothing, and creating virtual images by pinching faces.

As No.1 in the fast fashion category, SHEIN's marketing strategy has been imitated by many fast fashion brands, especially in terms of localized marketing. SHEIN has indeed achieved refinement. In order to better serve overseas consumers and meet the needs of the local market, SHEIN has established social media accounts in different regions, covering multiple regions such as Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and has a strong social media matrix.

By establishing social media accounts in different regions, SHEIN can better establish connections with local consumers, understand the dynamics of the local market, and grasp market information; In addition, by establishing social media accounts in different regions, SHEIN can spread brand image and promotional information more widely, enhancing brand influence and reputation.

(Note: SHEIN's incomplete account matrix in Instagram)

Nowadays, SHEIN's main account has a large number of followers on various social media platforms, including Instagram (28.78 million), Facebook (29.669 million), TikTok (6.9 million), and other social media accounts. The total number of followers has exceeded 70 million, and # SHEIN related topic tags have exceeded tens of billions of views.

SHEIN publishes different types of content on different social media platforms, which can meet the needs and interests of different users. For example, on Instagram, SHEIN has released a large amount of fashion, makeup, and lifestyle related content, attracting a large number of fashion enthusiasts and young users. On Facebook, SHEIN has posted more product information and shopping activities, attracting more shopping users.

In addition, SHEIN has also carried out a series of interesting marketing activities on platforms such as TikTok, such as dance challenges and fashion display, attracting a large number of young users to participate in the interaction.

These activities not only increase SHEIN's brand exposure, but also enhance the interaction and communication between SHEIN and users.

By building a massive social media system, SHEIN has successfully ingrained its brand image in people's hearts and attracted a large number of followers. This massive social media system not only brings massive traffic and sales to SHEIN, but also provides more shopping choices and fashion inspiration for SHEIN users.

In summary, SHEIN has successfully established a strong user base and sales network worldwide with its strong brand image in overseas markets and large-scale social media promotion, and its actual strength is beyond doubt.

In contrast, although Cider currently has a certain reputation overseas, there is still a significant gap compared to SHEIN. It requires more strategies and efforts to expand its overseas market audience, such as collaborating with local agents and developing localized products and services.

Anyway, for overseas enterprises, the key is to provide products and services that meet their needs and interests according to local culture and needs, and establish a strong brand image and social media promotion network, in order to win the trust and loyalty of more users.

The development direction of Cider and SHEIN is already different. Although both Cider and SHEIN are classified as fast fashion brands, in fact, SHEIN has been transitioning towards a flat platform model. Since 2022, there have been reports indicating that SHEIN is piloting a platform model in Brazil. In March of this year, SHEIN officially announced the launch of the platform in Brazil. In April of this year, SHEIN also officially launched the platform model in the United States and will further promote it to the global market.

This also means that in the future, more local brands, merchants, and global third-party sellers will enter the SHEIN platform. Therefore, SHEIN is more like a comprehensive e-commerce platform that can provide a wide variety of product categories, suitable for consumers of different ages and genders;
Cider, on the other hand, is a fashion women's clothing retail brand primarily targeting young women. Its target audience is Generation Z overseas, with a focus on original design and clothing styles filled with Y2K and INS styles.

Therefore, there are certain differences in the design style of independent stations between the two.

First interface style, independent website owner of Cider

The first interface style is that Cider's independent website homepage interface is simple and refreshing, without a large amount of information stacking. It amplifies discount information, avoids excessive element stacking, making it easier for consumers to focus on the product itself;

SHEIN has a wide range of product categories, reflecting a large amount of discount information and utilizing discount advantages to attract consumers.

The second product pricing, SHEIN's price range is mostly concentrated in the $10-20 range, while Cider's clothing pricing is generally higher, concentrated in the $20-40 range. However, according to user feedback, the quality of Cider's clothing is very good and I am deeply impressed with the brand's clothing style;

The third label is based on emotions and scenes. In addition to the traditional classification based on clothing functions, Cider has set up labels based on emotions and scenes on the homepage, including Pick a Mood and Drops, which are in line with the consumption habits of the Z era and help users find their desired clothing faster and more accurately;

SHEIN also sets the classification of purchase scenarios on the homepage, and selects discounted products for users to choose from in each scenario;

Fourthly, in line with the preferences of overseas Generation Z consumers, Cider has made website design more in line with the preferences of overseas Generation Z consumers, abandoning the inertia of Chinese brands and establishing emotional connections with users in website design, making it easier for consumers to accept and like Cider's brand image.

Fifth, advocating sustainability, considering sustainability, Cider adopts recycled materials and a responsible supply chain in the production process to reduce the impact on the environment in the fashion industry, cater to the environmental philosophy of overseas consumers, and create a more environmentally friendly brand.

Although Cider can guarantee to complete the production process within 5-7 days, compared to SHEIN's strong supply chain capabilities, it still cannot compete with SHEIN in terms of update volume.

However, in terms of the product supply chain model, Cider has also borrowed from SHEIN's reliable experience and implemented a real-time retail model. Through self built digital systems, the entire process of the product supply chain is connected to the factory through flexible supply chains, algorithms, and data capabilities, enhancing capabilities in product development, user feedback, and sales forecasting, achieving a closed-loop supply chain.

Through real-time product sales data and user feedback, Cider's designers quickly adjust the design, sampling, and shipping processes, greatly reducing the production cycle.

In addition, Cider has introduced a new strategy called "pre-sale". After publishing pre-sale product information on the official website, once Cider receives a user's pre-sale order, it will be fed back to the factory that has deep cooperation with it, and after production is completed, it will be shipped from the platform warehouse. By combining a flexible supply chain and pre-sale strategy, Cider has reduced inventory backlog and production risks.

Although there is still a significant gap between Cider and SHEIN in terms of global rankings, downloads, independent website data, or social media volume, as a newly established fast fashion brand, Cider has indeed demonstrated its remarkable potential.

In addition, Molly believes that SHEIN is gradually moving towards platform based development, while Cider continues to delve deeply into her own women's clothing retail brand. The two are gradually divided into different tracks.

Regarding the statement of "whether it can become the next SHEIN", Cider may be more concerned about making a unique overseas product with its own characteristics.

In addition, believes that SHEIN is gradually moving towards platform based development, while Cider continues to delve deeply into her own women's clothing retail brand. The two are gradually divided into different tracks.

Regarding the statement of "whether it can become the next SHEIN", Cider may be more concerned about becoming a distinctive overseas brand.