Shopping in live streaming apps is booming in China thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic

Buyers like the experience of seeing the products in live-streamed video, but they also worry about false marketing and scams

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China’s live streaming shopping market is projected to grow to 916 billion yuan (US$129 billion) in 2020. (Picture: SCMP)

Xinmei Shen

Published: 5:00am, 3 Apr 2020Updated: 6:16am, 3 Apr 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Over the course of three days, 130,000 viewers tuned in to watch a live stream from Shanghai New World shopping mall. For 12 hours each day, from March 6 to 8, 12 different hosts hired by the mall hawked name-brand goods from the likes of Adidas, Dior and Lego.

Welcome to shopping in the age of the coronavirus pandemic. After physical retail locations were forced to stay closed for weeks, some merchants have turned to live streaming to remotely connect with buyers. Shanghai New World chose to stream on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Over those three days, the mall reportedly gained 10,000 followers.

But other tech companies offer similar services. A number of Chinese museums and the New York Metropolitan Museum recently started live streaming exhibits and selling gifts through Pinduoduo.

China’s live streaming ecommerce market is projected to grow to 916 billion yuan (US$129 billion) in 2020. (Picture: SCMP)

Live streaming ecommerce has been growing rapidly in China. The industry surpassed 433 billion yuan (U$61 billion) in transactions in 2019, according to a report from iiMedia. Now it’s getting a boost from the coronavirus pandemic. The same report projects the industry will hit 916 billion yuan (US$129 billion) in 2020.

Part of the appeal of shopping through live streaming is that it can help compensate for shopping remotely in a way that browsing web pages doesn’t. According to a survey from the China Consumer Association, people like this method of shopping because it’s more social and interactive. They can also get a better understanding of a product.

As a result, China’s biggest ecommerce and live streaming platforms have been pouring in to take advantage of the trend. And this year, they’ve been seeing some big gains.