China live-streaming guide – 2024 News

As we approach the end of 2024, China remains as one of the world’s top hotspots for livestreaming. This format, which blends entertainment with the sale of products and services, has become part and parcel of the shopping experience of Chinese consumers, who are particularly fond of interactive content and immersive shopping. But how can brands successfully become part of this bustling ecosystem and reap its benefits? This article will look further into China live-streaming, and how international brands can engage, attract, and convert millions of Chinese consumers through this medium.

Livestreaming in China: An Increasingly Competitive medium

Livestreaming plays a crucial role in China, where consumption increasingly relies on recommendations from friends and interactive experiences. It not only promotes products but also builds a close relationship between brands and consumers through the streams’ presenters (often influencers), who showcase them. Viewers can ask questions, receive immediate answers, and complete their purchases with just one click.

Initially, livestreaming was used as a way for users to pass the time, but it has now become an integral part fully of the shopping process, building strong user loyalty. In fact, 37.8% of users are ready to become long-term followers of a livestreaming channel if the content aligns with their interests.

Products sold via livestreaming channels are incredibly varied, from beauty products and clothing to electronics, food items, luxury accessories, and even cars and real estate. In 2024, the most popular categories remain cosmetics, which drive massive engagement, and fashion products, which benefit from live visual demonstrations.

The scale of this phenomenon is reflected in a few stunning figures: the livestreaming e-commerce market in China is expected to reach nearly $720 billion in sales this year, marking significant growth compared to previous years. Over 60% of Chinese online shoppers took part in a livestream in 2024, and nearly 45% stated that this way of shopping has a direct influence on their decisions.

What are the most used platforms in the live shopping industry?

Here is a quick guide to the most popular platforms in 2024 for hosting livestreams and allowing users to discover thousands of products online:

Taobao Live: Integrated into Taobao, this Alibaba platform is a pioneer in live shopping in China. It hosts the largest number of livestreamers and, consequently, attracts the most users. Primarily designed for C2C sales, it recorded a 110% traffic increase on its livestreams in 2020.

Douyin: The Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin has integrated direct commerce features, allowing users to purchase products directly during livestreams. The platform is especially popular among young people.

Kuaishou: A competitor to Douyin, Kuaishou is a short video platform that has also embraced live shopping. It is particularly popular in rural areas and is often used to share users’ everyday moments.

Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book): A mix of social networking and e-commerce, Xiaohongshu is highly regarded for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products, with a strong focus on live shopping.

Pinduoduo: Known for its group deals and competitive prices, Pinduoduo has integrated live streaming to boost sales, particularly in agricultural and everyday consumer products.

It’s important to note that there are strict regulations governing livestreaming platforms in China, and the Chinese government has tightened its grip on these platforms in recent years. Users and hosts must therefore be aware of the country’s laws and regulations.

What does a live stream look like?

First of all, it all depends on the platform on which it’s performed, but the categories are relatively the same for all platforms. Here’s a quick look at the lives interface to help you understand what all the icons mean.

1. Live Feed
The streamer is displayed full-screen, often in a well-lit, dynamic studio, but can also be outside or in a special location such as a shopping mall. Animated overlays appear when a viewer sends gifts or important messages. A floating banner or box at the bottom or side often shows the product currently on display with a discounted price, brief description and availability counter.

2. Chat section (Live messages)
Viewer messages are displayed in a scrolling stream, usually at the side or bottom of the screen. They can ask questions, offer compliments or request product details. There can also be real-time message notifications to signify when a product is purchased.
Colorful tags: VIP or high-spending users appear with special icons or names in brilliant colors (for example, gold for regular buyers).

3. Virtual gifts
A dedicated button allows viewers to send virtual gifts (such as flowers, stars or diamonds), often purchased with virtual currency.
There are also other types of visual animation: when an expensive gift is sent, a spectacular animation (fireworks or an explosion of gold) is triggered on the screen, attracting the attention of the streamer and the spectators.

4. Product Placement
Products are accessed via a drop-down list or a floating carousel at the bottom. Viewers can click to see more details without leaving the live stream. There are also CTA (Call-to-Action) buttons for each product, “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart”, which redirect to an instant purchase. Time-limited offers (e.g. “5 minutes left for 30% off”) are often integrated with a visible countdown timer.

5. Live statistics
Displayed at the top, you can see how many people are connected in real time. There may also be a visible table showing which viewers have sent the most gifts or bought the most.

6. Gamification and Engagement
Streamers can launch polls or mini-games to interact with the audience. For example, the wheel of fortune: available in a corner of the screen, it allows viewers to win coupons or discounts.

Benefits for Foreign Brands and How to Leverage This Ecosystem

For foreign brands looking to integrate into the livestreaming ecosystem and benefit from it, they can adopt several strategies to reach Chinese consumers more effectively.

First of all, collaborating with local influencers (or KOLs) allows them to tap into an existing base of loyal followers who trust the brands presented by their favorite influencers. Additionally, this minimizes cultural misunderstandings. Brands can also use livestreaming to tell their story (origin, quality, innovation) and emphasize what sets them apart from local alternatives. Planning livestreams around key Chinese holidays (such as Double 11 or Chinese New Year) and offering promotions or limited-edition products for each occasion can also be advantageous.

Finally, adapting products by creating descriptions in the local language and demonstrating how they meet Chinese users’ needs is essential. And don’t forget to use promotional codes and contests to captivate your audience!

Key Steps for Entering the Livestreaming Ecosystem

1. Choose the right platform:

– Douyin and Taobao Live for maximum reach.

– Xiaohongshu for luxury or niche products.

– Kuaishou for more local and authentic audiences from smaller cities.

2. Plan livestream content:

– Product demonstrations.

– Answering viewers’ questions.

– Live testimonials or reviews.

3. Optimize logistics:

– Ensure a smooth supply chain to handle a sudden influx of orders.

– Offer fast and localized delivery options.

4. Measure and adjust:

– Track key metrics (audience size, engagement rate, conversions).

– Adapt future streams based on data insights.

Livestreaming Events

To finish, let’s look at a specific event that attracts countless viewers via livestreaming every year – that event is of course Double 11. It is known as the world’s largest online shopping festival, with sales on livestreaming platforms reaching billions of dollars each year. It is still the main highlight of the China live-streaming calendar in 2024, and continues to impress with its figures.

For instance, a KOL named Xinba delivered impressive results this year. After recently returning to the platform, he announced a livestream during the “Super Double 11” event, which was a resounding success. The event had a total of over 69 million views, and Xinba even reached 4 million simultaneous viewers, setting a platform record. The revenue generated was equally impressive, hitting 6.41 billion RMB.

Li Jiaqi also broke records on Taobao and TMall, generating over 100 million RMB in sales on the first day of pre-sales alone.

And while these influencers particularly stood out on the occasion of the latest Double 11, they’re far from being the only ones. With their live streams, the following influencers have also achieved sizeable sales figures, a boon for the brands that call on them.

Next up is Luo Yonghao, a former technology entrepreneur turned influencer. This KOL has achieved significant sales during his live streaming sessions, notably by selling a cruise package.

Last but not least, this time it’s a channel with some very impressive records: Mifeng Jingxi She (Honeybee Surprise Club). This chain also recorded Double 11 pre-sales of over 100 million RMB. These record-breaking figures for this year demonstrate just how important live streaming has become in Chinese life in recent years.

AI generated avatars, the new KOLs in China

Who are these new Key Opinion Leaders, who now largely influence the purchases of Chinese consumers? What impact do they have on brands’ sales strategies?

In recent years, avatars generated by artificial intelligence (AI) have begun to revolutionize the already flourishing live-streaming sector in China. These “AI streamers” or “virtual avatars” enable creators and brands to produce continuous interactive content, without the need for direct human presence. Powered by advanced algorithms and deep learning engines, these avatars can do almost anything, making them almost human in our eyes. They are able to respond to comments in real time, adopt unique personalities and even adjust their appearance according to viewers’ preferences. This makes it much easier for brands to adapt their “influencers” to their products and sales strategy, since Artificial Intelligence can be modified easily as and when necessary. This is opening up new opportunities in sectors such as e-commerce, where these avatars serve as hosts to promote products, often with a level of availability and precision that humans cannot achieve. What’s more, they reduce production costs while captivating a younger audience, accustomed to immersive digital experiences. Their growing popularity reflects the way in which technological innovation is redefining modes of online interaction in China.

These impressive numbers demonstrate that livestreaming has many thriving years ahead!

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