top live streamer crashes: consumers should not become victims of commercial wars
2024-09-11
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□xiang qiuxiao (chongqing university)
recently, the top livestreamer "ximba" blasted his competitor "three sheep" in the livestream room, saying that the competitor used unfair means to put pressure on the brand in the competition for the same product, interfered with simba's preferential mechanism, and affected normal sales. he also revealed that the livestreamer "xiao yangge" from the three sheep team was suspected of selling lymph meat, fake moutai, inferior hair dryers, etc. lu qingwen, a partner of the three sheep team, was sentenced to three years in prison for e-commerce fraud. within a few days after the news was released, "xiao yangge" lost millions of followers, and all orders for wuliangye, moutai and other liquors were automatically cancelled. lu qingwen's social media account became private. (modern express, september 11)
in the current booming e-commerce industry, it has become the norm for anchors to compete for customers and use strong discounts to attract consumers. however, as the price war becomes more and more intense, some unscrupulous merchants and live broadcast rooms have openly sold fake or substandard goods in order to further profit, which has seriously damaged the rights and interests of consumers and made consumers victims of the business war.
it is reasonable for companies to seek profits, but business wars should benefit consumers, rather than merchants and anchors jointly deceiving consumers. in contrast to the prosperity of the online live streaming industry, the quality of products purchased by consumers from live sales is often worrying. it is common to find that the products are not what they advertised, or that they have a short lifespan or do not meet safety standards. this is because many merchants have repeatedly lowered production standards in order to reduce costs, resulting in counterfeit and shoddy goods flooding the market. e-commerce should serve the convenience of the people, rather than taking advantage of the fact that consumers cannot touch the real thing and becoming a shortcut for unscrupulous merchants to take advantage of the situation.
it was originally the seller's obligation to regulate production and sales according to national standards, but in online live streaming, the responsibility of inspecting product quality often falls on consumers. in addition to positive reviews from stores, today's online shoppers pay more attention to "mine avoidance" posts on social platforms. this is because many products do not have the effects advertised, and when selling goods, anchors use various rhetoric to avoid official review, resulting in consumers having to judge the quality of the actual product and whether it meets the description in the live broadcast, or learn lessons from the "experience" of other consumers. this undoubtedly adds to the burden on consumers and causes some consumers who lack the ability to distinguish to buy substandard products without knowing it.
the unspoken rule of "cutting ties" between live streamers and sellers makes it difficult for consumers to protect their rights after their rights are damaged. in the product link of "xiao yangge" selling moutai liquor, a line of inconspicuous small words clearly reads: "the seller of this product is not the live streamer, but the operator of the linked store"; in the previous incident where "xiao yangge" was suspected of selling fake beef rolls, relevant personnel also stated that the live streamer was only an advertiser and was not responsible for product quality. this phenomenon is not uncommon in live streamers. the platform and relevant departments know that there may be quality problems with the products, but they allow the live streamers to cut ties with the sellers in this way, leaving consumers with no way to protect their rights. e-commerce platforms should do a good job of supervision, urge the live streamers to monitor the source of goods, and prevent merchants and live streamers from shirking responsibility.
"brother xiao yang" is not the first live-streaming anchor to fail, and he will not be the last. online live-streaming sales has become one of the mainstream sales channels, and the industry urgently needs the intervention of formal and official regulatory forces. on the one hand, it should implement strict quality inspections on merchants to eliminate counterfeit and shoddy products from entering the market at the root; on the other hand, it should make the live-streaming anchors face up to their own responsibilities and be responsible for the products and the rights of consumers.
