SoYoung Reports Q2 2020 Financial Results: MAUs Surge 173.7% Year-over-Year, Content Ecosystem Strengthens Leadership in Aesthetic Medicine Sector
VCBeat learned that on August 27, 2020 (Beijing time), So-Young Inc. (NASDAQ: SY) released its financial results for the second quarter of 2020. Amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, So-Young focused on strengthening its core competencies and building momentum in Q2, achieving outstanding performance in content and user operations, thereby leading the internet-based medical aesthetics sector. Data showed that as of June 30, 2020, So-Young’s total revenue for the second quarter reached RMB 328.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%. The average monthly active users (MAU) of the So-Young App amounted to 6.77 million in Q2, up 173.7% year on year. The total number of paying users who booked services exceeded 170,000, while the number of paying medical institutions reached 3,735, representing an 18.3% year-on-year growth. During the quarter, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of medical aesthetics services facilitated by the So-Young platform approached RMB 1 billion.
Jin Xing, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of So-Young International Inc., stated, “Although consumer confidence remains below normal levels, we have achieved significant results in user operations by fostering a vibrant community for both users and medical aesthetics professionals, thereby driving upward growth in platform traffic. Looking ahead, as So-Young continues to build an open, diversified, and trustworthy ecosystem for users and medical aesthetics professionals, we believe that So-Young’s market share in the medical aesthetics industry will continue to rise.”
At the recently held Meivos International Medical Aesthetics Conference, Jin Xing also stated that although the impact of the pandemic on the medical aesthetics industry has not yet dissipated, New Oxygen’s counter-cyclical investments in 2020 across three key areas—content ecosystem, brand, and physicians—still achieved remarkable results. These initiatives included inviting celebrities to join its content community, launching the New Oxygen Experience Officer program, introducing a new creator incentive plan for “New Oxygen Accounts,” and initiating the “100 Million Yuan Subsidy Plan” for New Oxygen Beauty Diaries. Continuous advertising campaigns, along with product placements in variety shows and hit TV dramas, have continued to inject vitality into the New Oxygen brand. Meanwhile, on the physician side, New Oxygen launched the industry’s first “Emerald Doctor List,” which evaluates doctors based on dual standards of technical expertise and aesthetic sense, introduced doctor accounts, and further expanded video consultation services, thereby further solidifying New Oxygen’s core competitive advantages.
Although the pandemic had an impact on the medical aesthetics industry and the development of vertical medical aesthetics platforms, with the acceleration of work resumption and production recovery, the penetration rate of vertical medical aesthetics apps has further rebounded, with SoYoung app’s average monthly active users reaching 6.77 million.
SoYoung focuses on the “community + e-commerce” platform model, continuously iterating and upgrading its medical aesthetics content ecosystem. It is reported that SoYoung’s content ecosystem is structured into front-end, middle-end, and back-end components. The front-end currently supports 510,000 creators who consistently produce diverse content. Ordinary users primarily contribute through “Beauty Diaries,” documenting their experiences and outcomes before and after receiving medical aesthetic services. Influencer users provide professional reviews of medical aesthetic products or services, while professional users mainly share industry insights. The middle-end comprises incentive mechanisms tailored to different creator tracks, enabling each creator to generate ongoing revenue by producing high-quality content within their respective niches. The back-end mainly includes backend products such as influencer accounts and physician accounts, allowing doctors and influencers to directly reach users through SoYoung’s various marketing tools, thereby completing the closed loop of the content ecosystem.
Yu Min, Chief Financial Officer of New Oxygen Technology, added, “We continue to focus our resources on strengthening community stickiness, enhancing the influence of the New Oxygen brand, and expanding the addressable market size. In terms of commercialization, we officially launched a membership service for small and medium-sized medical aesthetic institutions in the second quarter. Leveraging our existing services and operational capabilities, we are confident that we will maintain healthy growth momentum and create long-term value for our shareholders.”
As the online transformation of the medical aesthetics industry accelerates and its “new infrastructure” becomes increasingly robust, AI (Artificial Intelligence)-enabled platforms will emerge as the primary competitive arena for industry players. As the “first publicly listed internet medical aesthetics company,” New Oxygen not only boasts an extensive foundation of partnerships with medical institutions and a vast network thereof, but has also remained at the forefront of the industry in technological innovations such as AI.
To better address the varying decision-making needs of aesthetic seekers at critical stages—pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative—New Oxygen has successively launched over ten mini-tools, including Magic Mirror Facial Analysis, Video Consultation, Scan-to-Verify Authenticity, Skin Detection, Aesthetic Medicine Encyclopedia, and Post-Procedure Community. Over the past year, the “Magic Mirror Facial Analysis” tool has been used more than 150 million times, “Scan-to-Verify Authenticity” has approached 100 million uses, and “Skin Detection” has neared 25 million uses. As of this June, the cumulative usage of New Oxygen’s mini-tools has exceeded 510 million times.
Of greater note, the two mini-tools—“Video Consultation” and “Post-operative Communication”—have successfully moved key stages of medical aesthetics services online. In Q2, the New Oxygen platform recorded a daily peak of 4,000 users for video consultations.
Currently, the growth rate of the medical aesthetics industry has slowed down due to the impact of the pandemic. According to the latest data on China’s medical aesthetics services market released by Frost & Sullivan, a renowned international research institution, the industry’s growth is projected to reach only 5.7% in 2020 due to the pandemic, significantly lower than the 18% growth rate recorded in 2019. Despite the unfavorable external environment, New Oxygen still demonstrated remarkable results from its “counter-trend investment” strategy in the second quarter. Through a series of integrated marketing campaigns, New Oxygen has further expanded its brand influence.
In the second quarter, SoYoung integrated its brand into popular variety shows such as Sisters Who Make Waves and Mother-in-Law & Mom, as well as hit TV dramas like Twenty Your Life On. Subsequently, popular Sisters Who Make Waves contestants, including Annie Yi, Jin Sha, and Yumiko Cheng, joined the SoYoung platform to publish their “Beauty Diaries.” The celebrity effect of Sisters Who Make Waves (hereinafter referred to as Sisters) was particularly pronounced; during the show’s broadcast period, SoYoung’s organic site traffic increased by 228% year-over-year. Capitalizing on this momentum, SoYoung launched a major promotional campaign for the China Medical Aesthetics Anti-Aging Festival, sparking a surge in demand for medical aesthetic anti-aging treatments. During the Anti-Aging Festival promotion, the number of Thermage orders on the SoYoung platform rose by 720% year-over-year.
Wu Tun, Investment Director at Dingshenghua (Beijing) Investment Management Co., Ltd., believes that SoYoung, which focuses on the internet-based medical aesthetics sector, is strengthening its position in the medical aesthetics transaction services market. SoYoung has established its own unique advantages: a continuously iterated content ecosystem, leadership in AI technology within the sector, and brand strength built through positive reputation. It is believed that as the growth flywheel continues to spin, SoYoung’s vertical platform effects will become increasingly apparent, propelling the company into a leapfrog development stage where “success comes naturally” after “diligent internal cultivation.”