One early morning last April, the gaming room in Shi Ke’s home glowed with light from three computer monitors.
At 30, Shi leads TikTok Shop operations for Shenzhen-based 3D printer maker Creality. He sat tensely before the screens, watching a live product demonstration by a US influencer on one monitor while tracking order data and replying to viewer comments on another.
Notification alerts pinged nonstop. By the end of the session, Creality’s live stream had generated more than USD 40,000 in sales, the company’s best single-day performance since expanding overseas.
Shi is not alone. Luo, who runs a Christmas tree factory in Dongguan; Kong Xiaotian, founder of wig brand OQ Hair in Xuchang, Henan; and many others across China are connecting with overseas consumers through a web of data, short videos, and live streams.
Their shared platform is TikTok Shop, which has expanded rapidly. By 2025, its gross merchandise value had approached USD 100 billion, with more than 400 million active shoppers across 17 global markets.
