"China's Livestream Shopping Revolutionizes Retail with Avatars and AI"

Livestream shopping is booming in China, with sales surging by 19% during the Singles Day shopping festival in November. To capitalize on this trend, companies are developing new technologies such as virtual human streamers and AI-powered virtual hosts. Tencent has launched a product that can create a virtual avatar with just a three-minute video and 100 spoken sentences. JD.com and Baidu are also using AI models to enhance their livestreaming platforms. Additionally, mobile service operators are selling data packages specifically designed for livestreamers. The success of livestream shopping is leading to the development of 5.5G connectivity, which could enable 3D livestreaming in the future. Despite regulatory challenges and high return rates, livestream shopping is here to stay as companies shift from using influencers to in-house livestreamers.