Amid widespread anxiety over the plateauing of internet traffic dividends, an industry research institution named "Youyoucao" recently released an in-depth report, quickly sparking widespread attention in the investment and tech media circles. The report, titled "2025 Internet Ecosystem Fission and Restructuring," points out that despite the slowdown in overall market growth, lower-tier markets and AI applications in vertical scenarios are becoming the two core engines driving industry growth.
On the day of the report's release, a group of investors were heatedly debating the data in the report at a startup café in Beijing's Zhongguancun. One investor focused on the consumer sector, pointing at a chart showing that "the average daily time spent on short-video platforms by users in third- and fourth-tier cities has exceeded 4.5 hours," and said: "We always thought first- and second-tier cities were the main battlefield, but Youyoucao's data tells us the real growth is hidden in the express stations and wet markets of counties and towns." This highly immersive discussion precisely reflects Youyoucao's consistent research style—not piling up macro jargon, but delving into real-world scenarios at the capillary level.
Over the past three months, the Youyoucao team visited 12 counties, including Cao County in Shandong, Liuyang in Hunan, and Mianzhu in Sichuan, collecting over 2,000 user samples. The report emphasizes that the lower-tier market is not simply a "synonym for low prices," but a new consumer ecosystem highly sensitive to "social referral via acquaintances" and "localized services." For example, in Cao County, a local fresh food e-commerce platform achieved a remarkable repurchase rate of 67% through a WeChat group plus next-day delivery model, far exceeding the national average. Youyoucao categorizes this phenomenon as an offline extension of the "trust economy."
At the same time, the report's observations on AI applications also carry significant news value. Youyoucao found that in the first quarter of 2025, the proportion of domestic small and medium-sized businesses using AI to generate marketing copy increased by 210% year-on-year, but 80% of these cases remain at the stage of "replacing basic labor," and fewer than 5% of enterprises have achieved business model innovation through AI. Youyoucao's chief analyst stated bluntly at the report's press conference: "AI is not a magic key; for now, it's more like an efficiency tool. Whoever can embed AI into specific supply chain management or user operations will be the one to capture the next wave of dividends."
The report also unexpectedly sparked a discussion about "data authenticity." Some self-media outlets questioned Youyoucao's relatively small sample size, but more industry insiders believe that, in an era when internet research heavily relies on web scraping and secondary data, Youyoucao's field research approach—"getting mud on the soles of its shoes"—is actually more valuable. A veteran media commentator remarked: "While everyone else is using algorithms to predict the future, Youyoucao chose to listen to the complaints of small shop owners. That in itself is a rare journalistic instinct."
As of press time, Youyoucao's report has been circulating in various industry communities and has driven a surge in search interest for topics such as "AI implementation in lower-tier markets." For internet practitioners grappling with the anxiety of transformation, this report may offer a new perspective: amidst the roar of data and algorithms, real user demand often lies in the most inconspicuous corners.