Livestreaming gives boost to retail sales

Opportunities for all

Unlike big firms, which can afford celebrity endorsement, small and medium-sized businesses in China are increasingly promoting their products with assistance from online influencers that have emerged amid the social media boom in recent years.

In the Sijiqing market, with 1,300 stores ranging from 6 to 12 square meters each, several hundreds of shop owners have set up spaces for livestreaming, most of which feature basic equipment.

During the broadcast, the audience can follow the links popping up on their phones to buy the goods on offer.

"Some are even looking for wholesale purchases," Yang said.

"Today, a customer bought 10 dresses for 1,000 yuan," said Chen Juan, who hired Yang in her shop. She added sales can reach up to 150,000 yuan a day with the help of the online influencer, doubling or tripling her previous revenue.

Chen's success is not an exception. In the first four months of 2018, China's e-commerce sector saw 62 percent year-on-year growth in gross merchandise volume, largely driven by online influencers, according to a report by market consultancy iResearch and microblogging site Weibo released in June.

As of May, online influencers in China had gained 588 million followers, presenting great marketing potential, the report said.

Among those followers, 19.9 percent are from first-tier cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou - followed by second-tier cities at 22.3 percent, third-tier cities at 22.6 percent, and fourth-tier cities and rural areas at 31.1 percent.

Sun Jia, a livestreaming fan from Hangzhou, said she does almost all her online shopping via livestreaming.

"Watching live broadcasts is just like going to a shopping mall," said Sun. "The way customers change channels is very similar to browsing through different stores in the mall."

Each year, Sun spends more than 100,000 yuan buying products through livestreaming.

"Online influencers serve as the shopping guide, model and after-sales customer service agent, which makes consumers like me feel more connected," said Sun. She added that the discounts offered by the online broadcasters also attract her to buy more.

Marketing techniques, including flash discounts and premium sales, are often used in livestreaming to encourage customers to spend more, said Mei Jie, who owns a clothing store in Sijiqing market.

As the influence of livestreaming grows, the industry has also become diversified and specialized.

Evergreen Info Tech Co Ltd is the local human resources company that recommended Yang to shop owners like Chen. Since March, the company has signed contracts with 12 livestreamers.

"Yang is a hot pick as she can help bring in around 2 million yuan in revenue each month," said Shen Wei, an Evergreen executive.

But Yang was not satisfied with the results in Chen's store on that day. "We only had around 30,000 viewers," Yang said. "At peak times, the number can reach 90,000."

Fang Lie and Wu Mengyu contributed to the story.