Cultural Factors Driving the Popularity of Live Commerce in ChinaSQL

Java Python Cultural Factors Driving the Popularity of Live Commerce in China

The research question of this study therefore is as follows: In what ways does culture influence the adoption of live streaming e-commerce in China? Since live streaming e-commerce is now an established norm in China, identifying the culture behind this means that firms that are engaging in this form. of marketing must do so adequately. Consequently, this study demonstrates how live streaming e-commerce can satisfy the Chinese consumer needs by real-time engagement; notably in collectivistic culture. Collectivism culture gives much importance to the group norms and support; the segment of consumer is more influenced socially and based on group preferences while using live streaming e-commerce platforms. Furthermore, the study will also examine how such factors as quality livestreaming technology, user-friendly payment platforms and logistics services can extend consumers’ shopping experience. Through such a profound analysis of these factors, beyond only identifying China’s live streaming e-commerce model as culturally and technically advantageous, this study looks at its prospects and challenges of this model for future development, for example information overload or exhaustion of consumption energy.

Key words:

Cultural factors, live e-commerce, collectivism, social interaction, anchor influence, technology drive, consumer behavior.

Introduction

Background and motivation

New business model also emerges in the past five years, that is live streaming e-commerce, which is a combination of live streaming and e-commerce and now it becomes the most popular shopping ways in eastern countries including China and countries in southeast Asia. Different from the conventional E-commerce platform. that is qualitatively static with only pictures and text descriptions, live e-commerce offers consumers a real time and interactive way to engage the anchor, ask questions and make purchase during a live session. This integration of entertainment and shopping has fostered the development of live stream e commerce to a much greater extent and China remains the core of this trend.

Live streaming e-commerce has found favorable conditions for its development due to China’s economic growth and the fast dissemination of Internet technology. China has become home to more Internet users than any other country, and such sectors as mobile payments and logistics have emerged to make online shopping vital to consumers’ daily existence. Consumers enjoy the convenience of participating in live shopping at any time and any place online using mobile internet especially smartphones and this has fostered advancement of live e-commerce. Using the data from Statista, share of live streaming e-commerce in the online shopping in China was seen to increase from 0.27 % in 2017 to 31.9% in 2023 (Statista, 2023).

This growth is not only the result of the increasing popularity of live streaming e-commerce, but also proves that live streaming e-commerce business has much development space in the following years. Such rapid market expansion trends prove that live streaming e-commerce is not short-term fashion but a new part in China’s retail industry.

In analyzing the trends and development of China’s live streaming e-commerce one cannot but wonder about the role of the Chinese consumer behavior. and the Chinese culture. Firstly, Chinese consumers always give high importance to interaction and immediate response, and live streaming e-commerce just offers the platform. of interaction in real time. During the shopping process, consumers are able to talk with the anchors, look at real time information about products, and have their demands met immediately and much to their satisfaction. This type of experiential shopping is hard to generalize in traditional e-commerce models, which is why such formats have received a lot of interest from Chinese consumers. Moreover, the Chinese consumers are well informed digitally and they have a high readiness to accept new trends in the field of technology which also forms the basic premise of live streaming e-commerce.

Secondly, anchors in live streaming e-commerce are also critical to it. They are not only the individuals who promote those products but they are also the ones the consumer puts his/her trust on. An anchor’s recommendation is regarded as an expert opinion by the audience, which is harmonious with the Chinese people’s orientation to authority. In China are not only marketing tools but also as opinion leaders; charismatic people whose recommendations carry great weight for the buyer. Statista’s report Estimated that more than 70% of the total sales of the Live Streaming E-Commerce are controlled by influencer and live-stream led e-commerce in China [Thomala, 2023 ]. This phenomenon is the best description of the hegemonic influence that Chinese consumers give to other consumers through social media and opinion made by groups that they trust. This business occurrence is even more evident when it comes to the collectivist culture since consumers rely on group norms and practices in decision making hence attaining decision-making certainty.

Moreover, the fast-growing technology and infrastructures are also one of the essential factors for the advancement of live streaming e- commerce. China has established itself as a technological powerhouse in 5G networks, artificial intelligence and logistic distribution and this status has set the groundwork for the development of live streaming e-commerce. The accompany with 5G technology allows for high definition and even later-free live stream so as to greatly elevate the user experience; The integration of artificial intelligence provides a better understanding of the users and maximizes their conversion rate from consumption to purchase. Meanwhile, the perfect logistic system comprises of the capability to deliver the orders of live streaming e-commerce to consumers effectively and efficiently hence improving user satisfaction and loyalty. This technical support, together with consumers’ palpable desire for an entertaining shopping experience, has enabled live streaming e-commerce to grow and establish itself as an essential segment of China’s retail industry.

Research significance and research gaps

While live streaming e-commerce practices are increasingly popular in China, very few studies address the cultural factors that make it work. Currently, most studies are concerned with analysis of technological advancement, performance capability of the platforms or the economic perspective of live streaming e-commerce and scant regard is paid to the cultural perspective of consumers. For instance, although the significance of  influencers and the worth of real-time activities are now acknowledged, why these factors are liked by Chinese consumers particularly is not analyzed comprehensively. In particular, further research is needed regarding how consumers achieve their social identity needs through live streaming e-commerce platforms and how the phenomenon in turn fosters the growth of live streaming e-commerce, especially in collectivist culture.

This study seeks to fill this gap and get to the bottom of the reason behind its success through an understanding of the cultural antecedents of live streaming e-commerce in China. In this respect, the impact that different aspects of culture like collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance will be examined in relation to the consumers’ behavior. within the context of the study . Moreover, the study will investigate the psychological mechanisms that underpin the consumers’ engagement in live streaming e-commerce which will enhance understanding of this phenomenon. The studies on these cultural aspects not only contribute to the comprehension of success logic of live streaming e-commerce efficacy to the academic circle but also offer theoretical reference for enterprises in the formation of more effective marketing strategies in the Chinese context.

Research prob Cultural Factors Driving the Popularity of Live Commerce in ChinaSQL lem

What cultural factors make live streaming e-commerce popular in China? To answer this question, we will set up a sequence of research objectives that will include: establish cultural drivers that influence the Chinese consumers’ behaviors; understand specific behaviors and characteristics of the Chinese consumers; and give companies strategies on how to attract Chinese consumers.

Research objective

1. Explore the growth and development of Chinese live streaming e-commerce in terms of market conditions, key players and market penetration.

2. Identify the cultural factors that promote the popularity of live streaming e-commerce in China: In particular, examine the manner in which collectivism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance impact on consumers.

3. Explore the psychological and social mechanisms that drive consumer behavior. in China's live streaming e-commerce: See how culture influences the consumers’ psyche and their processes to making decisions.

4. Proposed strategies for enterprises to effectively reach Chinese consumers through live streaming e-commerce: According to the studies’ conclusion, offer how to apply cultural insight to enhance the marketing success in the Chinese market.

Literature review

2.1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

The high-level research about the cultural factors that are impacting live streaming e-commerce in China, it is significant to understand pertinent the fundamental definitions and concepts. This section will provide the theoretical foundation of this study by defining live streaming e-commerce, cultural factors and related consumer behavior. theories.

2.1.1 Live Streaming E-commerce

Live streaming e-commerce is a business model that entails using live video to sell products for purchase online with consumers can buy products straight from the link during the actual stream. The live streaming e-commerce began in China and immediately became one of the primary methods of shopping. Feng (2021) pointed out that the live streaming e-commerce has the high interactivity and dynamic which allows the consumer to get the real time information of the product and make the decision to buy through the live streaming.

2.1.2 Cultural Factors

The behaviors of the consumers while engaging in shopping is highly dependent on certain cultural factors in the society. Hofstede’s cultural dimension theories (2011), including collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance, enable predicting consumer’s behavior. in various cultural contexts. Through a highly collectivist culture, Chinese consumers depend on social proof and group opinions, and this is visible in live streaming e-commerce, as alluded (Chua et al., 2005).

2.1.3 Consumer Behavior. Theories

The theory on consumer behavior. helps in understanding the consumers’ decision-making process in the context of live streaming e-commerce. In the case of Social Learning Theory, consumers will create their own behaviors through imitation when observing other people’s behaviors (Chen et al. , 2017). In the live streaming e-commerce, consumers make their purchase decisions based on the demonstration by the anchors and other consumers’ comments. Furthermore, stimulus-organic-response (S-O-R) model has also been applied in live streaming e-commerce consumer behaviors. Xu et al. (2020) highlighted that interaction and information quality of the live streaming is important stimulus factors of influence the consumer emotions and behaviors.

2.2 Theoretical Foundation

In light of existing theories and previous research results, the following hypotheses and research questions will be proposed for this study towards understanding how cultural factors ensure the live streaming e-commerce becomes popularized in China.

2.2.1 Collectivism

Collectivism entails a cultural value that emphasizes the importance of group’s interest over individual’s interest. Collectivism is part of cultural dimensions theory developed by Hofstede (2011), and China is including collectivist country; individual behaviors and decisions are contingent upon the groups. This lowered down the element of risk in actual purchasing behavior. because consumers tend to follow the group opinion and recommendations of the anchors in live streaming e-commerce (Kim & Markus, 1999).

2.2.2 Power Distance

Power distance is acceptability of unequal distribution of power in the social members. It is more obvious since China falls under countries with a high-power distance; this means that the consumers will trust the authorities and experts more. Due to the authoritative position that anchors occupy during the live streaming e-commerce, their recommendation and opinion tend to carry considerable weight in their consumers’ decision-making (Luo et al. , 2021).

2.2.3 Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance is the measure of a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. High uncertainty avoidance culture makes the consumers to look for ways to purchase that will help them reduce risks and uncertainties. In the context of live streaming e-commerce, this real-time interaction and feedback mean that the perceived risk will be lower, and therefore the consumers’ purchase intention will be higher (Qing & Jin, 2022).

2.3 Prior Studies

This causes the cultural factors, driving live streaming e-commerce, to gain attention from more and more scholars. The existing research mainly focuses on the following aspects:

2.3.1 Social influence and group behavior.

The social influence and group behavior. stands out as a dominant factor in live streaming e-commerce. According to the findings of Wu (2022), the audiences are likely to be guided by other viewers’ comments and physical purchases during live streaming so as to make purchase decisions. This phenomenon is especially the case in collectivist cultures.

2.3.2 Influence of anchors

The role of anchors in live streaming e-commerce is not only the promoter of products, but also the object of consumer trust. Huang (2023) pointed out that the personal charm and trust of anchors have a profound impact on consumers' purchasing decisions, which is fully reflected in Chinese culture.

2.3.3 Technology driving and consumer experience

Science and technology have offered a key aid to the success of live streaming e-commerce. Wang et al. (2022) studied 5G network, artificial intelligence and logistics system in live streaming e-commerce and indicated that, these technologies enhance consumer experience, and thus, extend the live streaming e-commerce consumption.

2.4 Theoretical Framework

Based on the above literature review, this study will adopt the following theoretical framework to analyze the cultural drivers of live streaming e-commerce in China:

1. Collectivism: Look at how collectivism culture influences consumers’ decision-making behavior. in live streaming e-commerce.

2. Power distance: How does power distance affect consumers’ trust in the anchors and the recommendations that they make?

3. Uncertainty avoidance: Evaluate how uncertainty avoidance decreases the risk of the decision made by the consumers by virtue of real-time interaction and instant feedback in live e-commerce.

2.5 Research Gaps and Future Directions

Despite the prior empirical research, there are a number of research gaps regarding live streaming e-commerce. For instance, there is still a need to examine how cultural factors influence various forms of live streaming e-commerce models or how various cultural factors fare among different consumer segments. Finally, future studies could further explore the relationship between technology and culture, especially how these factors affect together to moderate consumer behavior. in a technologically environment