Livestream E-commerce Sales
During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous enterprises resumed business through livestream e-commerce sales. To date, this model has evolved into a prevailing trend and a new form of sales. Dealt a heavy blow by the pandemic, a great many offline physical industries have found an urgent need to shift their business online.
Advantages of Livestream E-commerce Sales
1. Low Cost
Compared with traditional physical stores, livestream e-commerce sales eliminate the high costs of store rent and decoration.
2. Wide Audience Reach
Leveraging the traffic of livestream platforms, merchants can attract customers from all over the country—whereas traditional physical stores only reach local customers, or even just those in the immediate business district. Additionally, livestream sales break through spatial restrictions during special periods.
3. Authentic Product Presentation
This is especially true for high-frequency consumer goods such as clothing and beauty products. Hosts’ try-on and trial experiences showcase product effects to fans in a vivid way, enabling fans to quickly accept the recommended products and driving sales conversion.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, livestream e-commerce significantly lowers market entry and operational costs, helping them achieve a rapid radiating effect and create an online "chain reaction".
Our Approach to Livestream E-commerce Sales
Livestream e-commerce sales relies on three core elements: Products (Selection), Hosts (Talent), and Venue (Scene, Traffic, Strategies).
1. Products (Selection)
We prioritize products over hosts and venue for a reason: as livestream e-commerce matures, products, quality and pricing are the ultimate core.
First, product categories. According to the 2019 Double 11 livestream sales analysis by CARS Data, top-selling categories include food and beverages, beauty and skincare, personal care and cleaning products, home appliances, clothing and footwear, daily household goods, 3C digital products, mother and baby products, fitness and outdoor gear, and pet supplies. In the SME Recovery Initiative launched by ByteDance Engine, thousands of SMEs across sectors such as living services, furniture and home improvement, e-commerce, and education and training participated in livestream sales activities.
Second, pricing. Top livestream hosts such as Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya have always offered highly competitive prices, bringing substantial discounts to their fans.
2. Person (Talent)
Hosts are categorized by average live viewership into top-tier, mid-tier, emerging, and small-scale hosts. However, hiring top or mid-tier hosts incurs high costs, which is impractical for most SMEs.
In this case, making the most of in-house resources becomes crucial. Business owners and top sales associates can act as hosts—after all, no one knows the products better than the people who build and sell them.
To be a successful in-house host, four key qualities are essential:Brand Persona, Hosts must have a distinct personality that aligns with both the product attributes and the fan base’s characteristics.
Professionalism：Professional requirements vary by industry. For example, a clothing livestream host needs in-depth knowledge of fabrics, styles, colors, fashion trends, matching skills, and even celebrity styling of similar pieces.
Script & Delivery：Engaging verbal skills make the livestream more interesting and boost viewer retention. Iconic catchphrases like Li Jiaqi’s "OMG" and "Buy it!" are perfect examples.
Operational Proficiency：Hosts must master livestream equipment operation, broadcast procedures, product linking, discount distribution, and other on-site operations. Mistakes in any link can severely impact viewer retention and order conversion rates.
During special periods, a large number of SMEs aim to boost sales and offset losses through livestreaming but lack the necessary knowledge and experience. In the SME Recovery Initiative, ByteDance Engine invited vertical industry influencers to host joint livestreams with business owners. The influencers’ professional livestream skills quickly created a lively atmosphere, while the business owners’ in-depth product introductions and sharing helped fans understand the high-quality products quickly and thoroughly.
"We hope the joint livestream format allows business owners to truly participate in livestreaming, experience its charm firsthand, and realize its positive role in driving their enterprise’s future development," said Ms. Zou, the project lead.
3. Venue (Scene, Traffic, Strategies)
Scene：Refers to the livestream location, which should be selected based on product attributes: origin livestreams for fresh produce and fruits, store livestreams for furniture and home appliances, or fixed livestream studios (where thoughtful scene design is critical). For example, a livestream selling vintage women’s clothing should feature a traditional-style studio to attract fans with its distinctive setting.
Traffic：Effective traffic-boosting methods include participating in official platform events, posting pre-broadcast announcements, leveraging the livestream square, and setting local positioning. The SME Recovery Initiative by ByteDance Engine provided merchants with a range of support—including promotion, livestream boosting, topic exposure, and over 1 billion traffic grants—delivering massive exposure opportunities to more than a thousand merchants.
Strategies：Interactive tactics such as Q&A sessions, follow incentives, cross-host PK challenges, livestream-exclusive coupons, and previews of upcoming products can boost studio engagement and fan retention.
In summary, mastering the skills and principles of products, hosts and venue, and seizing the trends and dividends of livestream e-commerce sales, will help your products and enterprise gain greater favor from consumers.