Undoubtedly, more and more Chinese consumers are accustomed to shopping via livestreaming and the penetration rate of livestreaming e-commerce keeps increasing. According to iiMedia Research, as of June 2021, the number of China's livestreaming users reached 638 million, an increase of 47.2% compared to the same period in 2020, accounting for 63.1% of overall Internet users.

As attracting online traffic becomes more and more expensive in China, the term ‘private traffic’ (私域流量) has emerged as a top marketing buzzword. The Western equivalent of private traffic would be a blog or an email list, which are owned channels. However, in China, people rarely visit websites or use email, so retailers and brands have begun seeking ways to “own” their customer base by creating private traffic on social media sites.