The Walt Disney Co is doubling down on China"s burgeoning consumer market through upgraded e-commerce offerings and one-stop solutions for partners to co-create locally relevant products, especially for the Generation Z or younger consumers, said a senior company executive.

The company will introduce livestreaming, which is now a popular marketing tool in China, via its local online store.

It will also infuse Chinese cultural elements into its proprietary intellectual property icons, said Kermid Rahman, senior vice-president and general manager for consumer products at Walt Disney China and South Korea.

"Consumers born after 1995 prefer personalized and sophisticated products and experience," Rahman told a recent media briefing in Shanghai.

"But we shall note that the Chinese consumers as a whole are showing increasing sophistication, and what they aspire for are beyond just products－but boutique items, and even gifts," he said, adding that currently 55 percent of Disney"s consumer product sales in China are generated by adult shoppers.

Walt Disney ranked first in the Top Global Licensors 2021 report, raking in $54 billion in retail sales globally of licensed and direct-to-consumer products, according to a June announcement by the License Global magazine, which tracked the world"s top IP owners through annual rankings.

In China, Disney"s consumer arm employs a three-pronged strategy. Last month, it launched a holistic online store in China called "shop Disney", bringing some 2,000 merchandise items from Disney and its licensees under one roof.

According to Rahman, virtual-store sales in the first three days surpassed last year"s Nov 11 shopping festival, an annual online-and-offline consumption extravaganza in China.

The propensity to share among internet-savvy consumers has been prompting Disney fans to present their purchases via social networks and even in their own livestreaming sessions. This has created social buzz among younger shoppers, who love to buy designer toys, appreciate Chinese cultural elements, and value a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.