Skincare to Seafood, China’s Trade Hubs Ride the Livestream Wave

Skincare products from Guangzhou, mobile accessories from Shenzhen, hair clips from Yiwu, and home textiles from Nantong — these were among the top-selling goods from China’s industrial hubs in 2024.

Through livestreaming platforms, they are increasingly reaching consumers nationwide, reshaping regional economies. While eastern hubs continue to dominate sales, rapid growth in central and western regions is redrawing the country’s e-commerce map.

That’s according to a report released Tuesday by Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, which has become a key player in China’s e-commerce industry.

In 2024, 15.4 billion orders for 170 million products from China’s industrial hubs were completed on Douyin, a 39% year-on-year increase, according to the report. Of these, 63% were driven by live broadcasts, helping small and medium-sized merchants reach broader markets.

Every day, over 1.5 million merchants from these industrial hubs fulfill orders made through more than 9.8 million livestreamers — a figure that surged 84% from last year.

In the first half of 2024, China’s online retail sales reached 7.1 trillion yuan ($973 billion), up 9.8% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Rural areas also saw significant growth, with online sales rising 9.4%.

While Alibaba’s Taobao, the country’s leading e-commerce platform, and JD.com have long dominated the domestic e-commerce landscape, newer players like Pinduoduo, Kuaishou, and Douyin are rapidly gaining ground.

During the 2024 Double 11 shopping festival in November, online sales hit 1.44 trillion yuan, with livestream e-commerce contributing 332.5 billion yuan — a 54.6% surge, according to data from retail market consultancy Syntun.

Taobao led with a 38% market share, followed by JD.com at 20%, Douyin at 13%, and Pinduoduo at 10%. Douyin also recorded the fastest growth, data shows.

The surge has led some regions to make big bets on livestream e-commerce. In March 2023, Beijing introduced subsidies of up to 1.5 million yuan for platforms and livestreaming centers to boost activity. The southern tech hub of Shenzhen went further, offering enterprises up to 50 million yuan for hosting their own livestreams.

Smaller cities are also trying to cash in. In eastern China’s Suzhou, top-performing livestreamers were given payouts of up to 1 million yuan if their revenues surpassed 50 million yuan.

In June 2022, Douyin E-commerce launched its “Industry Growth Plan” to support SMEs in industrial belts, boost local product visibility, and drive regional economic growth. Today, over 90% of businesses on the platform are SMEs.

Taobao introduced similar initiatives the same year, offering traffic incentives, operational training, and onboarding support. By 2023, Taobao’s livestreaming platform had helped nearly 1,000 SMEs in Shenzhen’s Shuibei jewelry hub, with 80% surpassing 500,000 yuan in sales within three months.

Douyin’s annual report also maps the shifting geography of industrial belt sales. While eastern giants like Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu remain at the forefront in sales and merchant numbers, growth is now surging in unexpected places.

Yunnan has broken into the national top 10 for both sales and merchant numbers — the only southwestern province to do so. The northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region leads in merchant growth, while the southwestern Guizhou province’s sales growth rate ranks first across the country.

Men made up 52% of consumers buying products on Douyin from industrial belt regions, while 32% of all consumers were aged 31 to 40.

Beyond top-selling categories, regional specialties are also thriving on Douyin, according to the report — from Sichuan-Chongqing hotpot ingredients to Yunnan’s fresh flowers, Wuchang’s rice, and Inner Mongolia’s beef jerky.

Editor: Apurva.

(Header image: VCG)