Singapore consumers trust peers over brands on Xiaohongshu

Nearly half (46.6%) of Xiaohongshu (XHS) users say they trust posts from regular users when researching products or services, a survey finds. 

This is according to the 2025 Xiaohongshu User Insights Report. Conducted by the Digital Business Lab, the survey polled 510 adults in May living in Hong Kong and Singapore using a multi-source online sampling approach. The report sheds light on user behaviour and how the platform influences decision-making.

According to the survey, KOL or influencer posts are trusted by 30.3% of users, while just 22.9% rely on official brand accounts, underscoring the dominance of peer-driven content on the platform.

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Engagement patterns further reinforce this trend. Users interact most with deals and promotions, followed by trends, personal stories and experiences, reviews, and tutorials. Moreover, XHS is primarily used to validate purchase-ready decisions, discover new brands and products, explore recently heard-of brands, and compare options before making a purchase.

Despite high engagement, brand followership remains limited. Only 22% said they would follow a bank or insurance company if the content is useful or interesting while 41.3% said it depends on the content type. 36.7% said they would not follow brands at all.

Active participation is also relatively low. Over half of Singaporean respondents do not seek advice or help on the platform: 39.4% didn’t think to ask for help, 30.3% found comments or replies irrelevant, and 9.2% reported insufficient feedback to inform their decisions.

However, XHS remains a regular touchpoint for brand and product information. Usage frequency shows 22.9% turn to the platform daily, 34.9% weekly, 40.4% monthly, and only 1.8% never.

That said, adoption in Singapore is still relatively low, with only 21.7% of respondents using XHS, compared with 78.3% who do not. Yet interest is high with 78.2% saying they would consider using Xiaohongshu in the future.

Interestingly, the findings differ for users in Hong Kong, where the platform has become a key research tool. Four in 10 XHS users in Hong Kong search for brand or product information weekly, with over half trusting posts from regular users the most, the survey finds. Financial information remains an exception, with only 7.4% of Hongkongers using the platform for this purpose. Nevertheless, the data suggests a strong opportunity for financial brands to engage this audience.

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