For Pham Van Thoai, a shopping influencer based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, one of the most exciting parts of his job is checking his sales figures.
“There’s a ‘wow’ moment when there are so many buyers,” Thoai told Rest of World before a recent livestream session. “For instance, ‘Wow, we sold 2,000 electric toothbrushes in a minute!’ or ‘Wow, 10,000 people are watching! Now it’s 20,000!’”
Thoai tries all sorts of things to draw in viewers — in a recent livestream, he dressed up in heavy makeup, did karaoke, and even rode a horse. The ultimate goal is to convince the thousands of viewers who tune in to buy a bag, a pair of shoes, or the latest smartphone.
Livestream shopping took off in China in the late 2010s and has become a $500 billion business there. Attempts to popularize the format in the West have largely fallen flat, but, across Asia, it’s catching on, with millions of sellers streaming on platforms like TikTok Shop, Daraz, and Shopee.
Rest of World spent some time behind the scenes with influencers in Vietnam, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Livestreaming has offered them a new way to earn an income and support their families. “Livestreaming has transformed my life,” Thoai said.
But it’s a precarious career, with influencers at the whim of platforms and policymakers. Made Dyah Agustina, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, experienced this when TikTok Shop suddenly closed down in the country, leaving her unable to continue her work and wondering how she — as well as the millions of other sellers in Indonesia — would now make a living.
