Rest of World: In March 2025, Xiaohongshu's daily active users in the United States will reach 800,000 and its global daily active users will reach 6.1 million

Recently, Rest of World published an article that Xiaohongshu has begun to adjust its overseas strategy after accidentally attracting millions of "TikTok refugees". However, efforts to retain and profit from a wider global user base may subject it to the same scrutiny as TikTok.

After adding in-app English translation and bilingual subtitles, Xiaohongshu recently opened an office in Hong Kong and posted a global business development position in Hong Kong on its official LinkedIn account. Earlier this month, Xiaohongshu also launched a global e-commerce pilot program for mainland Chinese merchants, with the initial target markets being the United States, Hong Kong, China, and Macau, China.

"Xiaohongshu's strategic shift shows that it is starting to take markets outside of China seriously," said Ivy Yang, founder of consulting firm Wavelet Strategy. While the company has been working to expand overseas, "the TikTok refugee phenomenon may make this shift a necessity rather than something that can be put on hold."

An unexpected surge in global users in January amid fears of a TikTok ban could bring a windfall to Xiaohongshu, but experts and merchants told The Rest of World that to compete with Western social media apps, Xiaohongshu must retain those users, build cross-border e-commerce capabilities and clarify its overseas business strategy.

“Xiaohongshu’s commercial success depends on whether it can convert users’ initial curiosity into lasting engagement by successfully transplanting its unique model that combines content, community and commerce, which cannot be replicated by existing social media platforms in the United States,” said Ivy Yang.

But analysts and merchants are skeptical about Xiaohongshu's commercial prospects in the West as it has struggled to retain overseas users in recent weeks. The platform averaged 800,000 daily active users in the United States in March 2025, down sharply from a peak of 1.3 million in January, but still up 114% from December 2024, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

Xiaohongshu's popularity has also risen in non-Western countries. In the week of January 13 to January 21, the app ranked in the top 10 on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. In March, Xiaohongshu's global daily active users outside of China fell to 6.1 million, down from a high of 8 million in January, but up 28% from December 2024, according to Sensor Tower data.

However, this is still a small fraction compared to the number of daily users of TikTok and Instagram.

“Xiaohongshu has too few users in the West to launch an e-commerce channel,” said independent e-commerce analyst Rozas Kaziuknas. “It needs to develop a growth strategy that goes beyond just attracting one-off attention when TikTok disappears from app stores.”

However, some American users are still optimistic about Xiaohongshu. Terry, a 23-year-old college student from Indiana, shares videos of American life with subtitles for Chinese users. She struggled for years on Facebook with only about 3,000 fans, but on Xiaohongshu, she quickly gained more than 73,000 fans.

"I don't use any other social media except Xiaohongshu now," Terry told Rest of World. She said she has received collaboration invitations from Chinese cosmetics and clothing brands, but they need to go through Xiaohongshu's verification process first.

To unlock monetization capabilities, the platform requires users to upload a photo of themselves showing their full face and holding a passport to show the photo page. If she passes the verification, Terry plans to join Xiaohongshu's Dandelion Program, a long-standing program of Xiaohongshu that aims to connect influencers with brands for monetization. More than 400,000 content creators, mainly in China, have joined the Dandelion platform, which is open to users with more than 1,000 followers.

However, features such as live streaming and opening online stores still require a Chinese ID card. A Xiaohongshu staff member working on international business told rest of world that foreign influencers cannot withdraw commissions if they do not have a Chinese bank account. But the staff member said they can "receive payments by working with overseas marketing agencies."

Xiaohongshu needs to address these obstacles quickly, Yang said, because e-commerce could help the platform stand out. Every major social platform in China offers online shopping features, also known as "shoppertainment" or "social e-commerce." But the trend has been relatively slow to take off in the West.

"Unlike TikTok and Meta-owned platforms, which make money primarily from advertising, Xiaohongshu's advantage lies in its integrated e-commerce," Yang said. "Their cross-border e-commerce pilot program must streamline these features to create a seamless content-to-commerce experience."

On March 10, the company launched an overseas e-commerce initiative that will provide "comprehensive solutions" for online transactions, exports and cross-border payments, according to an official statement.

Aris Xiong, founder of jewelry brand Aris Jewelry, said Xiaohongshu’s e-commerce features for overseas users need to be significantly improved. She said the live-streaming feature didn’t work well because her live-streams were mainly for users in mainland China, not her target audience in North America, and there were no paid options to adjust the audience reach.

But if Xiaohongshu steps up its efforts to expand its business beyond overseas Chinese communities, it could attract the attention of the U.S. government, as TikTok has.