However, it is the e-commerce sector that might see the largest developments yet with the introduction of live streaming. Online live e-commerce was pioneered in China by tech company Alibaba and has since reached new heights under short-video app Douyin, but it might become mainstream for online retail shoppers in the rest of the world sooner than expected. According to a survey of global consumers conducted in 2021, 16 percent of consumers in the United Arab Emirates and 14 percent of consumers in the United States reported being interested in live shopping, respectively. As of the beginning of 2022, social video giants YouTube and TikTok have been planning, or even already tested, live commerce features on their platforms.
Social live streaming worldwide and in the U.S.
In 2020, the Middle East and Africa saw the highest share of social media users engaging in live streams, followed by the Asia-Pacific region. North America lagged behind, with approximately 23 percent of its users engaging in live streaming on social channels. While gaming appeared to be the most popular content category for global users, the diversification in live content that can be found browsing social media and video platforms is a sign of the evolution of the format. In 2021, Just Chatting live streams became the most popular type of content on Twitch and generated approximately 3.1 billion hours watched by global users, surpassing gaming and eSports content. Additionally, according to a survey of users conducted in 2020, while 78 percent of streamers aged 24 or younger focused their content on gaming, entertaining content and professional themes were also among the categories that streamers aged 25 or above explored in their live sessions.In 2020, users worldwide spent more than 480 billion hours watching live streaming content on mobile apps, and global engagement is projected to increase by around 14 percent, reaching 550 billion hours watched in 2021. In the United States, live streaming video viewers are projected to experience a slow growth trend, reaching 158 million in 2022. According to a survey of live stream viewers conducted in 2021, 37 percent of respondents in the United States watched breaking news, but live comedy was also popular. YouTube Live and Instagram had a higher usage among live online viewers aged between 18 and 34 years, while users aged between 35 and 54 years preferred Facebook Live. In comparison, the Chinese market saw approximately 617 million live stream viewers in 2020, many of which engaged with live e-commerce platforms. As of 2020, around 388 million internet users in China expressed a preference for live e-commerce content, while 191 million users focused on gaming content.
eSports and gaming
The growth of the eSports market has been linked to live streaming platforms’ success, with more and more viewers joining in to follow gaming conventions, global competitions, and top gamers. In 2021, there were approximately 234 million eSports enthusiasts worldwide, as well as 240 million occasional viewers. In the same year, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) registered over three million peak concurrent viewers across YouTube and Twitch, while the Nintendo Direct convention registered a peak of 2.9 million concurrent viewers.Live streaming has been synonymous with watching gamers playing, but the combo of video games and in real-time online broadcast allows more than passive viewing. One of the key features of live streaming platforms is the possibility for users to interact directly with the streamers by sending messages and asking questions, thus creating a social dimension. While the leading live streamers amass millions of hours watched from users worldwide, mid-tier and micro streamers have been performing well within their own audiences thanks to the platform’s highly engaging social features. As of the third quarter of 2021, mid-tier influencers generated around 40 percent of live viewership hours across Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming while influencers with over 25,000 average viewers generated only around 10 percent.
