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Livestreaming in China in 2025: How to Get Started ?

Thomas Graziani

Livestreaming started taking off in China back in 2016, that is almost a decade ago. While this realisation will make any China marketer feel ancient, does it mean Livestreaming is a thing of the past ? Certaintly not.

Let’s look at the China livestreaming trend in 2025, and understand the key tactics to leverage it for your brand.

Livestreaming gained momentum in 2024

Platforms such as Tmall and JD used to proudly publish booming growth numbers each year, after each major sales festival (Double Elven in November and 618 in June).

Since 2022, slugging sales have led these platforms to stop publishing precise numbers, we therefore do not know the exact Double Eleven and 618 figures for 2024. However, the published figures show us that Chinese e-commerce is bouncing back and that livestreaming is leading the growth.

618 Shopping Festival 2024

Double 11 Shopping Festival 2024 (First Week Performance)

The picture is clear : Chinese e-commerce is bouncing back with 300% growth rate on average, while Livestreaming is leading the charge with a 500% growth rate.

Who are the top Livestreamers in China for 2025 ?

The choice of the right livestreamer very much depends on the brand doing promotion. Here are a few successful Livestreamers that will give you a sense of Average Order Values (AOV), positioning and pricing.

1. Dong Jie (Actress-Turned-Influencer)

Background:

Dong Jie is a former actress turned into a top-tier livestreaming influencer on Red (the Chinese version of Instagram). She is recognized as a benchmark for “Seeding-style” e-commerce livestreaming. In 2024, she achieved a GMV exceeding 1 billion RMB in a single month ($138 million USD)

Product Categories:

Livestreaming Strategy:

Performance Metrics:

Collaboration Costs:

2. Zhang Xiaohui (Socialite & Brand Founder)

Background:

Hong Kong socialite and fashion writer, founder of personal brand “Rose Is a Rose,” Zhang Xiaohui achieved a sales revenue of 39M RMB (5.4$M USD) in January 2025.

Product Categories:

Livestreaming Strategy:

Performance Metrics:

Collaboration Costs:

3. Wu Xin (Mass-Market Appeal & “Everywoman” Branding)

Background:

Former TV host turned livestreaming influencer, embraced the “relatable girl-next-door” image to connect with mainstream audiences. Monthly GMV exceeded 100M RMB in 2024.

Product Categories:

Livestreaming Strategy:

Performance Metrics:

Collaboration Costs:

Which platform to use for Livestreaming ?

The choice of platform for Livestreaming depends very much on the pricing of your products. Red is by far the most premium platform among Chinese social networks, with an AOV of 500 RMB ($69) against 200 RMB ($28) for WeChat Channels.

Douyin (the Chinese version of Tik Tok) Livestreaming AOV is even lower: it dropped from around 110 RMB ($15) to only 80 RMB ($11)

As we saw in previous examples, Red sales can very much exceed this AOV figure, with orders above $350 / item.

3 steps to launching Livestreaming in China

Step 1: identifying the right KOL/KOC for Livestreaming

Your first focus will be to identify the right influencers for your brand :

Most brands stick to a selected product pool, often their signature/iconic items, for livestream promotions, typically offering a 20-30% discount compared to regular prices.

At the end of this process, you can identify the best performing streamers (>10k RMB / livestream) for long-term collaborations.

Step 2: repeat collaboration & ads spending

You will then attempt to expand the GMV / livestream by focusing on best-performing streamers and expand their presence through advertising

By the end of this step, you should have established Livestreamers with whom you collaborate on a regular basis and who generate profitable campaigns for your brand

Step 3: expand to top livestreamers

The final step focuses on expanding to top livestreamers, while the brand starts its own in-house Livestreaming activity. In-house livestreaming is essential to having an “Always on” presence on social media, but it is also a costly investment, therefore better suited for most established brands.

Which brands can do Livestreaming in China ?

Cosmetics, F&B and fashion are by far the most popular categories for Livestreaming in China.

For the vast majority of brands Livestreaming is possible without specific permissions. But special fields such medicine, finance, law, and education, need to have the proper certification to be allowed to stream.

In practice however, a lot of brands do operate without such licenses, and products such as hemorrhoid cream or adult toys can be found among Red or Douyin livestreams.

Conclusion

Livestreaming is booming again in China with a 500% growth rate in 2024. It is one of the fastest-growing channels in a Chinese e-commerce market that is bouncing back after challenging COVID years.

If you want to launch Livestreaming in China, a step-by-step approach is required: you need to identify the right platform and positioning for your brand, and progressively scale your way to bigger and bigger Livestreaming influencers.

And of course, if you have any questions, we are here to help.

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