Virtual hosts take over China’s online live-stream shopping
The Livestream Shopping RevolutionChina's e-commerce landscape has been fundamentally reshaped by the explosive growth of live-stream shopping, a phenomenon that transformed casual browsing into an interactive, entertainment-driven purchasing frenzy. Initiated around 2016 and popularized by giants like Alibaba, this format quickly captivated millions, with the industry surpassing one trillion RMB in sales by 2020 and engaging over 388 million users. The charismatic appeal of human Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) such as Austin Li and Viya once dominated screens, selling everything from cosmetics to rockets in real-time, but a new digital wave is now cresting.