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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

All of this will make TikTok less of a see-what-happens venture and more of a must-have platform for social media marketers in the years to come.