Selling products via livestream video is one big business in China. Apps like Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese cousin, combine social media with e-commerce to keep people glued to their phones as they buy everything from soap to spices to suitcases.
The latest e-commerce trend adds a game of chance to the mix. Known as ‘blind box livestreaming’, it has become an entertaining and, according to some users and experts, addictive pastime. While Chinese consumers are slogging through it A period of low expectationsBlind box live streams offer the thrill of potentially winning more prizes at a low cost.
Viewers pay small sums of money to buy trinkets hidden in small bags – the ‘blind box’. The seller unpacks the blind boxes via a live stream while the buyer and audience watch. Based on what’s inside, players can receive another bag and another chance to win. The seller coos as the player gets a lucky draw, and viewers cheer in the comments.
One sack after another, the game continues. This is how it usually works:
When it’s your turn, the streamer will randomly draw the number of blind boxes you ordered – in this case six.
You and everyone else watch as the seller begins to open them on camera and arrange them on a grid.
You win an extra bag if the lucky color you selected is drawn in this case pinkor as a lucky stone falls out of the bag.
Luckily you got both. So you now receive two more statues than you ordered.
If there are certain ones patterns or couplesJust like with slot machines, you can win extra statues.
You now have a maximum of 12 players. There are no more patterns and the game is coming to an end.
But the streamer decides to add a bonus bag to keep the game going. Another pair is created, so you win another.
You end up getting these 14 figures even though you paid for six.
Many products are billed as collectibles, but in practice are purely decorative. The most important thing is that they are cheap. For just over $1 – and rarely more than $10 – a livestream viewer can buy a few bags and start playing.
The toys and other items in blind boxes started gaining popularity about five years ago. They were first sold online and in physical stores; selling them in gamified live streams is a recent innovation. Now, virtually all Chinese social media platforms that enable e-commerce offer blind box live streaming. Popular streams can attract tens of thousands of viewers in a single evening. One streamer told Chinese news media report that she makes an average daily profit of 800 renminbi, about $110, well above the national average salary.
The prevalence of blind box livestreaming speaks to the state of China’s economy, which is suffering from a prolonged period of abysmal consumer confidence and suppressed expenditure.
“People are looking for alternative ways to participate in the consumer economy without a huge hit to their wallets,” said Ivy Yang, e-commerce analyst and founder of communications agency Wavelet Strategy. “You want to have something that’s a cheap thrill.”
Players said the process can be exciting. Interacting with the streamer and other viewers can create a sense of community.
But some people can’t stop playing; What seemed like a bargain could end up being expensive. Xu Wangwang, 28, a legal assistant in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, played the game regularly for five months until he quit in July. She spent an average of 3,000 renminbi, about $420, every month, about a third of her salary.
“I regret it so much,” Ms. Xu complained. “I could have done anything with this money.”
Mrs. Xu’s toy collection. Thanks to Xu Wangwang.
Trinkets identical to those purchased on blind box livestreams are usually cheaper if purchased directly on Taobao, one of China’s largest e-commerce sites. But the experience is not the same. “Buying directly from online stores does not provide the same emotional value,” Ms. Xu said. “I feel my adrenaline rush when the streamer opens the bag.”
Ivy Sun, who lives in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, has made friends with other buyers. They sometimes play together. “It’s more interactive,” she said, adding that she has spent about $2,800 on more than 400 games since June.
Quan Hongchan, 17, an Olympic diver, appeared on a blind box livestream the day before she won a gold medal at the Paris Games in August. A week later, she showed off her toy collection in a now-deleted post on Douyin.
“Consumers need time to adjust and return to reason, but at first they panic,” said Qunfang Wu, a researcher who studies human-computer interaction at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard University.
The potential for consumers to become addicted to blind boxes has caught the attention of the Chinese government, which bans gambling on the mainland, with the exception of state lotteries. Last year, authorities issued guidelines regulating blind box sales, including banning underage players and requiring sellers to disclose winning odds.
Meanwhile, gamified livestreams are taking the craze to a new level.
No other country has embraced e-commerce livestreaming as much as China, and while blind box livestreaming may be the big thing in China now, it may not be for long.
“Something nicer will emerge,” said Ms. Wu of Harvard. “Everyone will follow it.”