Is livestreaming a sales channel or a brand creator? - Ashley Dudarenok

Ashley Dudarenok

Livestreaming e-commerce took off like crazy in China in 2020, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic. Marketing guru Ashley Dudarenok opens the discussion on where this trend is leading to at Technode. "Various livestreaming platforms are maturing, becoming more mainstream and the epidemic has led to the growth of online work, entertainment, and consumption," she writes.

Ashley Dudarenok:

In 2020, livestreaming has shown unprecedented vitality. Various livestreaming platforms are maturing, becoming more mainstream and the epidemic has led to the growth of online work, entertainment, and consumption.

Livestreaming e-commerce is growing every day. There’s a current trend for sales livestreams by top brass at big companies. Luo Yonghao, one of China’s most famous tech entrepreneurs, has entered the fray with sales during his first livestream in April 2020 exceeding RMB 110 million (about $15 million). Dong Mingzhu, president of China’s largest household appliance maker, Gree Electric, sold more than RMB 300 million of products on Kuaishou and more than RMB 700 million products on JD.com doing livestreams. 

Brick and mortar shopping malls, along with other sectors, are being rescued by livestreaming e-commerce and everyone is trying to be the next Li Jiaqi or Viya. During the epidemic, with 5G developing, livestreaming has shown even more possibilities. 5G capabilities have made a big difference, as signals are more stable and pictures are clearer. In addition to retail, livestreaming has really stood out in education, entertainment, and tourism....

iResearch predicts that by the end of 2020, China will have 524 million online livestreaming users. This means 40% of Chinese people and 62% of the country’s internet users will be livestreamers. The total scale of China’s live streaming e-commerce industry reached RMB 433.8 billion in 2019 and is expected to double by the end of 2020. Given that in 2019, livestreaming e-commerce only accounted for 4.1% of the online retail market and it accounted for 1.1% of overall e-commerce, it still has plenty of room for growth. During the epidemic, more and more industries turned to livestreaming e-commerce and it moved beyond the standard products. People were even selling houses. On April 24, Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest real estate companies, had over 3.8 million viewers for its livestream and it racked up 7.12 million likes. During the broadcast, 38 discounted apartments sold out in one second.

Much more at Technode.

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