Livestreamers flow overseas for sales, profits

Chinese e-commerce companies are also bullish on the US market, as it is vast and has numerous wealthy customers. Given the huge sales volume but low prices in Southeast Asia, "the US is a place to make profits", Ma said, noting the higher prices of goods in the US.

Yet such great success only belongs to a few. Despite the sector's rapid growth, many companies are struggling to make a profit through livestreaming sales.

Luo Weizhe, founder of e-commerce company Parrotok, has temporarily suspended the livestreaming project after trying for approximately three months from March to June last year.

In the Los Angeles office, Luo's influencers were surprised when they heard that Li Jiaqi could sell hundreds of thousands of lipsticks per livestream in China, but they quickly became frustrated because US viewers see the format as entertainment, meaning audience numbers fall off a cliff as soon as the sales pitch begins.

Their best-selling item is a sports water bottle. Over 20,000 viewers are amused to see Li and an influencer take turns running to the bathroom in a two-hour competition to see who can drink the most water.

"Americans come to watch the livestream for entertainment, not to shop," Luo said. In a rare highlight, he and his influencers sold goods worth about $4,000 and received 10,000 likes. Most of the time, they lose money. "We are on the right track, but it is not the right time," he said, noting that the livestream shopping bug has yet to bite the US.

Diverse forms of entertainment and abundant shopping methods also divert US customers' attention away from livestreams. Gu Jun, CEO of Newme, said TV shopping is still very popular in the US, and his staff members even learn sales skills from it while watching shows over lunch at restaurants.

Meanwhile, Wang's new company, Content and Commerce Partner, is barely breaking even in the Southeast Asian livestreaming business. Cultural and linguistic differences have set up roadblocks.

He was once torn between annoyance and a desire to laugh when his local employees found him a TV news anchor after he requested they hire an influencer. The Mandarin words for "influencer" and "news anchor" are the same, so the translator misunderstood his request.

Moreover, a lack of industrial clusters also makes livestreaming e-commerce less effective in Southeast Asia. Wang recalled that when he was in Zhejiang province, "just a few calls and some coffee chats nailed down one-third of the promotional campaigns for the Double Eleven shopping festival".