Chinese livestream seller sells billions through Douyin

Chinese luxury beauty seller Ma Shuai, who has about three million followers, sells products worth more than 20 billion Icelandic króna a year through livestreams, mbl.is reports.

Shuai is currently in Iceland with a seven-member team at the invitation of the Chinese Icelandic Chamber of Commerce and Icelandic skincare company Bioeffect. He began working as an influencer four years ago after filling in for two other influencers and discovering that the work suited him.

Bioeffect is one of Shuai’s clients, and about 15 percent of the company’s revenue in China is generated through him alone.

Bioeffect chief executive Liv Bergþórsdóttir said the term influencer did not fully describe Shuai’s work or that of other Chinese influencers.

“This is on a much higher level than what traditional Western influencers do,” she told mbl.is. “Shuai has his own 20-person company and sells products for a large number of brands, particularly cosmetics and skincare.”

Shuai is among the best-selling influencers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. He sells directly to viewers during regular livestreams on the platform.

During his career, Shuai has worked with about 250 international brands. He and other influencers at his company have sold products from about 1,000 brands in total.

His record for a single brand came when he sold more than 22 million US dollars’ worth of Helena Rubinstein cosmetics, equivalent to 2.7 billion Icelandic króna, as well as 10,000 YSL lipsticks during one eight-hour Douyin livestream.

Shuai discussed his work at the third Live Streaming Week conference held by the Chinese Icelandic Chamber of Commerce and Business Iceland at the Nordica hotel this week.

Learning from Chinese online sales

Bergþórsdóttir compared Shuai’s broadcasts to televised shopping.

“This is simply modern television shopping on the internet,” she said. “In my view, it is only a matter of time before this sales method becomes established in the West, as it is highly effective.”

She said the process was important for Bioeffect because the company could learn from how online sales are conducted in China and be prepared if more countries adopt the sales channel.

Bergþórsdóttir described Shuai as highly professional. He prepares carefully and learns as much as possible about products before selling them. He has also been posting images from Iceland to create associations between the country and Bioeffect products among potential buyers.

Shuai said he used Bioeffect products himself for a month before beginning to promote them. He said his followers trusted him and that he had to respect them by offering high-quality products he knew thoroughly.

He said Bioeffect’s skincare products were among his favourites. Although he has sold skincare products from several companies, he now primarily uses Bioeffect products.

Bergþórsdóttir said Shuai’s work ethic was admirable. He is spending seven days in Iceland, including three days with Bioeffect to learn about the company’s latest products and developments.