Next time you play scrabble with your friends, try this word: daihuo, the Chinese term for a new model of e-commerce. It is quickly finding its way into modern-day English dictionaries as China is re-defining global internet influencer economy by live-streaming sales. On various social media platforms, movie stars, cultural icons, opinion leaders and ordinary people who just happen to have a big following use their popularity to sell to their followers anything form fashion, food, beauty products to vacation packages and even rockets. According to Taobao, live-stream channels generated 200 billion yuan in 2019. In February, when coronavirus hit China’s hard, Taobao saw the number of live-stream sessions on its app double. Live stream shopping (or simply live shopping) has taken over the e-commerce airwaves in China, fusing stay-at-home economy with live video, content marketing, influencer marketing and entertainment value.
下次和你的朋友玩拼字遊戲的時候，試試這個詞：「daihuo」（「帶貨」）。這種新興的電子商務模式很快就要成為現代英語詞典中的一個專有名詞了，因為中國的直播帶貨正在重新定義全球的網紅經濟。在各種各樣的社交平臺上，電影明星、文化達人、意見領袖和許多粉絲量較大的普通人都在利用他們的知名度帶貨，向粉絲推銷各種商品。銷售的商品凡所應有無所不有，從時尚服飾、食品、美妝產品到度假套餐，甚至還有火箭。根據淘寶的統計數據，2019年直播頻道銷售收益高達2000億元。今年二月，中國經濟受疫情嚴重影響，淘寶APP上的直播數量卻翻了一番。直播購物已經成為了中國電子商務的主流，將「宅經濟」和直播視頻、內容營銷、網紅營銷和娛樂價值結合在了一起。
In comparison with celebrity endorsement in the traditional TV industry, there's not much difference between them. Then why does live-stream become the go-to option for consumers? Here are some reasons.與傳統電視行業的明星代言相比，直播帶貨似乎沒有什麼本質區別。那麼為什麼直播購物成為了當下消費者的首選呢？原因包括以下幾點。
Live platforms supply the authenticity that modern buyers crave. There’s no video editing or Photo-shopping, so buyers can trust that they’re seeing exactly what they』ll get. There’s also the highly-interactive two-way conversation that shopping via television or a traditional e-commerce website can’t accommodate. It’s as close to seeing and buying something in person as you can get without traveling to the store and handling the item yourself. Plus, flash sales with deep discount are offered for a limited time during live-stream broadcasts, which push buyers to make impulse purchases.
直播平臺提供了商品的可靠保證，這正是現代消費者所需要的。直播賣貨不會編輯視頻或者美化照片，買家可以相信他們所看見的就是他們所買到的。直播時買家與買家之間對話的雙向高互動性也是電視購物和傳統電商網站所不能及的，就像親自去購物，但又不需要去商店購買。另外，大折扣的限時搶購僅限於直播期間，這就容易促使人們產生衝動消費。
Will these tactics also take off in the Western world? The answer is no. The retail ecosystem in China is very different from any other country in the world. In China, live-stream content is already much more connected to e-commerce, very often on the same platform. Furthermore, mobile payments are not just a payment tool but a way of life in China, making online purchase very easy. The West has yet to eliminate the use of cash and clunky credit cards with their 16-digit numbers. However, as the coronavirus crisis makes its way across the world and millions of small retail merchants are forced to shutter their doors, they may have to try out digital tools to keep their businesses alive. Looking at how Chinese retailers and brands have handled the crisis is definitely worthwhile.
那麼，這些技巧能夠適用於西方世界嗎？答案是不行。中國的零售系統不同於任何一個國家。在中國，直播的內容已經與電子商務緊密相連，通常都是在一個平臺上。此外，中國的行動支付不僅僅是一種支付工具，更是一種生活方式，因此線上購物十分便捷。西方社會卻還沒有擺脫使用現金以及16位密碼的信用卡。然而，新冠病毒席捲全球之際，數百萬的小型零售商被迫關門停業，他們也許真的需要嘗試數位化手段來維持生計。參考中國品牌及零售商應對疫情的做法不失為一種選擇。