Attention all shopaholics: Now you can shop online and watch live streaming at the same time

Every day 19 year-old Wang Hao spends three hours in front of a camera at her home in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, showing the hundreds of viewers on her Taobao Live channel different pairs of leggings while offering advice on which ones will keep them warm in sub-zero winters.

“Look at this pair – it’s super stretchy and lined with fleece, you’ll definitely stay warm,” she tells viewers, as she holds up a pair of beige tights.

“There’s a 20 per cent discount if you buy it today, and we can still have it shipped to you before the Lunar New Year holiday.”

Wang is just one of thousands of merchants cashing in on China’s live-streaming craze, displaying their wares in real-time to customers on e-commerce platform Taobao’s live-streaming platform in the hopes of driving up sales.

The live-streaming industry has exploded in popularity on the Chinese mainland. A recent Deloitte report forecast the Chinese live-streaming market to be worth US$4.4 billion in 2018, with viewer numbers topping 456 million. To stand out, live streamers in China do everything from deadly stunts to eating mountains of food, and even going under the knife to improve their looks and boost their popularity.

The scale of live-streaming has not escaped the eyes of China’s largest e-commerce firms, including Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post. Both Alibaba’s Taobao and JD.com have launched live-streaming platforms for merchants on their sites, allowing shop owners and brands to either broadcast live video on their own or work with influencers to market their products. 

“Live-streaming in the e-commerce industry has become similar to home shopping channels in the US … except you can engage with the merchants and they can answer any questions you have live. Right away, you hear positive comments about the item you’re interested in, and it’ll urge you to buy it immediately,” said Tiffany Wan, general manager of VS Media, an agency that represents content creators and live-streaming stars in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland.