Shanghai secures its standing at top of livestreaming totem

Major opportunities

Shanghai Oriental-pearl Intelligent Shopping operates a livestreaming base in Shanghai's Yangpu district, equipped with four professional broadcast studios and 10 livestreaming studios. Beyond its flagship location, the company also runs eight studios across the city under the "Shanghai Onair Studio" IP.

"We see three major opportunities: first, policy support has created a favorable environment for industry growth; second, Shanghai, as an international consumption center, offers huge market potential; and third, technological innovation provides new possibilities for upgrading the livestreaming business model," said Li Huirong, president of the company.

"Our current target is to triple the scale of our own brands in 2026, which is projected to surpass 50 million yuan this year," she added.

In the first eight months of this year, the company conducted 3,539 livestreaming activities, attracting 34.93 million viewers.

Lao Guoling, director of the e-commerce research center with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said achieving a 600-billion-yuan livestreaming economy by 2026 was a reasonable target. "From my point of view, it is even a bit of a conservative goal," Lao said.

The city's livestreaming e-commerce retail revenue reached 437.1 billion yuan in 2023 and jumped to 493.7 billion yuan in 2024. With an annual growth rate of 12.9 percent, the figure is projected to reach 557.4 billion yuan in 2025 and further expand to 629.2 billion yuan in 2026, Lao said.

The livestreaming retail sector grew by 23.6 percent between January and September this year, an even more impressive rate, she added.

The early rise of livestreaming e-commerce was driven by strong technological capabilities, from digital livestreaming technologies to the application of artificial intelligence in livestreaming studios, Lao said. While digital innovation empowers the industry, proper regulation and oversight are equally essential to preventing the disorderly competition seen in the past.

"The goal is to address key bottlenecks along the industry chain and ensure its sustainable development," Lao added.

Wang Mengyu, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Livestreaming E-commerce Alliance, said, "Shanghai ranks first in the country in livestreaming e-commerce transaction volume, thanks to its many leading livestreaming platforms and a large number of well-known domestic and international brands."

The concentration of resources helps the city's brand livestreaming grow faster, she added.

"In addition, Shanghai hosts numerous consumer festivals, such as the China International Import Expo, the Double Five Shopping Festival and Shanghai Summer, creating a strong culture of consumption," Wang noted.

Compared with other cities strong in livestreaming e-commerce, such as Hangzhou and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Shanghai still faces disadvantages in supply chain resources and industrial clustering. "In other words, its local production capacity remains relatively limited," she said.

"Moreover, Shanghai's livestreaming bases are more scattered and smaller in scale than those in other cities, largely due to higher operating costs. While livestreaming bases in Hangzhou or Guangzhou can span tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of square meters, those in Shanghai tend to follow a small but refined model, focusing on distinctive and specialized development."