At the age of 34, she has a wealth of tens of millions and more fans than Sunday Rugby Night. Weiya, the queen of goods in China, is famous in the $60 billion online live shopping market.
No matter what commodities, they can be sold to Huang Wei.
For example, in April this year, Huang Wei, also known as "Weia", sold a rocket of about 40 million yuan (5.6 million dollars), which should be rocket launching service. The online live shopping event hosted by Weiya, including variety shows, product recommendations and group chat, was full. Last month, the number of her live audience hit a new high, reaching more than 37 million people - more popular than the finale of Game of Thrones, the Oscar ceremony and Sunday Rugby Night.
In every live broadcast night, Weiya can lead millions of dollars in sales. Most of her audiences buy cosmetics, household appliances, pre processed food or clothes. However, Weiya will also recommend houses and cars. On the day of the "Double 11" shopping carnival, her sales exceeded 3 billion yuan. Although the outbreak of the epidemic prevented most Chinese people from leaving their homes, Weiya's live broadcast ratings also doubled.
In an era when online shopping is becoming more and more popular, Weiya represents our common vision for the future. Online live shopping is a natural product of the convergence of several current technological trends - live broadcasting, online celebrity economy, social media, commerce, etc. It also brings a new marketing path to capture consumers' hearts and wallets. Tesla 、 P&G Miranda Kerr, a supermodel turned beauty entrepreneur, and others all hope to cooperate with Weiya to open up the Chinese market. According to Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba According to the latest released data, Weiya, the queen with goods in China's $60 billion online live shopping market, earned about 30 million yuan in 2018.
The rise of online retail has made the physical retail industry increasingly unaffordable. Live shopping and other things do not bode well. The COVID-19 pandemic - and the economic downturn that followed it - led to a precipitous decline in sales and customer flow of the physical retail industry. According to the data of Forrester Research, the performance of offline non grocery retail industry is expected to fall by 20% this year. Retailers such as J.C. Penney, J. Crew and Pier One Imports have all applied for bankruptcy protection. Given that there is no effective vaccine available in the short term, will it be as attractive to try on new clothes in the store or try on new lipstick color in the beauty counter as before the epidemic?
"I feel like the person who helps consumers make decisions, and I need to consider their needs," Weiya said one night in May. She wore a white T-shirt, black slacks, a Yankees baseball cap and a pair of silver earrings. These things were also sold in the studio that night. She said that she specially dressed herself to look more casual, which can quickly shorten the distance with the audience, because most of the audience probably wear home clothes to watch the live broadcast at home.
"Specifically, my goal is to recommend global good things for fans," she said. "Doorbell, carpet, toothbrush, furniture, mattress, etc., all kinds of things they may need."
Screenshot of Weiya Live Studio
Screenshot of Weiya Live Studio In the United States and other places, people are not unfamiliar with the form of "e-commerce live broadcast"; For example, TV shopping pioneer Ron Popeel's latest program, Home Shopping Network, Oprah's Book Club and Kim Kardashian. Amazon It has been more than a year since we tried the concept of "e-commerce live broadcast". Recently, we have also cooperated with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, the stars of Project Runway, so that viewers can buy the winning design clothes in the program immediately after the program is broadcast. Facebook Has been trying to attract users to shop on its platform; In May this year, the company announced to cooperate with Shopify to integrate shopping experience on Shopify and Instagram.
"Online celebrity with goods, live broadcast, smart phone, social platform, etc. - these are all interlinked," said Benedict Evans, an independent analyst. He has covered technology trends in Silicon Valley and London for more than 20 years. He said: "It is difficult for us to predict the future, but I still want to say that online shopping is only feasible in China."
No place can show more significant live broadcasting potential than China. In China, new trends show that live shopping can become a deep habit of consumers and an important tool for retailers. Western technology is not ready yet. There are some obstacles in offline stores, online markets, social media recommendations, payment processing and third-party portals. However, Alibaba's technology allows viewers to select goods and place orders while watching the live broadcast while interacting with others - all of which can be done at the same time. The point is that there is no conflict between entertainment and shopping.
"I won't miss a single live broadcast of Weiya," said Linda Qu, a technology practitioner in Hangzhou. After coaxing her 4-year-old son to sleep, Qu Linda watched Weiya live on her smartphone while doing yoga or sitting on the sofa watching TV. Almost every live broadcast, she will click to buy something. Under the control of FOMO, she returned to the live broadcast room again and again and clicked to buy: "If there is something good, what should I do if I miss it? I will lose!"
For those companies eager to take root in the hearts of China's growing middle class, the "mentality of missing out on good things" is the key. These middle-class consumers, tempered by experience and lessons, inevitably have lingering fears about fake and inferior products. According to a report by McKinsey global researchers, from 2010 to 2017, China has driven one third of global consumption growth. As the economy recovers gradually after the epidemic, China's contribution to global consumption growth will continue to rise. In the next decade, China's consumption growth is expected to be equal to that of the United States and Western Europe combined.
Helen Lu, a spokesman for Procter&Gamble in Greater China, said that in the past, it was a rather slow process for consumers to go from knowing the brand, being interested in the brand to buying and eventually becoming loyal fans of the brand. She said, "But working with top anchors like Weiya can greatly speed up the process."
Most nights, Weiya broadcasts live in a small studio in the company headquarters. Her company is located in No. 1 Building of Ali Center in Hangzhou, China's technology center. Weiya's live broadcast is only a small part of Qianxun culture, which is an enterprise with 500 employees. Qianxun Culture has dozens of anchors, including bulk retail and supply chain management. The company's future planning includes providing consulting, advertising agency services and multimedia platform services for brands that want to get through to the target audience. Qianxun Culture Plan will raise funds this month, sign a strategic partner before the end of this year, and be listed in 2025 at the latest.
"This year is a turning point in our industry. I always said that before the outbreak of the epidemic," said Aoli, CEO of Qianxun Culture. Ollie is Weiya's stepbrother; Weiya's husband is the chairman of the company. Ollie continued: "It's just that the epidemic has prompted many offline retailers to accelerate online transformation, and more and more celebrities have joined the industry. Everyone is now focusing on live broadcasting."
Ollie's office is located on the fourth floor, next to the meeting room where Weiya and her team screen products. Weiya's studio is on the fifth floor. On the second and third floors, is the company's latest attempt: internal stores. The total area of this internal store is more than 10000 square meters, about the size of 1.5 football fields. Both internal and external anchors of Qianxun Culture can choose products suitable for their own recommendation for live broadcast.
Interior shop of Qianxun Culture, photographed on May 25, 2020
Interior shop of Qianxun Culture, photographed on May 25, 2020
Interior shop of Qianxun Culture, photographed on May 25, 2020 Food and household goods account for the majority, followed by clothes and accessories, including sunglasses, fashion bags, pearl accessories, sports shoes, pajamas, jeans, underwear, etc. There is also an area to display Korean products, an Australian product area and a New Zealand product area, and there will be more in the future. Bright and soft lights cover every corner here, and the anchor can even broadcast live in the aisle if they want.
Weiya has a strong star influence, which can make those companies who want to make their products appear in her studio willing to "listen to her orders". Everyone in the anchor circle - including more than 40 anchors under Qianxun Culture (Ollie said that the number of anchors will increase to 100 within three years) - can choose products in the showroom. These anchors need a continuous stream of products to do live broadcast, but also to prove that they can drive sales. Just as they pay for conspicuous positions in offline stores, brand owners are willing to pay for conspicuous positions on the shelves.
Weiya's team often says that her success is due to her selection of global goods for consumers. Every day, Weiya's team will display the good things they choose. On the recent evening, it was already 1:00 in the morning, dozens of employees still gathered in the conference room, eager to know what products their colleagues would bring and Weiya's final decision.
A certain electric shaver is too noisy, this candy is too sweet, Piggy Page silicone ice cube may be involved in infringement, etc. Weiya is also very sensitive to price. She held a cigarette lighter similar to Zippo and said, "They sold it for 399 yuan, and then wanted us to sell it for 389 yuan, which is impossible. Continue to talk with them, and the price will be below 300 yuan."
It is not enough to break through in the highly competitive market in China, let alone make a lot of money. Andy Yap, a social psychologist at INSEAD Business School in Singapore, commented that Weiya's live broadcast was a master template of sales skills. She has both beauty and talent, and is frank and sincere without affectation.
However, she has been in the sales industry for a long time. Weiya's hometown is Anhui, and her family is also engaged in retail business. At the age of 18, she opened her first store in Beijing with her then boyfriend, Dong Haifeng, now her husband. Dong Haifeng manages inventory and backstage business, while Weiya sells clothes while serving as a model in the store.
But she longed for a bigger stage. In 2005, she participated in the Anhui TV reality show Super Idol. For a while, she also formed a band. However, after several turnover, she finally returned to the retail industry. She and Dong Haifeng opened another store in Xi'an, and in 2012, they switched to online business. When Taobao launched its first live broadcast plan in 2016, Weiya was among the first to try.
The live broadcast integrating performance and sales is especially suitable for Weiya. This spring, she came to Wuhan, which had just recovered from the epidemic, to do live promotion for its products and explore local delicacies and snacks, such as crawfish and duck neck. While praising the delicious food, she answered the questions of the audience in real time, such as whether to send mails to remote western cities or how hot this snack is.
Weiya promoted local specialties in Wuhan on April 30, 2020
Weiya promoted local specialties in Wuhan on April 30, 2020
Weiya promoted local specialties in Wuhan on April 30, 2020 Of course, all the goods are cheap. Every time, the purchase link will be released after Weiya completes the recommendation and counts down to "5, 4, 3, 2, 1". If the goods are too hot and sold out at once, she will sometimes "demand" more goods from suppliers who are not in front of the camera on behalf of consumers. This is a very frank question - Weiya's team will actually track inventory and sales, which is also a tactic that has been tried and tested.
"Creating the impression of scarcity is a powerful psychological tool to prompt people to act quickly and bring about impulsive consumption," said Yap of INSEAD
At the same time, Alibaba's technology also makes buying extremely easy. Audiences need to log in to Taobao before they can join the live broadcast. This means that their shipping address and payment information have been stored in the background. From time to time, Weiya will also use the lottery function on Taobao to present gifts to the audience during the live broadcast, so as to mobilize audience interaction and attract them to click. When shoppers choose a product, the live broadcast window will become smaller, but it will not disappear. After the transaction is completed, the live broadcast window is restored. Users can continue to watch Weiya introduce the next product.
It seems that the popularity of live streaming products outside China depends partly on the ability of Amazon and Facebook to integrate entertainment products in their shopping and payment functions. Evans pointed out that so far, you may be able to learn about a product on Instagram, but you cannot buy it directly on Instagram. Amazon, on the other hand, faces the opposite problem: Amazon's sales are great, but the premise is that users already know what they want to buy.
In China, users spend a lot of time on "super applications". Alibaba is even more ubiquitous: its infrastructure provides power for shopping platforms such as Taobao and Tmall; The payment includes Ant Financial, Alipay and Zhima Credit; Cainiao Logistics can solve the problem of delivery and return.
Weiya said, "You need such an environment to cultivate consumption habits. For example, building trust between us and consumers is the most important thing. To do this, consumers must trust Taobao. They need to know that they will not buy fake goods on Taobao. They believe that the logistics system can ensure that the food they order will not deteriorate. And they trust these services. These are the big premises. "
Outside China, a more respectable retail technology seems to be at hand. The cooperation between Facebook and Shopify has finally taken Instagram a small step forward. It seems that the game anchor who is rewarded by fans is also moving in this direction. Gaming companies are also doing the same thing, vigorously developing a real-time online sports gaming platform that goes hand in hand with live events. Alibaba is attracting Western Internet celebrities. TikTok's parent company, Byte, launched its first high-profile shopping theme activity in April this year.
Weiya did live broadcast in Wuhan on April 30, 2020 P&G's spending on advertising ranks first among major multinational companies. There is no doubt that P&G is very interested in bringing goods live. When executives from other regions come to China, an essential link is to understand the live broadcast of goods.
"This has almost become a routine. We give them half an hour or more to experience the live broadcast, not only to watch the live broadcast, but also to let them do it in person," said Lu Hailun, a spokesman for P&G Greater China. "We will give them some training to teach them how to count down like Weiya." P&G also has its own live shopping channel in China, Although Weiya's popularity is not as good as Weiya's, this situation has foreshadowed the tension between consumer companies that want to promote products, online celebrities with many fans and all parties of the platform that executes transactions.
In order to enhance their credibility, the anchors hope that the brand partners can provide substantial discounts and generous gifts. But the long-term effect of successful marketing is not significant. Roger Huang, China CEO of British skin care brand Saville&Quinn, said that less than 10% of consumers who place orders through live broadcast will become repeat customers, compared with 40% of consumers who place orders directly on Tmall. "It was just a moment of uproar, and then there was no more. They were Weiya's fans, and they bought Weiya's recommendations," Huang Ruo said. "The live broadcast with goods was effective, but we can't indulge in it."
Go back to Weiya. Her influence comes from her popularity among fans, and she and her team are also cultivating the audience accordingly. If an audience complains about a product in an online chat during the live broadcast, Weiya will be keenly aware of it and make up for the situation. Her fans called her "Dola Weiya" to pay tribute to the cartoon character Dola A Dream, who can realize time travel and dreams.
In the worst weeks of the COVID-19 epidemic, Weiya promised her fans that she would go to Wuhan and look up from the Yellow Crane Tower. At the end of April, shortly after Wuhan was unsealed, Weiya's team drove 11 hours to the ancient city as scheduled. "Let's cheer for Hubei together," Weiya encouraged in a video shot standing in front of the Yellow Crane Tower, "Come on!" she shouted.
That night, before the start of the online live broadcast, this shot was used as part of the repeated video to cheer for Wuhan's recovery. At night, when she appeared in front of the camera wearing the same yellow suit and white daddy shoes as in the daytime video, 160000 people had logged in to the live broadcast room to look forward to it. She greeted everyone like her long lost friend. "Hello everyone!" she said enthusiastically, just like every previous live broadcast, "I'm here! I'm here! I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!"
