JD.com is providing $138 million in incentives to boost live stream shopping

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) plans to offer 1 billion yuan (about $138 million) in cash incentives to promote video content on its platform as live stream shopping goes mainstream in China, the South China Morning Post reported.

Eligible influencers across 20 subject areas including electronic devices and household Merchandise, fashion, skin care and car accessories can receive up to 30,000 yuan as a weekly bonus, the report said added citing the company.

In addition to money, influencers who either post videos reviewing products or conduct live-streaming sessions to promote and sell them receive “more exposure” for their content, the Chinese tech giant said.

The company has allocated 5 million yuan to incentivize multichannel networks – the agencies that help influencers grow and monetize their social media presence – and give them cash rewards every month if they bring a certain number of creators to the platform bring.

According to a recent report from China's Netcasting Services Association, 71.2% of Chinese internet users purchased goods while watching short videos or live streaming content in 2023, up from 42.7% in 2022.

JD.com launched a live shopping service in 2016, just seven months after Alibaba's (BABA) online marketplace Taobao. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

After about two years, short-video service Douyin — parent company ByteDance's (BDNCE) Chinese version of TikTok — and Kuaishou added Shopping to their video content.

JD.com said it is actively preparing to compile the top creators and aims to announce the top 100 by the end of the year, the report said.