In recent years, live streaming in China has become a popular method for beauty brands to connect with their target audience.
Apps like Douyin (also known as TikTok) provide a unique platform for brands to showcase their products, engage with customers in real time, and drive sales. These apps allow brands to live-stream product demonstrations, and tutorials, and collaborate with influencers to reach a wider audience.
By utilizing live-streaming apps, beauty brands in China can effectively promote their products to a large and engaged audience, building trust, answering customer queries, and creating a sense of community, ultimately driving sales and brand loyalty.
Overview Of Chinese E-commerce Landscape
China’s e-commerce landscape is rapidly expanding, driven by the increasing market size and explosive growth of the beauty industry. With over a billion active internet users and 850 million mobile users, China presents a huge opportunity for brands to market their products online. As a result, various e-commerce platforms are now available for beauty brands to sell their products with ease in the Chinese market.
The Chinese e-commerce market is on its way to surpassing expectations as it is expected to reach 3 trillion dollars by 2024. It’s expected to represent more than 60% of total retail sales in the country. What is also interesting is that the consumption and e-commerce sales among the middle class are growing very fast, at over 17% per year.
Who Are The Online Shoppers In China?
In recent years, online shopping in China has seen a massive increase, with more than 842 million people regularly making purchases through digital marketplaces.
This growth is due to widespread internet and smartphone access, especially among the younger generation. Chinese consumers, particularly the younger ones, prefer foreign brands for their perceived quality and unique offerings.
Middle-class shoppers also contribute to the growth, especially in the personal care products sector. Chinese consumers also rely heavily on social media influencers for product reviews and live commerce sessions on platforms like Taobao.
Live Streaming Industry
The live-streaming industry in China, known for its vibrant and competitive market, has experienced explosive growth in recent years. With a large population of internet users and a thriving e-commerce market, live-streaming services have become an integral part of this popular form of entertainment and a lucrative business opportunity.
Many Chinese internet users, especially young people, enjoy watching live streams to interact with their favorite live-streaming hosts, discover new products, and participate in virtual communities.
The industry has also attracted a wide range of content creators, from celebrities and influencers (KOLs = Key Opinion Leaders) to ordinary individuals with unique talents or perspectives. As a result, the live-streaming industry in China has become a vibrant and competitive market, offering a wide variety of content and opportunities for both viewers and streamers alike.
Popular live-streamers are backed by professional marketing teams and can earn tens of thousands of dollars each day in direct donations from fans.
For the Chinese, it’s not just about watching the demonstration of a product, but it’s a relaxing, fun social activity for many consumers during their leisure time.
Chinese eCommerce Evolving with technology
China is the target market for global traders to promote their luxury products. Recently lawmakers have been easing restrictions with tax reductions, easy steps for setting up companies in China.
According to the “2020 Insights on China’s Live Broadcasting Industry” released by Mob Research Institute, in March 2020, the e-commerce live-streaming industry had more than 150 million mobile users.
Right now, the Chinese high-profile class is showcasing an adrenalin rush to open a cross-device compatible live-streaming e-commerce platform to buy products. These homegrown live-streaming platforms in the Chinese version must resort to customers doing shopping in a carefree mind.
Top 10 Live-Streaming Apps for Beauty Brands in China
1. Douyin
Douyin, also known as TikTok outside of China, is a popular social media platform that has taken the country by storm. Launched in 2016 by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, Douyin allows users to create and share short videos with various effects and filters. It has quickly gained a massive user base, especially among the younger generation, and has become a cultural phenomenon in China.
Douyin’s addictive nature and easy-to-use interface have made it a go-to platform for entertainment, creativity, and self-expression. With its vast array of content and viral challenges, Douyin has become an integral part of Chinese pop culture.
For example, Austin Li is a popular live streamer on Douyin, known for his expertise in beauty products. He is considered the “King of Lipstick” because, during a live stream, he sold 15,000 lipsticks within five minutes. He can sell hundreds of millions of items.
Another example is Wei Ya, a famous KOL in China, during a live stream on Douyin, who broke her own sales record driving 353 million RMB (roughly 49.7 million USD) in sales in a single day.
2. Kuaishou
Kuaishou, also known as Kwai, is a popular short video-sharing app in China. Launched in 2011, it quickly gained popularity among Chinese users for its entertaining and creative content. Kuaishou allows users to create and share short videos, ranging from lip-syncing to comedy skits, dance performances, and more.
With a user base of over more than 300 million daily active users, Kuaishou has become one of the leading social media platforms in China. Its success can be attributed to its user-friendly interface, diverse content, and the ability for users to interact with each other through likes, comments, and shares.
Kuaishou has also expanded its services to include live-streaming, e-commerce, and even online education, allowing users to play games. With its innovative features and continuous growth, Kuaishou has become an integral part of China’s digital landscape.
3. Taobao Live
Taobao Live can be said to be the leading platform for live broadcasting. Taobao has been operating for so many years and already has a lot of traffic.
For some novice live broadcasters, if you want to increase traffic in a short time, you can choose Taobao Live to start. Also, Taobao is helping live streamers across sectors set up their own stores, design show content, and manage product warehousing and distribution.
4. Jingdong (JD) Live
JD live broadcast seems to be not well-known, but the JD home shopping network has high e-commerce attributes, and its consumption ability is relatively strong. From the perspective of the current JD live broadcast platform, most of it is based on evaluation and physical display.
At present, JD.com does not have representative web celebrity anchors and merchants. However, JD.com will be more inclined to launch a combination of explosive merchants and anchors to attract more, because of its huge user base and the advantages of JD.com’s full-category e-commerce.
5. Meipai
Meipai is a popular social media platform in China that focuses on short video content. It allows users to create and share creative videos with various filters, effects, and music. Meipai has gained immense popularity among Chinese youth, as it provides a fun and interactive way to express themselves and connect with others.
With its user-friendly interface and wide range of features, Meipai has become a go-to platform for people looking to showcase their talents, explore trending content, and engage with a vibrant community. Whether you’re interested in comedy, beauty, fashion, or lifestyle, Meipai offers something for everyone to enjoy.
6. Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)
Xiaohongshu is a platform for growing grass with social content, but at the end of last year it was officially announced that the live broadcast function was connected, but Xiaohongshu has laid the label of female e-commerce from the beginning, so it may be a little more for the crowd.
At present, the source of Xiaohongshu live streaming traffic is the platform’s own traffic and Xiaohongshuda’s private domain traffic. Most of the recommended products are cosmetics and clothing and basically belong to well-known brands.
Xiaohongshu is more suitable for recording and sharing videos. The key to obtaining live streaming for brand companies is how to integrate scattered private domain traffic and public domain traffic.
7. Bilibili
Bilibili is a popular online entertainment platform in China that offers a wide range of content, including anime, video gaming, music, and more. It has gained immense popularity among the younger generation for its vibrant community and interactive features. Bilibili also provides a space for users to create and share their own content, fostering a creative and dynamic atmosphere.
With its unique blend of entertainment and social networking, Bilibili has become a significant cultural phenomenon in China’s online landscape.
8. Pinduoduo Live
The Pinduoduo live broadcast platform began to test water at the end of last year. Judging from the relevant data, the Pinduoduo anchor is mainly based on small commodities with low customer prices, agricultural products, or local specialties. For brands with sinking demand, Pinduoduo has now stationed Not many merchants, it is a traffic pool worth trying.
The above are the 6 most used live-streaming platforms introduced by the editor, in no particular order. Of course, there are also some small live-streaming platforms such as Mushroom Street, Watermelon Video, etc. Enterprises can choose according to their own needs.
9. Weibo Live
Weibo Live is a popular live-streaming platform in China that is integrated into the Weibo social media platform. It allows users, including celebrities, influencers, and ordinary individuals, to broadcast live videos to their followers and engage with them in real time.
Weibo Live has become a powerful tool for content creators and brands to connect with their audience, showcase products, host Q&A sessions, and even monetize their live streams through virtual gifts and sponsorships. With its wide user base and interactive features, Weibo Live has become a vibrant and influential part of the Chinese social media landscape.
10. Zhihu Live
Zhihu Live is a popular online platform in China that allows users to participate in live question-and-answer sessions with experts in various fields. It provides a unique opportunity for people to engage in real-time discussions and gain insights from professionals in areas such as technology, finance, and culture.
Zhihu Live has gained significant popularity due to its interactive format and the high-quality content it offers. Users can ask questions, receive personalized responses, and even interact with other participants during these live sessions. It has become a go-to platform for those seeking knowledge and expertise in a wide range of subjects.
Contact us to Start Live-Streaming in China!
Live-streaming apps have become a powerful tool for beauty brands in China. These apps provide a unique and interactive platform for brands to engage with their customers in real-time, showcase their products, and provide beauty tutorials.
With the rise of e-commerce and social media in China, live-streaming has become a popular way for beauty brands to reach a wider audience and increase sales. It allows customers to ask questions, receive personalized recommendations, and make purchases directly within the app.
Overall, live-streaming apps have revolutionized the way beauty brands connect with consumers in China, offering a seamless and immersive shopping experience.
Collaborating with an agency specialized in the Chinese market is the best way to achieve your goal and increase your Return On Investment. As all companies are different, the marketing and advertising strategy must be tailored according to their needs and within their financial means.
Proud of the success of the companies we have helped over the years, we know exactly what a certain company needs.
Thus, if you have questions about selling, advertising, exporting, etc. your cosmetics in China, contact us directly, and we will reply to you within 24 hours.