Hebei county turns trucks and screws into livestream success stories

Livestreaming industrial products isn't as entertaining as other livestream categories, Yang acknowledged, but he doesn't mind an audience of three to five people; those who stay tend to be serious buyers. The company receives about 1,000 orders a day, averaging 40 yuan each, from repair shops, processing factories, and construction teams, with a 70 percent purchase rate. Since starting last August, the company has drawn about 6,300 fans, and livestream sales now account for 20 percent of its total revenue, which reached 15 million yuan from January to March.

Guo Yanwen, director of the county's development and reform bureau, said livestreaming has become a meaningful driver of the county's industrial growth, pointing to a 9 percent year-on-year increase in added value among industrial enterprises above designated size from January to May.

The shift from B2B to B2C has also prompted companies to develop standardized, retail-friendly versions of goods once sold in bulk. A public e-commerce service center at the park now houses market regulation, finance, taxation, and administrative approval offices under one roof for e-commerce businesses. Local officials have also negotiated lower courier rates — the fee for parcels under one kilogram has dropped 36 percent, to 1.6 yuan — helping push the county's parcel volume from January to May, up 26.53 percent year-on-year.