Source of this article: Times Weekly Author: Ye Manzhi
Picture source: Tuchong Creative
On June 18 this year, there was a fierce reshuffle of e-commerce anchors, and waist anchors became the biggest winners.
Take Douyin as an example. On June 18 this year, mid-level anchors such as Guangdong Couple, Jia Nailiang, and Mr. Jia have emerged one after another, joining the "new head" queue, and even overtaking top anchors such as Oriental Selection, Walking with Hui, and Crazy Little Yang. In Kuaishou, Xinxuan's waist anchors Zhao Mengche, Dandan, and Shi Dameili also took turns to top the sales list during the 6.18 period; Taobao Live not only had waist anchors such as Bee Surprise Club and Lieer Baby break through, but also "Breaking out" newcomers such as Sister Jiu and Wei Junjie, cannibalizing the traffic "cake" of top anchors. The rise of
waist anchor is inseparable from the support of capital behind it. A reporter from Times Weekly found out that among the top 20 sales lists of major platforms this year, most of them are anchors or brand live broadcast rooms supported by mcn institutions.
anchors are shouting "money-making" in front of the stage, and the mcn organization will naturally get a piece of the pie. The mcn organization behind Jia Nailiang is Yuanwang Technology. During the June 18 period, Yuanwang Technology's live broadcast rooms had sales exceeding 100 million, with more than a dozen shows exceeding 10 million. According to Xinxuan, in addition to major anchors such as Simba, Dandan, Shi Dameili, and Zhao Mengche, there are 15 vertical anchors whose single-game sales exceeded 10 million yuan.
In recent years, after reaping the dividends of live broadcasting, MCN organizations such as Yuanwang Technology, Wuyou Media, Xinxuan, Qianxun, etc. have all made efforts in the live broadcast e-commerce business. However, as the live broadcast track becomes more and more popular, MCN organizations, which are increasingly difficult to make money, have begun to transform and look for new growth points in short dramas, vertical tracks and channels.
Head anchor transformed into , waist anchor dominates 6·18
The 6·18 promotions of major e-commerce platforms have all ended, and the ranking of the anchor echelon has changed significantly.
On the Douyin platform, the performance of the former "No. 1 Brother" is not as good as before, and the waist anchors are aggressively attacking.
Cicada’s mother’s data shows that as of June 20, during the June 18 period, among the top ten on Douyin’s sales list (May 24-June 18), the top four are Guangdong couple, Jia Nailiang, He Hui Peer and Mr. Dong, while the past top stars Make Friends and Oriental Selection ranked 13th and 15th, and Crazy Little Yang Ge ranked 20th.
Jia Nailiang, who is newly ranked as the "No. 1 Brother" on Douyin's sales list in May, not only exceeded 425 million yuan in GMV in a single premiere on June 18, but also completed double sales in the entire June 18 cycle last year on the single day of the premiere. Duoduo data shows that the average transaction volume of Jia Nailiang's live broadcasts is mostly stable at 10 million to 25 million yuan, and the transaction volume of some brand exclusive promotion sessions can be close to 100 million yuan.
On Taobao, mid-waist anchors also have the ability to compete with head anchor Li Jiaqi.
was officially launched for sale on "Tmall 6·18" within 4 hours. Live broadcast studios such as Li Jiaqi, Bee Surprise Club, Lieer Baby, Jiu Mei, and Wei Junjie achieved GMV exceeding 100 million yuan. Among them, Sister Jiu and Wei Junjie are both new “dark horse anchors” in the wine category. The former even sold 30,000 bottles of Moutai in less than an hour after the broadcast.
is not only remarkable in terms of sales, but also from the number of live broadcast days, waist anchors are very frequent in participating in big sales and bringing goods.
On June 18 this year, Jia Nailiang maintained the frequency of broadcasting every 1 to 2 days. As of June 20, Mr. Dong has started 20 live broadcasts. In terms of Kuaishou, Xinxuan’s waist anchors Zhao Mengche, Dandan, and Shi Dameili also started broadcasting many times during the 6.18 period.
On the other hand, the top anchors are reducing the frequency of live broadcasts. Times Weekly reporters found out that during June 18 this year, Xiao Yang’s personal account had less than 20 live broadcasts, Dong Yuhui only participated in less than 10 live broadcasts, and Simba only broadcast 1 live broadcast on his personal account.
There are many reasons for the rise of waist anchors. According to Zhang Yi, CEO and chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, on the one hand, top anchors are retiring and transforming, seeking development opportunities outside of the live broadcast ecosystem; on the other hand, the mcn organization behind the top anchors is also seeking new opportunities. Business development opportunities.
“When the development of the top anchors approaches the ceiling, the MCN organization will also cultivate a new generation of anchor echelons to take over the position and traffic of the top anchors."Zhang Yi believes that there is still room for dividends in live streaming e-commerce, and waist anchors still have certain development opportunities.
Will waist anchors completely replace head anchors? Mo Mo, director of the online retail department and senior analyst of the e-commerce research center of NetEase Dai Qing told a reporter from Times Weekly that the top anchors are decentralizing and mid-level anchors are coming to the forefront, but this does not mean that the top anchors will completely disappear.
“The head anchors have a strong fan base and strong sales. The ability still exists, and they can cultivate more anchors by retreating behind the scenes. The live broadcast industry has penetrated into various fields from its inception to today. Standardization, specialization, and diversification will become important trends in live broadcast content. "Mo Daiqing further analyzed.
live broadcast bonus gradually faded , mcn institution fancy " open book "
waist anchors were in full swing in the live broadcast room, but major mcn institutions did not announce the overall gmv of 6·18 situation.
html From June 20th to 21st, reporters from Times Weekly contacted relevant people from Wuyou Media, Yuanwang Technology, and Xinxuan. Officials from Wuyou Media said that the company did not have a June 18 battle report and it was inconvenient to disclose relevant data; Said that the company may release relevant data after statistics; as of press time, Xinxuan has not released relevant data.For mcn institutions, there is still a big gap between gmv and actual profits. Some mcn institution practitioners have told the Times. A reporter from the Weekly News said that anchor fees, product commissions, and product return rates may affect the final take rate of MCN organizations (actual e-commerce revenue as a proportion of GMV). “Consumers are influenced by anchor marketing and sales. Affected by large promotions and discounts, impulse purchases are often caused, and the product return rate is higher than usual. The actual income converted into the hands of MCN institutions is not that much. "
waist anchors are gradually becoming independent, and their earning potential is also emerging. This is also inseparable from the investment of mcn organizations in live broadcast e-commerce business.
On June 18 this year, Qianxun's Bee Surprise Club launched the "live broadcast + short drama" for the first time way, creating a new live streaming model; Wuyou Media has entered the cultural tourism industry, and in February this year, it spent nearly 400 million yuan to buy a medical device company, and is making efforts in the direction of promoting health.
Yuanwang Technology is also improving. Live broadcast e-commerce business capabilities. In 2023, Yaowang Technology’s revenue from social e-commerce (live broadcast e-commerce business) will be 1.729 billion yuan. According to Yaowang Technology, in 2024, the company will also conduct short dramas, cultural tourism consumption, and IP co-branding. New exploration.
However, in the context of fierce competition in the live streaming e-commerce industry, the business experience of mcn organizations is not so good. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get out of the industry and burning money is becoming less and less effective. This is a common problem faced by mcn organizations.
Although Wuyou Media has more than 100,000 talented anchors, there are only a handful of anchors who have truly become popular.
Regarding the dilemma of mcn organizations, Zhuang Shuai, founder of Bailian Consulting, told a reporter from Times Weekly that many brand stores have become popular. Investment in live broadcasting is increasing, which will have a diversion effect on mcn organizations. In addition, when the pit fees and commission ratios decrease, mcn organizations that focus on the shopping guide model will inevitably face the problem of declining revenue.
"The live streaming e-commerce industry. It is developing rapidly and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. If the live content provided by mcn organizations lacks innovation and differentiation, it will be difficult to attract and maintain audience interest, and its conversion rate will be reduced accordingly. " Mo Daiqing believes.
How should mcn institutions break the dilemma of e-commerce business development? Cui Lili, professor of the Department of Digital Economics at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and director of the Digital Commerce Research Center, said in an interview with a reporter from Times Weekly that mcn institutions should ask e-commerce service providers
Zhuang Shuai believes that if we want to maintain profitable growth under the new live broadcast industry trend, mcn institutions need to increase their efforts. Build supply chain capabilities and deploy multiple platforms and channels, and develop and try a variety of live broadcast formats and content to retain more consumers
.