Guangzhou: The Rise of Douyin's "Livestream E-commerce Capital" and the Booming Development of its Industrial Clusters

Guangzhou: The Rise of Douyin's "Livestream E-commerce Capital" and the Booming Development of its Industrial ClustersOn March 24th, Douyin E-commerce released data from its "Industry Growth Plan," showcasing the thriving development of industrial clusters across China in 2024. The data revealed that Guangzhou, leveraging its robust physical supply chain and deep integration of smart technologies in live-streaming, took the lead in numerous core business indicators on Douyin E-commerce, rightfully earning the title of "Livestream E-commerce Capital

Guangzhou: The Rise of Douyin's "Livestream E-commerce Capital" and the Booming Development of its Industrial Clusters

On March 24th, Douyin E-commerce released data from its "Industry Growth Plan," showcasing the thriving development of industrial clusters across China in 2024. The data revealed that Guangzhou, leveraging its robust physical supply chain and deep integration of smart technologies in live-streaming, took the lead in numerous core business indicators on Douyin E-commerce, rightfully earning the title of "Livestream E-commerce Capital." This conclusion is not only strongly supported by Douyin E-commerce's official data but also corroborated by the Guangzhou municipal government's work report and data from the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

According to the Guangzhou municipal government's work report, Guangzhou actively stimulated domestic demand in 2024, achieving the highest livestream e-commerce retail sales nationwide. The Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics further quantified this achievement: Guangzhou's livestream e-commerce retail sales reached a staggering 517.1 billion yuan (approximately $71.8 billion USD) in 2024. Douyin E-commerce's data confirms this outstanding performance, showcasing Guangzhou's undisputed leading position on its platform.

In 2024, driven by Douyin E-commerce's "Industry Growth Plan," Guangzhou's industrial cluster development surged. Data shows that 182 Guangzhou industrial clusters sold goods on Douyin E-commerce through livestreaming and shelf sales, the highest number nationwide. This signifies not only the large-scale deployment of Guangzhou's industrial clusters on the Douyin E-commerce platform but also their strong market competitiveness. Even more noteworthy is that the overall sales of these clusters increased by over 33% year-on-year, accounting for over 10% of the platform's total sales; overall order volume increased by over 37% year-on-year, accounting for approximately 8% of the platform's total order volume. This means that at least one out of every ten Douyin E-commerce packages originates from Guangzhou.

Guangzhou's industrial clusters' influence on the Douyin E-commerce platform is also reflected in their market share. Six out of the top ten best-selling products on Douyin E-commerce originated from Guangzhou's industrial clusters, demonstrating the strong market competitiveness and consumer recognition of Guangzhou's products nationwide. Among these bestsellers, skincare products were particularly prominent in livestream sales, while apparel, luggage, and footwear were also highly popular, showcasing the diversity and market adaptability of Guangzhou's industrial cluster products.

Douyin E-commerce previously revealed that in 2024, its livestreaming ecosystem experienced large-scale, high-quality development, demonstrating strong commercial vitality and significant social value. Data shows that among merchants who earned income through livestreaming, a remarkable 69% successfully achieved product sales through self-broadcasting ("dianbo"), indicating that this model has become a new growth path for merchants and provided strong support for the development of industrial clusters.

Especially in regions with strong supply chains, self-broadcasting has become an irreversible mainstream trend. In 2024, 110,000 industrial cluster merchants in Guangzhou conducted livestreaming sales on Douyin, with nearly 70% being self-broadcasters. The successful application of the self-broadcasting model has brought considerable economic benefits to numerous Guangzhou merchants. Data shows that self-broadcasting helped nearly 20,000 Guangzhou merchants achieve sales exceeding one million yuan, nearly 10,000 merchants double their sales year-on-year, and the number of merchants with sales exceeding 100 million yuan increased by nearly 30% year-on-year. Simultaneously, 46,000 new merchants chose to expand their businesses on the Douyin E-commerce platform, further strengthening Guangzhou's e-commerce workforce.

Li Yongjian, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Finance and Development and vice president of the China Market Society, provided insightful analysis, stating that the transformation into the "Livestream E-commerce Capital" reflects the fundamental changes in livestreamingself-broadcasting has become the mainstream trend. The development trend of Douyin E-commerce validates this viewpoint. In 2024, self-broadcasting and small and medium-sized influencers accounted for 51% of the total sales volume on the Douyin E-commerce platform, while top influencers contributed only 9%. This demonstrates that supply chain and product quality have become the core competitiveness of self-broadcasting, and future self-broadcasting will move towards professionalization and verticalization. Merchants with supply chain advantages and content innovation capabilities will have greater growth potential.

Douyin E-commerce's "Industry Growth Plan," launched in June 2022, aims to leverage the platform's high-quality resources to systematically and comprehensively support industrial clusters and small and medium-sized merchants, enhance the recognition of local products, and promote regional economic development. To date, the plan has established in-depth cooperative relationships with multiple provinces, including Fujian, Yunnan, and Shandong, for the high-quality development of industrial cluster e-commerce. Its industrial cluster business now covers 27 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in 130 cities across China, boasting wide coverage and profound influence.

In 2024, the "Industry Growth Plan" achieved remarkable results: nationwide, 332 industrial clusters received over ten million orders on Douyin, 830 industrial clusters achieved over 100 million yuan in sales on Douyin, and over 1.5 million small and medium-sized industrial cluster merchants conducted transactions on the platform daily. These data clearly demonstrate that the "Industry Growth Plan" effectively promoted the digital transformation and upgrading of industrial clusters, helped small and medium-sized merchants expand their markets, enhance brand influence, and ultimately achieve significant economic growth.

Guangzhou, as the "Livestream E-commerce Capital," offers valuable experience for other cities to learn from. Guangzhou's success lies not only in its strong real economy foundation and complete supply chain system but also in its proactive embrace and effective utilization of emerging e-commerce models, as well as its continuous investment in digital technology and talent. Guangzhou's case provides valuable reference and guidance for other cities nationwide in developing the livestream e-commerce industry, injecting new vitality and impetus into the sustained and healthy development of China's e-commerce industry. Guangzhou's rise represents a new model of urban development in the digital economy era and provides a successful example for the digital transformation of China's industrial clusters. In the future, with the continued development of Douyin E-commerce and the in-depth implementation of the "Industry Growth Plan," Guangzhou is expected to maintain its leading position in the livestream e-commerce field and contribute even more to the development of the e-commerce industry nationwide and globally. (Xinyue)

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