Research On The Valuation Of Unicorn Companies In The Social E-commerce Industry

Since 2015,unicorn companies have begun to receive widespread attention around the world.Among them,the social e-commerce industry is a high-profile part of the emerging industry.In the current market,the traditional e-commerce marketing model relying on advertising has failed,sales growth has begun to decline,consumers have become more rational and more picky about products,and the cost of attracting customers from e-commerce has gradually increased.Social e-commerce came into being.By adding social scenarios to e-commerce platforms,it obtains low-cost user traffic,thereby seeking new growth points for e-commerce users.As a "big household" that breeds unicorn companies,the social e-commerce industry has been enthusiastically sought after by investors.However,the frequent listing of unicorn companies and the frequent appearance of operations have made the market increasingly concerned about seeking more accurate corporate valuations.Therefore,the main research problem of this article is the valuation model applicable to unicorn enterprises in the social e-commerce industry,and exploring the applicability of the new valuation model with the target company.This article uses a case study to analyze the business model of the unicorn in the social e-commerce industry and the characteristics of the enterprise in different development cycles.Through analysis,the DEVA model(Discounted Equity Valuation Analysis),P/MAU method and P/GMV method are used to conduct valuation research on the start-up period and growth period of an enterprise.This article adjusts the DEVA model by clarifying the user value,clarifying the value contribution of the user’s trading behavior to the platform,and supplementing the Matthew effect,and adjusting the P/MAU and P/GMV methods through the lack of liquidity discounts.Taking Xiaohongshu APP as an example,its initial stage and growth period are evaluated to evaluate the applicability of the model.Through research,it is found that unicorn companies in the social e-commerce industry aim to accumulate users in the initial stage,so the number of active users is an important value driver.In the growth period,the company has achieved a stable user growth rate,so the focus of development has shifted to increasing the retention rate and repurchase rate of users,and adjusting the business operation mode of the company to realize its realization.Due to the different business models,companies will focus on "social" and "e-commerce",so their value drivers will also be different.According to the valuation results,this article believes that in the initial stage,companies are more suitable for the adjusted DEVA model;in the growth period,the choice of P/MAU method or P/GMV method should be based on the target company’s business model that focuses more on the number of users or the user’s transaction.This paper selects a non-financial indicator valuation model to estimate the value of social e-commerce unicorn companies,and provides a reference for the adjustment and application of the DEVA model,P/MAU method and P/GMV method in practice.In addition,this paper analyzes the value drivers of social e-commerce unicorn companies in different development periods and discusses a more applicable valuation model.