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During this year’s Black Friday promotional period, cross-border e-commerce platforms and livestreaming agencies have been actively collaborating with international influencers to host livestreaming events aimed at attracting more shoppers for merchants.
While the adoption rate of overseas livestreaming e-commerce remains lower than in China, user habits are quickly being developed, especially during major sales events like Black Friday. The effectiveness of livestreaming as a sales channel has already been preliminarily confirmed, according to industry experts.
The overseas livestreaming e-commerce sector is still on the cusp of a major surge and holds significant growth potential. Leading platforms such as AliExpress and TikTok, along with the rapid expansion of agencies like Yowant, demonstrate increasing acceptance among overseas consumers for the “content + commerce” sales approach.
Most participants in North America’s livestreaming e-commerce scene are Chinese companies, largely because they have refined comprehensive promotional models through intense competition within China. Their competitive edge now surpasses local companies still early in their development, says a product planning operator at a Chinese livestreaming service firm.
Yowant has set up an offline livestreaming base in Los Angeles and conducted 25 offline and 150 online livestreaming events for Black Friday this year—significantly more than last year. Many of these livestreams have exceeded sales expectations, according to company sources.
The number of influencers working with Yowant in the U.S. and U.K. has grown to nearly 10,000 from over 4,000 last year, while partnerships with North American merchants have increased from just over 100 to about 1,000.
International brands are also seeking to capitalize on growth opportunities through partnerships with content e-commerce platforms for livestreaming sales. For instance, a UK retail chain recently announced plans to launch on TikTok Shop and hold livestream shopping events, enabling customers to view products in real-time and interact with sellers.
As part of this trend, platforms like AliExpress are offering exclusive livestream sales for categories such as electronics, outdoor gear, and fashion brands including Baseus, Xtep China, and Kailas during Black Friday.
With ongoing technological improvements—like virtual livestreaming, localized operations, streamlined payment and logistics processes—and more brands entering the space, live commerce aimed at international customers is expected to become a standard part of online retail.
A merchant specializing in clothing and accessories, with extensive overseas experience, highlighted TikTok’s integrated content-and-shopping model, which has strong growth prospects in Europe and North America, illustrating how livestreaming is increasingly boosting international sales.
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