Former actors turned livestreamers struggle in a crowded, regulated market.
By Coco Zhou
Cindy Sun* quit acting for full-time e-commerce live streaming in 2019 after COVID-19 stopped mainland China’s TV drama production and left her out of work.
She used to be busy for three months a year, only filming one drama, but now she has a packed daily schedule: selecting and testing products, making short videos and live streaming for up to eight hours. She now returns home sometime after midnight.
“It took me three years to groom my social media account to two million followers on Taobao Live platform with an average of 30,000 concurrent viewers in my livestreams and per-show sales ranging from two million to three million RMB (US$278,000 to US$417,000),” the beauty and skincare products seller says.
Sun now live streams for about three products a week and spends an hour or two on casual live streams, chit chatting with her fans and strangers to build her fan base.
“I really love my job and enjoy sharing my daily life and new products. But the industry is becoming more competitive. It’s been getting harder and harder to make a living these past two years. Gone are the days of easy growth,” the 45-year-old woman says, citing that more players have joined the field.
(Photo courtesy of Cindy Sun)
The total number of live streamer accounts reached nearly 193 million, up about 7.2 per cent year on year, with 13 million new accounts created in 2024, according to the China Online Performance Industry Development Report (2024-2025).
“My livestream data has dropped sharply. I used to have an average of 10,000 to 20,000 concurrent viewers, and the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) was at least one million RMB (US$144,200) per stream. I could get about RMB ¥120,000-150,000 (US$17,400-21,750). Now, my average concurrent viewership is just 2,000, with average per-session sales of RMB ¥300,000-500,000 (US$ 43,260-72,100) and profit has dropped by at least 30 per cent, to RMB ¥60,000-80,000 (US$ 8,688-11,584) per session,” the former actress says.
Sun also points out that judging from her livestream performance, viewers’ willingness to spend has weakened.
“People prefer saving money than making impulsive or excessive purchases now. In the past, products were sold out in an instant, often facing a shortage of supply, but now I have to do more marketing to boost sales,” the live streamer says.
The trend is reflected in the latest economic data. China’s 2025 retail sales growth slowed to 3.7 per cent, compared to 4.6 per cent in 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The bureau also reports that new home prices across 70 major cities dropped 2.7 per cent in December 2025, the sharpest fall in five months.
This downward trend extends to other celebrity streamers like Eva Cui*, who sells nourishing and health products online.
She is now filming an internet drama with her team, while she conducts live streaming twice a week with a meet and greet-session with her fans during filming breaks.
Cui admits that her true passion is acting, but she has to make more money with live streaming. She says the film industry now lacks investment even for producers with good scripts.
“I still can’t let go of acting. Live streaming is for the sake of making a living,” the former actress says.
“Actors can make use of their publicity to capture viewers’ attention and that makes it easier for them to promote brands and sell products to make a living,” she adds.
But Cui and many other live-streamers now face stricter regulations from the Chinese authorities, which introduced new measures to monitor and regulate e-commerce and live-streaming sales in December 2025.
According to the new regulations, live streamers are banned from using medical terms, exaggerated expressions, such as terms like “best” or “recommended by scholars”. Violators face penalties including account suspension and fines up to 100,000 RMB (US$14,410).
“I have to memorize a long list of forbidden words and repeat the warning ‘this is a health supplement, not a drug when doing live streaming,” Cui says.
(Photo courtesy of Eva Cui)
On July 31, 2024, “online host” was officially recognised as a new occupation and included in the national occupational classification system.
According to labour survey data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate of young people aged 16 to 24 climbed to 17.8 per cent in July 2025, and the number of college graduates is expected to hit a record 12.7 million in 2026.
The industry’s growth has also created job opportunities for young people. The Research Report on the Development of China’s Online Audio-Visual Industry (2024) shows the live streaming industry directly or indirectly supports over 100 million jobs, with 43 per cent of workers aged 18 to 25.
Apart from mid-aged actors, amid a tight job market, young creators are also actively embracing live streaming as a viable career choice.
Becky Wang* joined the live streaming industry in 2025. She is combining an acting career with live streaming to sell makeup products.
“It’s better than doing acting alone which does not pay much. Acting and live streaming work well together, helping boost my fame and income,” the 24-year-old girl says.
After graduating from Beijing Film Academy, Wang joined several short-drama projects.
“Short drama projects have a low budget. I can get up to RMB ¥50,000 (US$7,174.58) for a skit. Each drama has 20 to 30 episodes, each about 15 minutes long, but getting such opportunities is harder and harder. The competition is too fierce,” the former child actor says.
Wang points out GMV per show can only reach RMB ¥ 20,000-30,000 (US$2,869.8-4,304.7) without deducting commissions and returns, and the profit per show is about 2,000 RMB (US$286.98).
(Photo courtesy of Becky Wang)
Professor Lin Jian of the School of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong says these sweeping regulatory changes raise qualification thresholds for being live-streaming hosts.
“In sensitive sectors, such as health products, pharmaceuticals and medical aesthetics, the crackdown on traffic-driven, results-obsessed and borderline irregular live streaming practices is leading the industry toward a future built on compliance, professionalism and trust,” Lin says.
“The stricter regulations, which emphasise live streaming marketing standardisation, help to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and operators, and foster the healthy development of the industry,” he adds.
Lin observes in the current economic and regulatory climate, making quick money through live-stream e-commerce is no longer realistic.
“Live streamers should grow their accounts steadily, foster strong fan bonds, maintain a pragmatic attitude, and improve their sales expertise. Only then can they break through in this saturated market,” he says.
*Names changed at interviewees’ request
Edited by Jennifer Liu
Sub-edited by Flavia Zhou
