Fashion influencers in China: A new force for retail

“This coat is pure wool. It’s lighter and thinner than regular woolen overcoats, while, at the same time, it’s just as warm,” the girl in the video explained to her fans through live stream while putting on a light pink, double-faced cashmere overcoat.

“Is it heavy enough though?” typed a fan in the chat box on the upper right hand corner of the screen.

“I think it’s better suited to wintertime in the South. Winter winds in the north are too strong,” the live streamer explained patiently to the fan.

This live streamer, wearing a sweet smile and a round rimless pair of glasses, is Zhang Dayi, a well-known cyber-celebrity in China. Introducing products through live streams has become a trend and a regular scene for Chinese fashion influencers.

Zhang displayed 10 coats and sweaters in the first half hour of the one-hour live video. She acted as a shopping guide, a model, a stylist, and even as a customer service representative, presenting clothes designed by her team while giving style consultations and answering questions about the design, fabric, and prices of her clothes. The video was viewed 9.73 million times over the last two months.

Who would have thought that this amiable girl next door would rake in a record-breaking nine digits, operating one of the top-selling stores on Alibaba’s online marketplace Taobao?

Born in 1988, Zhang began her climb to fame as a fashion magazine model in 2009. In 2014, she set up her own online shop with her partner, Feng Min, the founder of internet celebrity incubator Ruhan E-commerce. Astutely managed, Zhang’s Weibo accounts saw a boom in follower growth from 250,000 to more than 4 million in one and a half years. Part of her fame stems from the sales legends that surround her; she is said to have established record sales over two consecutive Singles’ Day online shopping festivals on Taobao. On Singles Day 2016, her online shop made it to the top 10 for Taobao’s  Women’s Wear category.

Zhang is one of the most prominent cyber-celebrities in China. Behind much of her success in retailing is the rising trend of China’s “internet celebrity economy.”

China’s wang hong industry

Internet celebrities (more commonly known as wang hong in Chinese) can be traced back to the emergence of the internet. Through the ups and downs of different social platforms—from BBS (bulletin board systems) to online forums, social networks to short video sites, video streaming platforms, and now live streaming services—there have been different kinds of internet celebrities that turned up.

See also: Live streaming in China moves beyond cleavage and dancing

A case study on Zhang: How Chinese fashionistas build a fan base

A maturing business model: How influencers are innovating the retailing industry

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