China's CN¥ 13.9B Online Towel Market Splits Three Ways
By Jotham Lim
4 min read
Executive Summary#
China's CN¥ 13.9 billion online towel products market moved in three different directions between December 2023 and November 2024. Sales of regular wet wipes fell 12.6% to CN¥ 4.73 billion as low-price competition across channels pushed prices down. Cotton soft towels grew 4.9% to CN¥ 6.15 billion on demand for premium facial care, and wet toilet paper grew 11.5% to CN¥ 3.05 billion on celebrity-endorsed product innovation. This analysis examines the forces acting on each category and the brand strategies that are working across China's e-commerce platforms.
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Regular Wet Wipes: Falling Prices Drive a 12.6% Fall in Sales#
China's regular wet wipes market reached CN¥ 4.73 billion, a fall of 12.6% YoY in sales, even though demand held up and sales volume grew 3.5%. The underlying problem is structural price erosion: average selling prices fell 15.5% YoY as aggressive low-price competition spread across channels and forced other sellers to respond. We believe this reflects repricing in the category more than fading demand.
Within the category, growth went to brands that held balanced pricing and diversified into baby hand-and-mouth wipes, while in a category that is repricing, a premium price position offers less protection than it once did.
Cotton Soft Towels: Steady Growth of 4.9%#
Cotton soft towels grew steadily, reaching CN¥ 6.15 billion with growth of 4.9% YoY, and the category is clearly divided between premium baby-focused products and value-oriented adult facial care products:
- Premium segment: brands such as PurCotton (全棉时代), Bc Babycare and Deyou target baby and toddler care, at average prices of CN¥ 54-73 per unit
- Growth segment: mid-tier brands focus on adult face towels with "oversized and thickened" and "hanging dispenser" positioning, at CN¥ 16-38
- Innovation trend: hanging dispenser products gained a notably larger share of revenue as consumers adopt permanent bathroom installations
Cotton soft towels are more visual than wet wipes, which suits short-video marketing, and content-led channels are expanding faster in this category, where brands such as Deyou have used content-led strategies to build awareness quickly among younger consumers.
Wet Toilet Paper: Fastest Growth at +11.5% YoY#
Wet toilet paper is the fastest-growing of the three categories, reaching CN¥ 3.05 billion with growth of 11.5% YoY. Deyou's strategy in the category combines celebrity-endorsed IP collaborations, particularly its Joy of Life Season 2 partnership with spokesperson Zhang Ruoyun, with a content-led distribution strategy.
Cross-Category Dynamics: One Strategy Across Three Categories#
Deyou has applied one consistent approach across all three towel product categories, which rests on:
- Consistent investment in content-led distribution in each of the three categories
- A celebrity endorsement strategy (Zhang Ruoyun) to build brand awareness
- Competitive pricing that undercuts premium incumbents without lowering perceived quality
- Rapid product innovation in line with the claims consumers discuss, such as pure water and antibacterial
We believe this shows that consistency of approach can carry a brand across categories as much as expertise in any one of them.
Key Takeaways#
- China's online towel products market totals CN¥ 13.9 billion, and its three categories are moving in clearly different directions
- Sales of regular wet wipes fell 12.6% as low-price competition across channels pushed average selling prices down 15.5%, while sales volume grew 3.5%
- Cotton soft towels grew 4.9%, divided between premium baby care and value-oriented adult facial care
- Wet toilet paper grew 11.5%, the fastest of the three, on celebrity-backed product innovation and content-led distribution
- Content-led channels are changing how towel products are distributed and priced
About the Data#
This analysis draws on Moojing Market Intelligence data covering December 2023 to November 2024. Moojing analyses brand and category performance across major Chinese e-commerce platforms. For full methodology and additional insights, see the complete Towel Products whitepaper.
This content adheres to Moojing's editorial standards .
Frequently Asked Questions
Three categories on three different trajectories, together worth CN¥ 13.9 billion in the year to November 2024. Regular wet wipes stand at CN¥ 4.73 billion but moved -12.6%; cotton soft towels reached CN¥ 6.15 billion at +4.9%, the largest category by revenue; and wet toilet paper is the fastest at CN¥ 3.05 billion and +11.5%. Reading them as one market would be a mistake, because the forces acting on each are different and only one of the three is being decided by price.
Because the price fell faster than the volume rose. Sales volume grew 3.5% while revenue fell 12.6%, and the gap is explained by an average selling price that fell 15.5% as aggressive low-price competition spread across channels and forced other sellers to respond. That is structural price erosion rather than fading demand, and it changes what a brand should optimise for. Growth in the category went to brands that held balanced pricing and diversified into baby hand-and-mouth wipes, and in a category that is repricing a premium position is exposed rather than protected.
A clean split between two propositions rather than a contested middle. The premium end targets baby and toddler care at CN¥ 54-73 per unit. The growth end is adult facial care at CN¥ 16-38, positioned on "oversized and thickened" formats and hanging dispensers, the latter gaining share as consumers adopt permanent bathroom installations rather than treating the product as disposable convenience. The category is also more visual than wet wipes, which is why content-led channels are expanding faster here.
Consistency of approach rather than category expertise. The brand that has expanded across all three categories carries four things across them. It invests in content-led distribution consistently rather than opportunistically, ties celebrity endorsement to a popular drama to build awareness, prices below premium incumbents without reading as cheap, and innovates quickly on the claims consumers are actually discussing, such as pure water and antibacterial.
