BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Live streaming has become an important tool for many industries and businesses in China to resume production and reach consumers who are confined to their homes amid the fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19).
Data from Taobao's live streaming platform showed that the number of merchants that launched live streaming on the platform in February surged 719 percent month on month.
Since February 11, vegetable and fruit vendors, restaurants, shopping malls, department stores, real estate agents, automakers have rushed into Taobao Live to live broadcast their offerings, according to the live streaming platform of Taobao.
On April 6, a famous live streaming host in China formed a pair with a well-known host in a live broadcast to help enterprises in central China's Hubei province resume business. The live streaming session racked up more than 100 million views, selling over 40 million yuan worth of goods produced in Hubei.
Likewise, a live broadcast program featuring promotion by mayors and officials to sell agricultural products attracted nearly 11 million consumers, with the number of online viewers exceeding 150 million.
Live streaming can not only enable the real-time interaction between hosts, merchants and consumers, but also spark consumption by improving the shopping experience of consumers, said Cao Lei, director of the e-commerce research center of WJS Co., Ltd., an e-commerce service provider in China.
Live streaming marketing has evolved from the mode employing key opinion leaders (KOLs) to the one increasingly involving average consumers that share their product reviews and recommendations online, said Mo Daiqing, analyst with WJS Co., Ltd., who expected that new infrastructure such as 5G networks and big data would shore up live broadcast with better technologies.
The total transaction volume of live streaming e-commerce in 2019 was estimated at over 300 billion yuan. It is expected to hit one trillion yuan, according to China Merchants Securities. (Edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, silviasu07@163.com)
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