HUANG, VIYA

   H ,   INFLUENCER

Viya Huang (1985), digital pseudonym of Huang Wei, is a Chinese influencer, originally from the Anhui province

Viya Huang is known as the queen of livestreaming and e-commerce in China: the one who can sell everything online through direct streaming on the digital platforms Taobao and WeChat.

DEBUT

Huang Wei has always had a passion for sales and retail. Her family from Anhui Province worked in retail and Viya opened her first store in Beijing at the age of 18 in 2018. Her partner handled orders and stock, while she was the mastermind, with a keen sense of business.

In 2005, greater ambitions led her to win the Super Idol television contest. After singing in a pop group for several years, she returned to retail with the opening of a chain of stores in the city of Xi’an. Soon this sales ambition made her discover the world of online shopping, making her a real digital entrepreneur.

Huang ViyaViya Huang

FROM SINGER TO E-COMMERCE QUEEN

Taobao (a Chinese equivalent of Amazon) began to notice her success and contacted her with a business proposal.

In 2016 Alibaba launched Taobao Live, a platform that marries live streaming and e-commerce. The company successfully tapped into the Chinese market giant. It has been noted, in fact, that users spend more than double the time shopping on live streaming channels compared to the normal Taobao platform. Revenue increased from 3 billion yuan ($ 427 million) in 2017 to RMB 638 billion (91 billion) in 2019.

Viya and, like her, many other Chinese influencers have been able to wisely exploit technology to provide a guided customer experience by maximizing the viral spread of social networks. At the time of WeChat, the Chinese solution to the block of retail sales due to Covid-19 was easy: the use of e-commerce livestreaming. The phenomenon of online TV sales was already present in Chinese territory but experienced a real expansion.

In full Covid emergency, in April 2020, Viya managed to sell 5.6 million dollars in a single livestreaming session. The key to success to optimizing the shopping experience offered by Viya is a mix of TV sales, live chat and e-commerce. Customers of the digital entrepreneur Viya trust a friendly and empathetic voice who knows how to grasp their needs by acting as a guarantor through social networks.

COLLABORATIONS

Viya has collaborated with various companies and brands such as Tesla, Procter & Gamble and Miranda Kerr beauty with product launches through e-commerce livestreaming. On the 10th of October 2019 through the Alibaba platform, Viya broke her personal record of transactions in 24 hours with sales of 353 billion RMB (the equivalent of approximately 50 million dollars).

Huang ViyaViya Huang during a live stream

THE COLLABORATION WITH KIM KARDASHIAN

In Asia, the online sales model is absolutely effective, and important new business opportunities are opening up for international companies. This was proved by the live streaming shopping session organized during the Chinese Single Day of the 11th of November. This session took place on Tmall (Chinese e-commerce site) and Kim Kardashian and Viva Huang participated in it, one of the most followed influencers in China. The event attracted about 13 million subscribers. Kim Kardashian was able to sell her stock of 15,000 bottles of KKW perfume in just a few minutes.

Live-streaming is a business, which in China alone generated sales of $ 4.4 billion in 2018 and which is destined to grow, opening up new important opportunities for brands that will be able to seize them.

The concept is that of “buy now”, to which the power and conviction of the influencers (Key Opinion Leaders) is added, who insist on the price and exclusivity of the product described, communicating effectively and directly to the final consumer. 

Huang ViyaViya Huang live streaming on Tmall with Kim Kardashian
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