If you blink, you will completely miss the split-second showcase of goods for purchase. Live streamer Zheng Xiangxiang has brought this innovative twist to China’s e-commerce industry, tallying over $14 million in a single week.
E-Commerce Live Streaming
Zheng Xiangxiang is a live streamer with over 5 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. She started streaming on the app in 2017, but rapidly gained traction in November 2023. China introduced e-commerce live streaming to social media platforms in 2016 and allows viewers to buy products being shown in real-time.
Xiangxiang gained her popularity from how quickly she showed items. An assistant hands her the box and she holds it up, stating the price, and then flinging it off-screen in mere seconds.
Xiangxiang’s Strategies
The prices go for as low as $1.40, leading to impulsive spending on low-quality products for those who are tuning in. Since the shipping of goods is more expensive than the item itself, many people do not bother returning the item. Xiangxiang gets to pocket all of the profit.
In a week of Xiangxiang’s live streaming sessions, she was able to sell approximately 10 million units. Her lightning-fast broadcast totaled $13.9 million in earnings.
“I touch so many boxes every day, I even have calluses on my hands now. These hands have gone through the vicissitudes of life.”
Xiangxiang in a video tour of the warehouse she uses
All of the live streams that Xiangxiang hosts take place in a warehouse that is filled with tens of thousands of boxes and products. An entire team consisting of back-end workers and assistants worked so ruthlessly that their white table turned grey.
Social Media Response
Many internet users pointed out Xiangxiang’s resemblance to Liang Anna, a card dealer in the movie No More Bets. Other users were more concerned about the excessively fast streams and their quality standards. Some customers complained of a “cheap glue” smell and the use of plastic bags.
“These products shouldn’t be sold even if they aren’t defective or excess inventory. They are creating waste and polluting the environment.”
A commenter who goes by the name “Wei”
Douyin was not enthusiastic about Xiangxiang’s success and banned her from the app due to violations of the terms of service. They implemented a policy that prohibits live streamers from advertising products with little to no information to combat those using Xiangxiang’s strategy. She has since moved to Douyin’s rival platform, Kuaishou, and continues her speedy showcases there.
