Aesthetic medicine market predicted to hit 197.5b yuan

The aesthetic medicine market in China is estimated to hit 197.5 billion yuan ($30.24 billion) in 2020, accounting for 17 percent of the world market, according to a report released on Tuesday by online esthetic medicine platform Gengmei, which means "more beautiful" in Chinese.

More aesthetic medicine service providers have resorted to online platforms such as Gengmei to reach out to consumers, and the industry has been undergoing a transition featuring digitalization and use of intelligent tools, the report said.

It also said the post-90s generations are expected to become major consumers of aesthetic medicine products and services in China.

According to the report, 5,150 new aesthetic medicine providers were established in China in 2020 alone, despite the impact of the pandemic.

Beijing ranked in first place in the country's cities in terms of the value of the aesthetic medicine market, followed by other first-tier and big cities such as Shanghai, Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province, and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong province.

The pandemic has accelerated the industry's adoption of livestreaming, which has prompted the industry to further keep up pace with information trends, using the internet and other information technologies, according to the report.

In 2020, the number of aesthetic medicine service providers participating in livestreaming on the Gengmei platform increased by 217 percent each month, and the gross merchandise value on a day of livestreaming increased by 323 percent compared with the average daily GMV, the report said.

The report also said "light aesthetic medicine procedures", or minimally invasive aesthetic procedures, including botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid injections, and anti-aging aesthetic procedures, were most popular in 2020.