Six years later, livestreaming is not just a thriving sector of the retail economy; it is now one of the major retail distribution channels.
It is made possible by high-quality cameras embedded in modern phones. The set-up is cheap, easy and effective. No expensive studios, technicians, camera operators or support staff.
This is selling on a shoestring, which means the live stream market is crowded and ultra-competitive.
Livestreaming commercial retailers now have to compete with a multitude of small operators.
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Livestream selling has become a huge industry in China. It is not a sales or distribution channel suited to every product, but in some categories, it is both a powerful tool and a formidable competitor to traditional sales models. Hosts can promote clothes, food, beauty products, gadgets and household items to thousands, sometimes millions, of viewers in real time.
Livestream selling is not just selling online on marketplaces like eBay or JD.com. It is not a hyped version of a single day where selling is compressed into a short time frame.
Instead of just posting a product online, streamers demonstrate it, talk to viewers, answer questions, run discounts and try to turn attention into instant sales. It is fast-paced, high-pressure selling, nothing like the old-fashioned late-night TV advertisements that promised an extra set of steak knives if you ordered right now.
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At the China International Import and Export Fair in Shanghai in 2025, I watched an Australian company use livestream selling to empty its entire large inventory in just an hour. Sales were completed at a premium price. They had engaged an experienced live stream seller to run the programme.
Their competitors, who did not use livestream, reported significantly smaller sales for similar product lines.
The livestream competition is intense. One Chinese livestream host went viral after being filmed using more than 100 smartphones at the same time to promote products online. Another host applied the Sichuan face-changing method to a fashion show. Every 10 seconds, she changed into a new dress or outfit, and this continued for 10 minutes or more.
One emerging trend is using multiple phones during livestream selling. This provides different camera angles and allows simultaneous streaming on different platforms, combined with multiple accounts. What used to be a simple shop counter is now a digital stage which provides reach well beyond the shop front.
It is a significant change. Customers do not need to find your store or product on the net, or as a walk-by a physical store. Livestream means you find your customers.
However, success also rests on fulfilment. The livestream economy is not possible with fast nationwide delivery. Services like SF Express make fast delivery possible.
Livestreaming is not for every business, but if your product category is already livestreamed, you cannot afford to miss this sales channel in China.
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Technical outlook of the Shanghai market
The Shanghai index continues to oscillate around the 4,100 support and resistance level. The sudden fall last week found support at the lower edge of the trading band near 4025.
The relevant trading band limits are support near 4,025 (line B) and resistance near 4,175 (line C). Although there was an overshot on the downside in early June, the 4,025 support level has been a robust reference point. Any falls below this level have long-term support near 3,900.
The breakout above 4,025 has faltered, but a successful move above 4,100 sets an upside target near 4,175. The index has moved above this level, but it may be an overshoot. A sustained move above this level targets 4,250 next.
There is currently no strong trending activity, so this market is trading in a short-term rally-and-retreat environment.
The Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA) indicator is not so useful in this type of oscillating environment. The long-term group of averages are compressed and moving sideways. This shows investors’ indecision, but we already know this, so the GMMA adds little to our understanding of the market environment.
The movement of the short-term GMMA is used to track traders’ behaviour, but again, in this environment, it adds little analytical value.
The Relative Strength Indicator (RSI) is most useful for the Shanghai index when it indicates RSI divergence. Currently, there are no divergence signals. The RSI is delivering confirmation signals that have not added value to index analysis.
Traders will trade the rallies. Investors will wait for a clear trend direction to be established.
Daryl Guppy is an international financial technical analysis expert. He has provided weekly Shanghai Index analysis for mainland Chinese media for two decades. Guppy appears regularly on CNBC Asia and is known as “The Chart Man”. He is a former national board member of the Australia China Business Council.
