Selling products through live streaming video is big business in China. Apps like Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese sibling, combine social media and e-commerce to keep people glued to their phones while buying everything from soap to spices to luggage.
The latest e-commerce trends add a game of chance to this situation. Known as “blind box live streaming,” the service has become a fun and, according to some users and experts, addictive pastime. With Chinese consumers going through a period of low expectations, blind box live streaming offers the thrill of potentially winning more prizes at a lower cost.
Viewers pay small sums of money to buy trinkets hidden in small bags, or ‘blind boxes’. Sellers unpack blind boxes via live streaming while buyers and audiences watch. Depending on what’s inside, players may receive another bag and another chance to win. When a player wins a lucky draw, the seller coos and viewers cheer in the comments.
The game continues bag by bag. Here’s how it generally works:
When it’s your turn, the streamer randomly draws the amount of blind boxes you ordered. In this case, it’s six.
You and everyone else watches as the seller unboxes the items and places them on the grid via camera.
If the lucky color you designated is drawn, you will receive an additional bag. pinkor if lucky stone It falls out of the bag.
Luckily, you got both. You will now receive two more dolls than you ordered.
If there’s one thing for sure pattern or pairLike a slot machine, you can get extra figurines.
Now up to 12. There is no more pattern and the game is set to end.
However, the streamer decided to add bonus bags to keep the game going. It creates another pair, so you get another pair.
Even though you paid for 6, you end up getting these 14 numbers.
Many products are billed as collectibles but are actually simply decorative. The most important thing is that it is affordable. For a little over $1 (rarely over $10), live stream viewers can buy a few bags and start playing.
Toys and other items in blind boxes started becoming popular about five years ago. It was initially sold online and in offline stores. Selling through gamified live streaming is a recent innovation. Now virtually all of China’s top social media platforms that allow e-commerce are offering blind box live streaming. A popular stream can attract tens of thousands of viewers in a single night. One streamer told Chinese news outlets that he was earning an average of 800 yuan (about $110) per day. This is much higher than the national average salary.
The proliferation of blind box livestreaming speaks to the state of China’s economy, which has long suffered from extreme consumer confidence and spending restraint.
“People are looking for alternative ways to participate in the consumer economy without breaking the bank,” said Ivy Yang, e-commerce analyst and founder of communications agency Wavelet Strategy. “You want to have some kind of cheap thrill.”
Players said the process could be interesting. Interaction with streamers and other viewers can provide a sense of community.
But some people just can’t stop playing. What seemed like a bargain can end up costing you money in the end. Xu Wangwang, 28, a legal assistant from eastern China’s Jiangsu province, had been playing regularly for five months until it stopped last July. She spent an average of 3,000 yuan (about $420) each month, about a third of her salary.
“I really regret it,” Mr. Xu lamented. “I could have done anything with this money.”
Mr. Xu’s toy collection. Provided by Xu Wangwang.
The same jewelry purchased from Blind Box Live Streaming is usually cheaper if purchased directly from Taobao, one of China’s largest e-commerce sites. However, the experience is not the same. “Purchasing directly from an online store does not provide the same emotional value.” “You can feel the adrenaline rush when streamers unpack their bags,” said Xu.
Ivy Sun, from Yunnan province in southwestern China, made friends with other buyers. They play together sometimes. She added that since June she has spent about $2,800 on more than 400 games. “It’s more interactive.”
Olympic diver Quan Hongchan, 17, appeared on a blind box live stream the day before she won gold at the Paris Olympics in August. A week later, she showed off her toy collection in a post on Douyin that has since been deleted.
“Consumers need time to adjust and return to reason, but they go into a frenzy at first,” said Qunfang Wu, a researcher who studies human-computer interaction at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.
The possibility of consumers getting hooked on blind boxes has caught the attention of the Chinese government, which bans gambling on the mainland except for state-run lotteries. Last year, authorities announced guidelines for regulating blind box sales, including prohibiting minors from playing and mandating disclosure of winning odds.
Meanwhile, gamified live streaming is taking the craze to new heights.
No country has embraced e-commerce live streaming more than China. Blind box live streaming is currently very popular in China, but it may not last long.
“Something more interesting is likely to emerge,” said Harvard’s Wu. “Everyone will follow suit.”
