Fight against counterfeiting and quit the Internet, does this era no longer need big anchors?

The live streaming industry has been booming in recent years, and the top anchors have become the focus of the industry with their strong appeal and influence. However, with the continuous changes in the market and the gradual improvement of industry regulations, the live streaming industry seems to be facing unprecedented challenges and transformation pressure. This article will deeply explore the current situation of the live streaming industry, the difficulties it faces, and future development trends.

Recently, Wangwang, the assistant broadcaster of Li Jiaqi, showed the side of an e-commerce person on the variety show "My Daughter". He went off the air at 1:30 a.m., selected products at 2:30 a.m., prepared proposals at 4 a.m., and finally went to bed at 6:30 a.m. But a few hours later, Wangwang appeared in the company again with full energy to start a new day of work.

Many people sighed when they saw this scene, saying that this is the kind of busyness that only top anchors have, and all their efforts will be highly rewarded. However, Wangwang’s own words did illustrate the cruel side of this industry. She said on the show: “My sense of crisis is that I feel I can be replaced at any time.”

It is not just Want Want. The replacement of the old and the new in the live streaming industry is often faster than we perceive. In recent times alone, Luo Wangyu, the "number one Douyin anchor", took the initiative to pay 150 million yuan in compensation and decided to quit the Internet after the product he sold was exposed as counterfeit. The anchor team of Dongfang Zhenxuan was frequently criticized for verbal errors. Taobao Live changed two managers in one month after 618... All these things show that the live streaming industry is unpredictable.

1. The tide recedes and some people decide to leave

On July 17, professional counterfeiter Wang Hai posted on Weibo that Li Jiaqi and Crazy Xiao Yangge used fake appraisal certificates to sell fake Hetian jade to deceive consumers. Both anchors sold a Hetian jade necklace from Yuanyang Jinlou, and the gifts were also a Hetian jade bracelet.

The Weibo post mentioned that "some consumers have found that the appraisal certificates attached to the products indicate that the total weight of the Hetian jade bracelet is 20 grams, and the total weight of the Hetian jade necklace is 40 grams. Many consumers have received dozens of appraisal certificates, and the weights are exactly the same. However, in fact, the natural density of the bracelet and the necklace is different, and the processing precision is different, so the weight cannot be exactly the same."

After Wang Hai reported the behavior, the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Administration responded on July 15 this year: "The investigation has been concluded, and the company that issued the false appraisal has been ordered to make rectifications and fined 100,000 yuan, confiscated 1,000 yuan of illegal income, and fined the relevant responsible person 30,000 yuan."

In the face of controversy, Mei ONE responded quickly, saying that both before and after the broadcast, the products and qualifications had passed the company's review. But then Wang Hai continued to post articles saying that using fake identification certificates was still a fraud, and that a consumer re-tested the products bought in the live broadcast room and found that the structure was fibrous and granular, which was different from the Hetian jade composition sent for inspection by Yuanyang Jinlou.

As of press time, the matter has still not been settled, but consumers have become even more disenchanted with the top anchors. It seems that no matter how experienced the anchor is or how professional the team is, they cannot be completely trusted.

"Anti-counterfeiting" incidents in the live streaming e-commerce industry have never been new, but as the entire industry enters a recession, some anchors have chosen to retreat.

On July 12, Luo Wangyu, a well-known beauty blogger, updated a video that appeared after a five-month hiatus. Unlike previous videos, this one was an apology to consumers and a compensation solution, and secondly, it expressed her plan to permanently quit the Internet.

Luo Wangyu decided to quit the Internet

"I've discovered that whether a person is liked or hated, in fact, they both have value in existence, but the most terrifying thing is not being needed. In fact, I discovered this sign a long time ago, that is, I, Luo Wangyu, am no longer needed as much as I used to be. I just haven't accepted it myself, and my grades seem to have always been pretty good. Now I want to admit it, so I decided to leave for a while. In fact, I am ready to leave forever." Luo Wangyu deliberately used a joking tone to speak of his decision in the video.

The incident started when a product called "CSS Olive Extract" promoted by Luo Wangyu was found to contain the two ingredients oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol mentioned in the filing in the actual test, so the efficacy and legality of the product were questionable. After the incident, the brand was reluctant to refund the money, and Luo Wangyu finally decided to jointly bear the 150 million yuan product refund with the agency.

In this regard, Cao Lei, vice president of the Live E-commerce Working Committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce and director of the E-commerce Research Center of the China Internet Network Information Center, said: "Live streaming sales 'anti-counterfeiting' incidents are common, but it is not common for anchors to personally refund. This incident can be regarded as the first anchor 'compensation' case in the history of live streaming sales in China. Live streaming e-commerce has experienced a period of wild growth, when the field was full of many low-priced 'three-no products'. 'Anti-counterfeiting' is conducive to regulating the development of the industry and forcing merchants, anchors, and MCN agencies to conduct self-examination and self-correction."

2. The live broadcast room is no longer the only battlefield

In fact, the absolute appeal of top anchors is declining, which is a development trend that the live streaming e-commerce industry cannot avoid .

This year, the top anchors on multiple platforms have all stepped into the same river. In April, the Douyin official account of "Three Sheep Theater" was officially launched, and the behind-the-scenes clips of the first short play "Master Fu, Your Substitute Bride is a Boss" were released. Then in June, the short play was officially launched;

In May, Simba's company Xinxuan launched the short drama "She is as Bright as a Pearl", but this drama is not just a test of the short drama track, but a brand customized drama of OSM.

Qianxun also established Qianmeng Culture, a short drama production company in May, and its subsidiary account Bee Surprise Club began to try the new "live broadcast + short drama" gameplay, conveying the sales mechanism and welfare policies of the live broadcast special to consumers through short dramas.

At present, the top live broadcast teams are trying to enter the short drama track, whether it is customized publicity for brands or the communication mechanism, they are still focusing on bringing goods . The ceiling of live broadcasting goods is gradually approaching, and everyone understands the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket.

In particular, some brands have already shown a shift in demand, shifting their marketing budgets to short dramas that can both expand brand awareness and bring sales. For example, the domestic beauty brand Hansu, data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Hansu's sales on Douyin soared to the top of the beauty category, with sales of 1 billion to 2.5 billion yuan, a month-on-month increase of 29.87%.

This achievement is attributed to Hanshu's short drama strategy. According to Guolian Securities, as of March 2024, the total number of views of the five customized short dramas that Hanshu collaborated with Jiang Shiqi exceeded 5 billion. In addition, the short dramas that Hanshu collaborated with Qin Ran, Tang Yi, Mo Xie, Lin Ge and other talents also had over 100 million views. According to statistics from Chan Mama, Hanshu launched a total of 22 short dramas in 2023, with a cumulative number of views exceeding 7 billion. The continuous bombardment of short dramas has enabled Hanshu to achieve a monthly GMV of tens of millions and monthly sales of over 400 million yuan.

Image source: Zhimeng Trend Observation

Livestreamers, merchants, and platforms have all realized that it is not only about keeping users in the livestreaming room that can promote consumption, and using short dramas to boost sales is becoming more and more handy. Therefore, the livestreaming room is no longer the only battlefield, and livestreamers are gradually losing their absolute appeal .

In addition, the delicate relationship between the anchors and the company is also continuing to ferment. Dongfang Selection, which once stood out among the crowd of shouting and selling with the quality and knowledge of the anchors, is now in a dilemma. Since the previous incident of Dong Yuhui's essay, the "mother-in-law" has erupted with dissatisfaction with Yu Minhong, Dongfang Xiaosun and the entire Dongfang Selection team.

Later, Dong Yuhui separated from Dongfang Zhenxuan and founded Hehui Xingxing, but the conflicts between Dongfang Zhenxuan and the anchors continued. The anchor Mingming used the term "broken mountains and rivers" incorrectly, and YOYO suffered a lot of negative criticism online for saying that spiders in Guizhou have long legs. On July 24, anchor Jingwen also decided to officially bid farewell to Dongfang Zhenxuan, and the rumors about the chaotic internal management of the Dongfang Zhenxuan team became more and more noisy.

The stock price of Oriental Selection has also become weak amidst repeated turmoil. No one can predict what will happen if Dong Yuhui, Dun Dun, YOYO and other veteran anchors completely leave Oriental Selection.

3. Taobao is getting anxious after changing its manager twice in one month

The anchors and the companies behind them are of course part of the ups and downs of the live streaming e-commerce industry, but some of the platforms that were originally in a strong position have also fallen behind.

On July 4, Cheng Daofang, the former head of Taobao Live and head of Taobao content e-commerce, was transferred to another position, and Wu Jia, head of Taobao Tian User Platform Division and Alimama Division, took over the position. A week later, on July 12, according to media reports such as Bianyushi and Netease, Jia Luo, head of Tmall, will concurrently serve as head of Taobao Live and content.

Since July, it has been rumored that Taobao Live, which had unsatisfactory performance during the 618 shopping festival, has continued to make internal personnel changes. In just one week, Taobao Live has changed two managers, and the company is in a state of chaos.

Taobao Live is right to be anxious. As one of the earliest e-commerce platforms to start live streaming, Taobao Live initially focused its business on influencers and incubated a group of top anchors. In 2017, Taobao Live was the only one in the e-commerce field. The person in charge at the time even took the initiative to call for people to participate and learn from each other.

Unexpectedly, short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have unknowingly stood on the shoulders of giants. After building a solid foundation, Douyin's live broadcast room began to cut off third-party source products and only supported Douyin store product links, establishing its own e-commerce closed loop.

Without short videos to attract traffic, Taobao Live, which relies more on search-based consumption, seems to have difficulty in revitalizing its live e-commerce ecosystem . In February this year, Taobao announced the establishment of a live e-commerce company, which will be managed by the Taotian Live operation team and provide "nanny-style" full-hosting operation services for celebrities, KOLs, and MCN organizations that are interested in broadcasting on Taobao.

However, this move did not work. On the contrary, the traffic of talents such as Veronica Yip who were poached here was much lower than before. Both the popularity of their personal IP and the sales of their live broadcast rooms were not as good as expected.

The right leader will certainly play a key role in the development of the business line, but Taobao Live may still need a major transformation and innovation to get out of its predicament.

Written by: Li Jinlin, edited by: Li Ji

WeChat public account: Zinc Scale (ID: znkedu)