China’s Star Saleswoman Viya Rules a $60 Billion World of Live Online Shopping薇娅：中国600亿美元直播销售业的带货女王

陈晓璐

Huang Wei can sell anything.

東西到了黄薇手里，就不愁卖不出去。

For instance： In April， Huang—known professionally as Viya—sold a rocket launch for around 40 million yuan （$5.6 million）. The live， online shopping extravaganza the 34-year-old hosts most nights for her fans across China is part variety show， part infomercial， part group chat. In May 2020， she hit a record-high audience of more than 37 million—more than the “Game of Thrones” finale， the Oscars or “Sunday Night Football1.”

Each night， Viyas audience places orders worth millions of dollars—typically for cosmetics， appliances， prepared foods or clothing， but shes also moved houses and cars. On Singles Day2， Chinas biggest shopping event of the year， she did more than 3 billion yuan in sales.

In a world where we all shop almost exclusively from our couches， Viya is one vision of our collective future. Livestream shopping is a natural confluence3 of several current tech trends—streaming， influencers， social， commerce—and offers companies a new path to consumers hearts and wallets. Tesla， Procter & Gamble and supermodel-turned-beauty-entrepreneur Miranda Kerr， among others， have turned to Viya to introduce them to the Chinese market. The queen of Chinas $60 billion ecosystem of live online shopping， Viya earned an estimated 30 million yuan in 2018， according to the most recent figures from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

“Specifically， my ambition is to offer everything my fans might need，” she said. “Doorbells， carpets， toothbrushes， furniture， mattresses， everything.”

“E-commerce livestreaming，” as its lovingly called by analysts， will already feel familiar to many in America and elsewhere; the latest stage in an evolution from infomercial pioneer Ron “But wait， theres more” Popeil， the Home Shopping Network4， Oprahs Book Club， and Kim Kardashian. Amazons been experimenting with the concept for more than a year， most recently teaming up with “Project Runway” 5 stars Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn for a spin-off6 and retail tie-in7 that will make the shows winning designs immediately available to buy. Facebook has been trying to get users to shop on its platform for years; in May， it announced a partnership with Shopify8 to help integrate buying there and on Instagram.

Nowhere is the potential of livestreaming more apparent than China， where the boom suggests livestream shopping can become a deeply embedded habit for consumers and an important tool for retailers. Alibabas technology allows the audience to watch a live stream， chat with other viewers， and select and pay for a product—all at the same time. Theres no friction between entertainment and buying， which is the whole point.

“I cant miss Viyas shows，” said Linda Qu， a 30-year-old tech worker in Hangzhou. After she puts her four-year-old son to bed， Qu lets Viyas livestream run on her smartphone while shes doing yoga or watching TV on the couch. Nearly every show， she clicks to buy. The FOMO9 keeps her coming back： “What if theres something nice and I didnt get it？ What a loss.”

Thats the clincher10 for companies desperate to impress Chinas growing middle class， customers who have learned the hard way to be suspicious of counterfeits and knock-offs.

Customers used to move slowly down the path from awareness to interest to purchase to—ideally—loyalty， said Helen Lu， spokesperson for the Greater China division of Procter & Gamble. “Working with the top livestreamers like Viya， the process gets much shorter，” she said.

Most nights， Viya streams from a small studio in her headquarters， a 10-story warehouse in the Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou. The show is only a sliver11 of a 500-person enterprise called Qianxun Group; it includes talent management for dozens of livestreamers， volume retail and supply chain management. Future plans include consulting and ad agency-type work for brands that want access to their audience， plus multimedia. The company plans to raise money from investors this month， take on a strategic partner by the end of the year and， by 2025 at the latest， list shares.

Food and home goods are in one massive section， followed by clothes and accessories， separated by category： sunglasses， fashion bags， pearl accessories， sneakers， pajamas， jeans， lingerie， and so on. Theres a showcase for Korean products and another for Australia and New Zealand， with more to come. With bright， soft lights everywhere， streamers can go live from the aisles if they want to.

Viya has enough star power to summon whatever she wants from companies eager to be featured on her show. The showroom serves a whole community of livestreamers， including the 40 or so under the companys management—within three years， theyll have 100， CEO Huang says. They all need a steady influx of products to feature， in part to prove they can drive sales. Brands pay for prominent placement on the Qianxun shelves， just like they do in offline stores.

Viyas team likes to say shes successful because shes picky on behalf of her customers. Once a day， her teams present their top picks. One recent evening， a few dozen employees were packed into a conference room at 1 a.m.， eager to see what their colleagues would put forth—and to hear Viyas verdict.

An electric shaver was deemed too noisy， a sugar candy too sweet， a silicon Peppa Pig ice tray a possible copyright violation. Shes also sensitive to price. “Theres no way they sell this for 399 and want us to sell it for 389，” she says， holding a Zippo-style butane lighter. “Go bargain for below 300.”

Good stuff at low prices isnt enough to break through in Chinas crowded marketplace， let alone get rich. Viyas show is a master class in salesmanship， said Andy Yap， a social psychologist at INSEAD business school in Singapore. Shes personable and appears genuine without trying too hard.

But then， shes been doing this a long time. Born into a family of retailers in Anhui province， Viya opened her first store in Beijing with her then-boyfriend， now-husband Dong Haifeng， when she was 18. He ran the inventory and back-end12. Viya modeled and sold the apparel.

She craved a bigger stage and， in 2005， won the “Super Idol” TV reality contest in Anhui. For a while she fronted a pop group. In the end， her home was in retail. She and Dong opened stores in Xian， but by 2012， theyd moved their entire business online. When Taobao launched its livestreaming initiative in 2016， Viya was one of its first recruits.

For her part， Viyas power is built on popularity， and she and her team nurture the audience accordingly. If a viewer complains about a product in the online chat that runs alongside the livestream， Viya will notice and， often， rectify the situation. Her fans call her Dora-Viya， an homage to the time-traveling， wish-fulfilling anime hero Doraemon.

比如，2020年4 月，她以約 4000 万元人民币（约合560 万美元）的价格出售了一枚火箭发射器。黄薇，业界人称“薇娅”，34岁的她在晚间主持的大多数网购直播盛宴都精彩纷呈，粉丝遍布全国各地。她的直播节目既像综艺娱乐，也像资讯型广告，又像群聊。2020 年 5 月，其直播观众收视量达到3700多万，超过了《权力的游戏》大结局、奥斯卡颁奖典礼和《周日橄榄球之夜》等节目，创历史最高。

每天晚上，薇娅的观众都会下价值数百万美元的订单——小到化妆品、电器、熟食或服装，大到房子、汽车，薇娅什么都卖。在中国年度最大的购物盛会“双十一”，她的销售额超过了 30 亿元。

在“足不出户，买遍全球”的时代背景下，在薇娅身上能看到消费者们共同的未来。直播购物融合了当今的流媒体、网红、社交、商业等几种技术趋势，让销售公司能更好抓住消费者心理、激发消费欲望。特斯拉、宝洁，以及成功从超模变身企业家的米兰达·可儿等，都纷纷找薇娅合作，以期进入中国市场。根据中国电子商务巨头阿里巴巴的最新数据，在总额600亿美元的中国在线直播购物生态系统中，身为“一姐”的薇娅在 2018 年的收入约为3000万元人民币。

“具体来说，我的目标就是只要是粉丝可能需要的东西，我都能提供。”她说。“门铃、地毯、牙刷、家具、床垫，什么都有。”

分析人士津津乐道的“电子商务直播”，已经在美国和其他地方为人熟知。从电视购物先驱罗恩·“别急，还有更精彩的内容”·波佩尔、家庭购物网、奥普拉读书俱乐部和金·卡戴珊，到今天的直播购物，一路发展进步。一年多来，亚马逊一直在尝试这个新概念。最近，他们与“天桥骄子”嘉宾海迪·克卢姆和蒂姆·冈恩合作，开发派生作品以及建立零售衍生品渠道，就是为了能第一时间让该节目的获奖设计作品进入市场。多年来，脸书一直试图让用户在其平台上进行购物。2020年5月，它宣布与 Shopify建立合作伙伴关系，以进一步实现在脸书和照片墙上进行购物。

直播在中国比其他地方都有发展潜力，这一行业的繁荣表明直播购物可以成为消费者生活不可或缺的一部分和零售商的重要工具。有了阿里巴巴的技术，观众得以在观看直播的同时与其他消费者聊天并选购产品。娱乐和购物互不冲突，这就是关键点。

“我不能错过薇娅的节目。”30岁的杭州科技工作者琳达·曲（音）说。她在哄四岁儿子上床睡觉后，就会一边做瑜伽或者在沙发上看电视，一边用手机看薇娅的直播。几乎每次直播，她都会点击购买。总怕错过什么，所以一直坚持看：“万一有什么好东西没买着呢？那损失就大了。”

中国中产阶层不断壮大，他们曾吃过亏，唯恐买到假货和仿制品。因此对销售方来说，竭力去打动中产阶层消费者就成了突破口。

以前，客户从知道一个产品到产生兴趣并进行购买，理想的情况下再成为老顾客的这个过程往往是缓慢的。宝洁公司大中华区发言人海伦·陆（音）说：“与像薇娅这样的顶级网络主播合作，可以大大加速这个过程。”

晚上，薇娅一般都会在总部的一个小工作室里做直播。这个工作室位于杭州一个10层高的仓库。而薇娅的直播只是这家名为谦寻的500人公司业务的一小部分。公司事务还包括对数十名主播进行人才管理、批量零售和供应链管理。公司计划在未来为想要接触受众的品牌商提供咨询和广告代理类服务，以及进军多媒体领域。该公司计划本月从投资者那里筹集资金，在2020年年底前引进一家战略合作伙伴，并最迟在 2025 年上市。

食品和家居用品是一大板块，其次是衣服和配饰，按类别分为：太阳镜、时尚包、珍珠配饰、运动鞋、睡衣、牛仔裤、女士内衣等。其中还分别有韩国产品、澳大利亚产品和新西兰产品的展示板块，同时更多地区产品的展示即将上架。直播室布满明亮柔和的灯光，如果这些主播愿意，他们也可以在商品架中穿行直播。

薇娅的明星效应很强，如果公司想在她的节目里展示产品，就得听她的号令。首席执行官黄先生说，很多主播都在这个样品间直播，其中有40名左右来自本公司——三年内，这个数字有望达到100。他们都需要源源不断地推介产品，部分目的是为了证明他们强大的带货能力。就像在线下商店那样，各品牌为在谦寻货架上求得一个显眼位置，也需要付费。

薇娅的团队认为她之所以能取得成功，是因为她能够站在客户的立场上以挑剔的眼光审视产品的质量。她的团队成员每天会向她推荐一次精选好货。最近一个晚上，已经凌晨一点了，几十名员工仍聚集在会议室，迫不及待想知道他们的同事会推荐哪些产品，并且想知道薇娅如何裁决。

在薇娅眼中，这款电动剃须刀噪音太大，那款糖果太甜，某款硅胶小猪佩奇制冰盘又可能侵犯版权。薇娅对价格也很敏感。她手里拿着一个Zippo风格的丁烷打火机，说道：“他们卖399，让我们卖389，想都别想。去跟他们谈，把价格压到300以下。”

在中国竞争激烈的市场中，商品物美价廉还不足以突出重围，更不用说大赚特赚了。新加坡欧洲工商管理学院商学院的社会心理学家安迪·叶表示，薇娅的节目展示了教科书级的销售技巧。她亲切、真诚，毫不做作。

薇娅之所以能做这么好，是因为她入行已久。她出生在安徽省，家里是做小买卖的。18岁时，她与当时的男朋友、现在的丈夫董海峰在北京开了第一家店。他负责库存和后勤，薇娅做服装模特并进行销售。

但她渴望更大的舞台，在2005年参加安徽省《超级偶像》电视真人秀，并夺得冠军。之后，她担任过一段时间的乐队主唱。但最后，她还是选择重操舊业。她和丈夫在西安开设了门店，而在2012年，他们将整个业务转移到了网上。当淘宝在2016年推出直播计划时，薇娅就是第一批加入的员工。

对于薇娅而言，她的影响力建立在人气之上，而她和她的团队也相应地给观众带来了福利。如果观众在直播弹幕里吐槽产品，薇娅会很注意，并经常进行处理。她的粉丝称她为“哆啦薇娅”，认为她就像动漫英雄哆啦A梦一样能够穿越时空、满足人们的愿望。