When social buying in China will boom

China continues to lead the world in all things ecommerce, including innovation. Social commerce livestreaming is just one of many new stories for 2021 and beyond.

China joined 16 other countries when its powerful Personal Information Protection Law came into effect in November 2021. The law gives consumers even more opt-in rights than GDPR, and regulators in China have more leeway in enforcement.

It’s hard to imagine US mcommerce approaching 40% penetration of retail sales anytime soon, but China still holds lessons for the US. Some trends in China eventually found their way to the US, including:. Mobile payments. Social commerce. QR codes. Which trends in China are happening now and have a decent chance of similar uptake in US mcommerce? Livestreaming shopping channels.

For example, Douyin has succeeded as an all-in-one content and shopping app in China, but US consumers may not be ready for that. In a March 2021 survey by Ipsos, about a third (34%) of US adults said they don’t typically use social media for shopping inspiration, and 30% said they don’t know if they can trust social media product recommendations.

China still occupies the top spot with an estimated 51.5% of digital buyers who will also buy via social platforms in 2021. But digital buyers in Russia, rather than the US, rank second by this measure with 49.5% of digital buyers expected to purchase via social media this year. It’s worth noting that Germany and the UK don’t even place in the top 10 by this measure.

This report summarizes our forecasts for nine countries—the US, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, China, India, Japan, and South Korea—and offers comparative analyses of the major time spent numbers for each.

Last year, China was the only market to see overall ad spending growth, although digital ad spending performed well almost everywhere. This year, every country will see growth in almost every category.

With the policing of digital content, will these apps suffer the same fate as Clubhouse in China? The answer is likely no, as digital players in China are well-versed in the art of censorship compliance. Many deploy content moderators and AI listening tools to ensure adherence to regulators’ demands.

A new generation of carmakers are racing to corner the electric vehicle market in China, and Nio is one major player that galvanizes customer loyalty with an ecosystem of social networking, ecommerce, and other services on its app.

The group-buying site rose to popularity in Tier 3 markets as rural consumers tapped social media to round up other buyers to drive volume discounts. Farmers selling apples and other produce on the cheap was an early adoption driver of this virtual bazaar. Pinduoduo’s meteoric growth was fueled by WeChat, the dominant social media platform in China that doubles as a popular commerce destination.

Social commerce sales in the US are picking up, but the size of the market pales in comparison to that of China, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast on social commerce.

Creator economy crescendo: Amazon is quickly building out areas of its business that center on influencers, as the walls between social media and ecommerce erode and creators' roles in those spaces start to blend together.

Sustainability is increasingly top of mind for consumers in China. Many are making lifestyle changes to address the issue, spurred by the country’s many environmental catastrophes, as well as the government’s recent pledge to reduce emissions. And more than ever, shoppers expect brands to offer products and services with eco-friendliness in mind—and for the right price.

Overall, we expect total retail livestreaming ecommerce sales in China to reach $299.66 billion in 2021, including livestream sessions on both ecommerce and social media platforms. The total number of livestream ecommerce buyers in China will hit 320.1 million—of which 60.7%, or 194.2 million, will make a purchase via a livestream on social media at least once this year.