Chinese live streamer Viya holds the Taobao record of selling $66 million worth of products in a single 13-hour session. Photo / Supplied
Chinese live streamer Viya holds the Taobao record of selling $66 million worth of products in a single 13-hour session. Photo / Supplied
China's top livestreaming celebrity, who holds a record of generating $66 million in sales over 13 hours, will be livestreaming New Zealand products from Auckland.
Viya, a top livestreamer on Chinese online shopping website Taobao, is arriving in New Zealand tonight and livestreaming from Auckland on Friday.
As to whatKiwi products the Chinese influencer will be promoting on the world's biggest e-commerce website, members of her team are keeping the cards close to their chests.
Viya has 6.5 million followers on social media and is considered a celebrity in China. Photo / Supplied
Viya is considered a KOL or key opinion leader and has nearly 6.5 million followers on Taobao, and most of them are ready buyers.
It is reported that her followers will buy whatever she recommends without even reading about the product.
Joyce Liu, director of Touchpoint Creative, who is handling communications for Viya's visit, says about 20 products have been selected for Friday's livestreaming - ranging from honey, dairy, skin care and cereals.
"They were chosen based on unit price, background of the companies and reputation of the products," Liu said.
"Viya's followers have developed trust in her, and so the products that she promotes must be most competitive in price and quality."
Products Viya promotes are often sold out within a matter of seconds, Liu said.
Viya is the top live streamer in Taobao. Photo / Supplied
Livestreaming has been a main focus for many Chinese e-commerce platforms, including the Alibaba owned Taobao site.
New Zealand will be the third country outside of China for Viya, who livestreamed her way to $57m sales in Thailand three months ago.
In Korea, 12 containers of products sold within five hours by Viya, which generated more than $30m in sales.
Massey University China marketing expert Henry Chung says e-commerce livestreaming has become an increasingly popular method of selling in Asia.
Viya, he said, is considered to be a celebrity by the millions of fans who trust her and follow her on Taobao.
Viya holds the record of generating over 300 million yuan ($66m) sales in a single day of livestreaming, and last year made a total turnover of 2.7 billion yuan.
Taobao has its own set of livestreaming influencers, and more than 1200 of them have more than a million fans. Last year, 81 influencers generated over US$15m (NZ$23m) in sales each through livestreaming.
The five best-performing industries on its livestream channels are jewellery, women's fashion, accessories, skincare, cosmetics and children's fashion, according to Taobao.
In the past three years, around 100,000 livestreamers have also promoted farm products on Taobao, selling fresh produce and dairy products.
Viya's live streaming generated more than $40 million in sales for Taobao in Thailand. Photo / Supplied
"All sorts of products are now being sold through this platform, and a key selling point is that customers can also share their usage experience with other potential customers," Chung said.
"Because it is live interaction, customers can have their questions answered by the livestreamers right away, and this creates a very high opportunity for them to place their orders online."
Livestreaming by KOLs on e-commerce sites is changing the way products are sold, Chung said, and believes it will only become more popular.
Trust is a key issue for e-commerce platforms, he said, and influencers like Viya are able to help generate that trust.
Although relatively new to western markets, with Amazon Live launching its live video shopping only last year, the Chinese have been doing it for several years.
"Sooner or later, NZ firms would need to consider this platform for their products," Chung said.
"It's a business opportunity that cannot be ignored, and the platform will become even more significant as communication technology becomes more sophisticated."
Viya will start her Auckland livestreaming from 11pm on Friday night, but only her followers and those with Taobao accounts will be able to watch.
According to Liu, Taobao has more than 700 million monthly active users - nearly all account holders are China based.
