Intensifying Competition in Medical Aesthetic Installment Services: Perspectives from Five Leading Platforms

In 2016, as the capital market gradually cooled,The medical aesthetics market, being closest to “money” and possessing strong monetization potential, has garnered significant favor from numerous investment institutions.In March 2016, So-Young completed a $50 million Series C financing round; Meili Shenqi secured tens of millions of dollars in Series B financing; and Meidaila closed a $12 million Series B round. In April 2016, Yuemei announced that it had already completed a RMB 110 million Series B financing round in December 2015. In August 2016, Gengmei announced the completion of a RMB 345 million Series C financing round.

The influx of substantial capital has intensified the market’s shift toward a “red ocean.” In contrast to the early-stage competition focused on basic metrics such as market presence, user base, and transaction volume, an increasing number of internet-based medical aesthetics platforms are now seeking partnerships with the financial and insurance sectors, aiming for long-tail growth and even improved profitability. Concurrently, a growing number of players have targeted the market for installment-based financing in medical aesthetics. Since mid-2015, numerous products—including Mei Fenqi, Li Fenqi, Meimei, Meimei Fenqi, Yunbei Fenqi, Yimei Fenqi, Vivian Fenqi, Yimeijian, Memedai, Liren Dai, 51 Renpin, Xiaoniu, and Maiya—have been launched and promoted in quick succession, creating a dizzying array of options.

The surge in popularity of installment payment products for medical aesthetics is not only driven by the growing prevalence of installment-based consumption but also because they effectively target the spending patterns of the primary consumer demographic in the medical aesthetics market.However, in actual practice, the promotion channels for medical aesthetic installment products are limited, and they rely heavily on beauty clinics, which significantly constrains their own development.How do medical aesthetics platforms, serving as online entry points to the industry, view installment payment plans for aesthetic procedures? EO Intelligence interviewed Jin Xing, founder of SoYoung; Wang Sijing, co-founder of Gengmei; Xiang Xiaoqin, founder of Yuemei; Ren Lingfeng, founder of Meili Shenqi; and Zhang Danping, co-founder of Meidaila. Their responses are summarized below:

Under So-Young's umbrella areSelf-developed installment payment product, operating on a fully online model, users submit materials online, the platform conducts online approval, and funds are disbursed directly to hospitals upon approval. It is reported that this product was officially launched in March 2016, and currentlyThe monthly loan disbursement amount is approximately tens of millions of yuan.. According to data previously provided by Venus to EO Intelligence, the SoYoung platform processes over 30,000 orders per month, with an average transaction value of approximately RMB 3,000, resulting in a monthly gross merchandise volume (GMV) of nearly RMB 150 million.

Jin Xing told EO Intelligence,He remains optimistic about the online installment market for medical aesthetics., believing that online installment payments will grow alongside the platform's transaction volume; andAdopting a wait-and-see approach toward the offline medical aesthetics installment market. Given the current situation, offline medical aesthetic installment plans lack competitive barriers; neither consumers nor plastic surgery clinics exhibit loyalty to installment providers, opting instead for those offering lower interest rates and more lenient approval criteria. This dynamic drives offline medical aesthetic installment providers into a vicious cycle of price wars and continuous relaxation of risk control thresholds.

Wang Sijing believes that medical aesthetics installment financing is inherently highly dependent on scenario-driven models and professional risk control, making it unsuitable as an independent startup venture; thereforeGengmei’s installment payment products are offered in collaboration with third-party partners., installment payment products are also a very important core business for Gengmei’s future. The user big data and medical institution operational data held by Gengmei provide a strong foundational advantage.

Wang Sijing told EO Intelligence,Gengmei is very optimistic about the development of the installment payment market in the medical aesthetics industry.. Medical aesthetics, or consumer healthcare, is itself a significant component of the rapidly evolving consumption upgrade process. Much like the next frontier in tourism, this industry is characterized by rapid growth and high average transaction values, with substantial consumer demand for integrated financial services.

Yuemei is about to launch an installment payment service, which will be implemented through cooperation with third-party financial platforms. SelectReasons for Collaboration with Third-Party PlatformsThis lies in: ① third-party platforms have professional data and risk control teams, resulting in higher efficiency; ② relying on the robust resources and brand advantages of third-party platforms enhances trustworthiness; ③ third-party platforms possess substantial capital reserves, enabling them to provide greater protection for consumers.

Xiang Xiaoqin believesThe medical aesthetics installment market is currently experiencing significant heat, primarily due to the following two reasons：

First, among cosmetic procedure users, younger demographics (such as college students and white-collar workers) often have limited financial capacity but a strong desire for aesthetic enhancements; medical aesthetic installment plans enable them to fulfill their wish of “enhancing beauty first, paying later.”

Second, installment payments can lower users' psychological barriers and improve their decision-making efficiency when purchasing cosmetic surgery services.

Previously, Yuemei had maintained a cautious and wait-and-see attitude toward installment payment plans for medical aesthetic services., later, large platforms with substantial resources entered the medical aesthetics installment market, and YueMei chose to partner with them to launch installment services. However,Installment payment plans remain a novelty in the medical aesthetics industry. Given their recent introduction, the viability and risks of this emerging financial product still require observation.。

Installment payment will be a very important module for Meili Shenqi, and this module is currently under development. Benefiting from Meili Shenqi’s Alibaba-affiliated background,There is extensive collaboration with Ant Financial on relevant installment products., with the main advantages being: ① Ant Financial possesses a relatively comprehensive system for analyzing and compiling personal credit data; ② Ant Financial holds financial advantages. In the future, Beauty Magic hopes to collaborate with third parties toAchieve real-time online approval and release款。

Ren Lingfeng told Yiou that, as a B-end product, installment payment offers medical aesthetic institutions—its recipients—a wide range of choices. If providers lack core advantages to attract the attention of medical institutions, they will have no competitiveness whatsoever. AndCurrently, there are even more startups in the industry focusing on installment payment services for medical aesthetics than those developing medical aesthetics apps; this sector is inevitably headed for a shakeout in the future., primarily for two reasons:

First, there is serious homogenization among existing products.. Currently, the business models of various companies are largely similar; they all partner with institutions to provide their services, with few possessing distinct competitive advantages.

Second, the bad debt ratio is relatively high.During exchanges with industry professionals, Ren Lingfeng observed that several companies with rapid installment-based financing operations were increasingly exhibiting high bad debt rates. Although this issue has not yet reached a tipping point, it indeed poses a latent risk.

Zhang Danping believes that,Installment payment products will soon become a standard feature of internet e-commerce.. Meidaila is also about to launch an installment payment product; it is reported that this productMeidela advanced by partnering with third-party platforms.. Because Meidai’s own traffic volume is insufficient to generate profits from its installment products, the platform’s positioning for these installment offerings is merelyA Service to Enhance User Satisfaction。

Zhang Danping told Yiou that, at this stage, the habit of using installment payments among those born in the 1990s and even the 2000s is more established than imagined; some even choose installment plans for bicycles costing just a few hundred yuan. For the medical aesthetics industry, Meidaila initially regarded it as a high-involvement, affordable-luxury purchase—one that consumers would only consider once they had achieved a certain level of financial stability. However, the reality is quite different: young people demonstrate a strong willingness to spend on medical aesthetic treatments. For these consumers, installment payment services are a factor that can influence purchasing decisions and alter consumption cycles.

Behind the favorable industry outlook, medical aesthetics installment plans are also fraught with many uncertainties. Zhang Danping candidly admitted that profit margins in the medical aesthetics sector are not as high as commonly perceived; instead, due to factors such as consumer psychological expectations, the industry faces a significant risk of customer dissatisfaction, which in turn dampens consumers’ willingness to repay their installments. Nevertheless, installment financing remains an effective tool for e-commerce platforms offering consumption-upgrading products and services, and medical aesthetics installment plans will ultimately promote the development of the medical aesthetics industry.

Since auto loans and mortgages became widely known to the public, consumer installment plans have increasingly entered the daily lives of ordinary consumers. The promotion of products such as Ant Huabei, JD Baitiao, and Suning Renxingfu has expanded installment-based consumption into every aspect of everyday life. According to the "In-Depth Research Report on China's Consumer Loans and Investment Prospects (2016–2022)," the market size of consumer credit in China was RMB 15.4 trillion in 2014, and it was projected to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 19.5% from 2014 to 2019, reaching RMB 37.4 trillion by 2019. Within the broader consumer credit sector, internet finance-based consumer lending has assumed an increasingly important role. Data from iResearch shows that the transaction volume of China’s internet consumer finance market was RMB 6.0 billion in 2013, rose to RMB 18.32 billion in 2014, and surpassed RMB 100 billion in 2015.As a niche segment within the growing field of installment-based credit consumption, medical aesthetics financing boasts considerable development prospects.。

Meanwhile, as a gateway to medical aesthetics consumption, medical aesthetics platforms host both merchants and customers, giving them a natural advantage in offering installment payment services for medical aesthetic procedures., as can be seen from the responses of the five founders, each platform has already launched or is about to launch installment payment products, with most opting for collaboration with third-party partners.Compared with the aggressive market-grabbing by early-stage startups offering installment payment products for medical aesthetics, the entry of medical aesthetics platforms signifies that the development of the installment payment market in this sector has reached a turning point.。

Yiou’s analysis reveals that the advantages driving the development of installment payment plans in the medical aesthetics industry lie in: ① shifts in consumer spending habits; and ② capital market involvement.

The hidden risks facing development are: ① severe homogenization; ② high bad debt ratio; ③ numerous uncontrollable factors.

So, how do professionals view the market for installment-based medical aesthetic services?

Wang Wenhua, Executive Director of CIC ConsultingTell Yiou: The installment services for medical aesthetics are actually an extension of installment payment services based on consumption scenarios. The rapid growth of the domestic medical aesthetics service market reflects consumers' increasing attention and investment in their external appearance. Installment services for medical aesthetics can enhance the penetration rate of some high-cost medical aesthetic projects among target groups by advancing consumers' purchasing power, as it is somewhat difficult for the target population to bear the cost of beauty treatments in a single payment.Like other consumer goods available through installment payments, medical aesthetics installment services have met the needs of some potential consumers, thereby enabling their own rapid development.。

However, as a form of installment service, the future growth potential of medical aesthetic financing will still depend on cultivating the borrowing and consumption habits of potential consumers, as well as the overall improvement of consumer creditworthiness among the general population.. Similar to other installment payment models, consumer education and the establishment of a credit reporting system for personal consumption are the most significant factors influencing the future development of the installment services market. Meanwhile,Medical aesthetic installment plans, due to their unique nature as the subject of financing, face challenges in China’s currently under-regulated medical and beauty markets. In the event of medical malpractice, significant practical difficulties arise regarding the continuation of installment services and the assessment of compensation for damages, which constitutes one of the factors constraining the development of installment-based medical aesthetic services.。