Short-video site Kuaishou reports huge surge in live-streaming users

Kuaishou, a leading short-video platform in China, reported a huge jump in the number of live-streaming users in the first half of this year, mainly driven by the COVID-19 epidemic that prompted wider use of the service.

The Beijing-based company, a major domestic rival of Douyin (TikTok), said the number of daily active users of its live-streaming function has reached 170 million as of June, a surge of 70 million since the end of 2019.

The explosive expansion came as the COVID-19 epidemic kept people across the nation indoor for months, while live-streaming services were increasingly adopted in scenarios as diverse as entertainment, e-commerce, tourism and education.

By March, China had 560 million users of live-streaming services, a rise of 163 million from that in December 2018, said the China Internet Network Information Center in a report in April.

Online shopping has particularly benefitted from live-streaming to become a strong support for epidemic-battered production and consumption. On Kuaishou alone, over 100 million users are engaged in e-commerce business daily, and more than half of them are from the third- and fourth-tier cities.

Among all the new e-businesses set up on Kuaishou in the first half, those in sectors of automobiles, smartphones, home supplies, beauty and cosmetics and education were more likely to take up live-streaming, said the platform.

According to a guideline released by Chinese authorities last week, further government support will be made to encourage new business models and employment based on channels including e-commerce, short-video and live-streaming platforms.