Kuaishou builds up resources in livestreaming e-commerce

Chinese short video platform Kuaishou is banking on the rapidly growing livestreaming e-commerce sector, which has been gaining traction in China since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The company said it will offer more data flows and incentive funds for merchants selling products on the platform, as well as shopping coupons and subsidies for consumers during its shopping festival, which will be held from Oct 20 to Nov 11. 

Kuaishou has launched training courses for merchants such as fan operations and marketing strategy to help them improve product promotion related to livestreaming e-commerce, with an aim to cultivate a batch of key opinion leaders and build up brands. 

The number of brands sold on Kuaishou increased 150 percent in July compared with January, and the gross merchandise volume of commodities surged 731 percent, while the sales of electronics and home appliance products skyrocketed more than 300 times in July compared with the same period last year.

Statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center showed China's online population crossed one billion as of June, up 21.75 million compared with December. 

Sales revenue of China's livestreamed e-commerce sector reached 961 billion yuan ($148.9 billion) last year, and is expected to rise to 1.2 trillion yuan this year, according to a recent report from market consultancy iiMedia Research.