Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management ISSN: 2766-824X | Vol. 16, No. 3, 2024 106 The Development Path of Livestreaming Influencers in the Context of New Trends Shaofeng Lyu, Rosidah Musa, Xuehui Ding * City University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract: In the context of rapid economic development, live banding is rapidly emerging as an emerging e-commerce model, but intensified competition in the industry, upgraded consumer demand and tightened regulatory policies have caused influencers to face many challenges. This paper analyses the current situation and problems of influencer live banding, pointing out the phenomena of false propaganda and uneven service quality. To cope with these problems, it is suggested to strengthen the education of regulations and improve the quality of influencers. Looking ahead, influencers should continue to learn, focus on personal branding, and innovate live content to achieve sustainable development. Promoting the standardization and professionalization of the industry will help meet the growing demand of consumers and create new development opportunities for the live streaming bandwagon industry. This article aims to provide reference and guidance for practitioners and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry. Keywords: Livestreaming e-commerce, Influencer, Development path. 1. Introduction With the rapid development of the economy, live streaming with goods, as an emerging e-commerce model, has rapidly emerged as a market focus for its intuitive, interactive and high conversion rate. However, intensified industry competition, upgraded consumer demand and technological policy changes have led to new challenges and opportunities for the influencer live streaming industry. Technological innovation has enhanced the shopping experience and operational efficiency, injecting vitality into the industry. Increased competition and policy tightening make influencers and merchants face a complex living environment, small and medium-sized influencers of the living space has been squeezed, resulting in a decline in income and uneven quality of service and other issues, which puts the healthy development of the industry to a serious test. Therefore, an in- depth analysis of the current situation, problems and solutions to the current situation of the influencer live with goods under the new situation is essential to promote the sustainable development of the industry. In this paper, we will comprehensively analyse the status quo and challenges of the live streaming industry from multiple dimensions, such as market competition, industry transformation and policy regulation, and put forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions, aiming to provide reference and guidance for practitioners and jointly promote the live streaming industry towards a healthier and sustainable future. 2. Analysis of the Current Situation of The Influencer Live with Goods Under the New Situation Currently, the live streaming industry is facing multiple challenges and opportunities. As the market competition intensifies, the competition among influencers, merchants and platforms is getting more and more intense; consumers are upgrading their demand and pursuing better shopping experience, product quality and after-sales service. Technological innovation has injected vitality into the industry, such as the application of AR/VR, big data analysis and other technologies to enhance the shopping experience and operational efficiency. Meanwhile, policy regulation further standardizes the market order and protects consumer rights and interests [1]. Fluctuations in the economic environment, such as economic downturns and emergencies, also have an impact on the industry. Therefore, under this new situation, both influencers and merchants need to follow the pulse of the market and flexibly adjust their strategies to cope with the changes in this new situation, seize the development opportunities, and achieve sustainable development. 2.1. Competition in the Market Has Led to A Squeeze on The Survival Space of Influencers Live streaming bandwagon is experiencing an unprecedented stage of competition. With the rapid development of the industry, a large number of influencers have flooded into the market. This has led to increased competition among influencers, especially fierce competition from some head influencers (e.g. Li Jiaqi, etc.), which has led to a more uneven distribution of market resources and squeezed the survival space of small and medium-sized influencers. Small and medium-sized influencers are facing greater challenges as they not only have to fight for the attention of the audience, but also compete for brand cooperation and sales opportunities in the limited market share. Meanwhile, market data also shows that the growth of the live-streaming bandwagon industry is slowing down. According to the latest data from the market research firm, overall sales in the live e-commerce market declined by 15 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This trend reflects increased market saturation and changes in consumer purchasing power, which directly impacts the survival of live streamers. 2.2. Difficulties in the Industry and Declining Influencer Income Currently, the live broadcasting industry is facing unprecedented challenges, and influencers are generally 107 feeling enormous financial pressure. Although many influencers have invested more time and energy, their income has shrunk dramatically. Once hundreds of dollars per hour, but now it has become a few hours of live only barely get less income, this huge contrast so that many influencers bear a huge psychological pressure. More serious is that, in the context of the industry downturn, the business chain of capital tensions occurs frequently, directly affecting the influencer income settlement. From the traditional daily settlement mode, the change to monthly, quarterly or even half-yearly settlement, which aggravates the influencer's financial burden and uncertainty of life. These changes not only test the patience and resilience of the influencers, but also force the entire industry to reflect and explore the path of transformation and upgrading to cope with the current predicament. 2.3. Industry Pressure Increases, Influencers Seek Transformation and Breakthroughs In the face of industry changes, influencers have actively adopted strategies. They have shifted to an all-category live broadcast model, no longer limited to a single area, in order to cover a wider range of commodities, enhance the cost- effectiveness of the live content, broaden the audience base, and thus increase the source of income. In order to stand out among the many live broadcasts, the influencers have increased their creative input to enhance the entertainment and sense of contrast in the live broadcast. Through humorous interaction, unexpected product matching and cross-border cooperation, they break the traditional pattern of bringing goods, bring fresh and interesting viewing experience for the audience, and effectively enhance the audience's viscosity and participation. At the same time, influencers have keenly captured the opportunity of cross-platform development and have set their sights on a broader market. They began to carry out simultaneous live activities on multiple platforms such as Jittery, Taobao and Jingdong, making use of the user characteristics and resource advantages of different platforms to achieve the superposition and complementarity of influence, and further broadening the path of career development. This series of innovations and attempts not only shows the flexibility and resilience of the influencers to cope with the challenges, but also injects new vitality into the continued prosperity of the live broadcast industry. 2.4. Tightening of Regulatory Policies As the live streaming bandwagon industry is booming, the Government has also stepped up regulation of the sector. The latest regulations have set higher entry thresholds, requiring hosts to hold relevant legal qualifications to ensure that they have the qualifications and ability to operate legally. The regulations set stricter standards for product quality regulation, curbing the circulation of counterfeit and shoddy products at source and enhancing the quality and trust of live shopping. The new regulations also build a regulatory framework with clear responsibilities, comprehensively sorting out and defining the duties and obligations of influencers, live broadcast platforms and merchants in live broadcasting activities with products. Influencers need to be responsible for the authenticity of the recommended products, the platform needs to strengthen the audit and management mechanism to ensure the compliance of the live content, and the business is the first responsibility for product quality. By clarifying the responsibilities of all parties, an effective rights and interests’ protection chain has been formed, and a solid barrier has been built for consumer rights and interests. 3. Problems In the New Situation of Influencer Live with Goods Under the new situation, influencers live with goods are faced with a variety of problems, which not only affect the reputation and income of influencers, but also affect the shopping experience of consumers and the healthy development of the industry. 3.1. Influencers Detached from Reality and False Propaganda In the wave of live streaming with goods, some influencers, in pursuit of short-term audience attraction and sales promotion, have adopted improper means such as exaggerating the effects of products and fabricating false evaluations. This behavior is a double-edged sword, which can attract a lot of attention and purchases in the short term, but in the long term, it seriously infringes on the rights and interests of consumers and misleads them to make purchase decisions that are not in line with the real situation. When consumers find that their purchases do not match the descriptions in the live broadcast, disappointment and dissatisfaction ensue, which in turn creates a deep distrust of the influencer. The collapse of this trust not only affects the credibility of the influencer's personal brand, but also poses a serious threat to the healthy development of the entire live- streaming bandwagon industry. More seriously, some influencers in the process of profit-seeking lack of legal awareness, and even ignore the laws and regulations, false propaganda and illegal operation. This not only violates the law, disrupts the normal order of the live streaming bandwagon market, and destroys the environment of fair competition. In the long run, this phenomenon will seriously impede the sustainable development of the industry, affect consumer confidence in shopping, and adversely affect the healthy development of the entire social economy. 3.2. Uneven Professionalism and Service Quality of Influencers In the live banding industry, the professionalism and service attitude of influencers have become important criteria for measuring their success. However, at present, some influencers have obvious deficiencies in these two aspects. The lack of professional knowledge is one of the key factors restricting the development of influencers. Live with goods is not a simple product display, but also requires the influencer to have solid product knowledge and unique sales skills. However, many influencers do not know enough about the products they sell, and their expressions are often incoherent and logically confused, and they are unable to provide accurate information to the audience [2]. This lack of professionalism leads to consumer dissatisfaction after purchase, which in turn affects the sales effect. The same goes for the service attitude, the attitude of the influencer as a bridge of direct communication with consumers directly affects the consumer experience. Some influencers lack patience and enthusiasm during live broadcasts, and often do not answer consumers' inquiries and complaints. This irresponsible behavior not only exacerbates the conflict between consumers and influencers, but also damages the reputation and image of influencers, thus affecting their long- 108 term career development. 3.3. Increased Competitive and Psychological Pressure on Influencers In the highly competitive live streaming bandwagon industry, influencers are facing unprecedented challenges. With the rapid development of the industry, the competition among influencers has become more intense. In order to stand out in the competition, influencers have to invest more time and energy in live broadcasting and promotion to attract more viewers and fans. This high-intensity competitive situation not only tests the professionalism and innovation ability of influencers, but also brings them heavy psychological pressure. At the same time, the fierce competition in the market and the rapidly changing needs of consumers make the income of influencers fluctuate greatly. While some influencers have been rewarded handsomely in a short period of time by virtue of their outstanding performance, others may face the plight of declining income. This instability and uncertainty in income brings distress to influencers, and moreover negatively affects their psychological state and career development. 3.4. Inadequate Compliance Awareness and Self-Regulation of Influencers In the industry of live banding, which is full of opportunities and challenges, some influencers have insufficient awareness of compliance and self-restraint. Many influencers only pursue immediate benefits, lack of understanding and attention to relevant laws and regulations and industry norms, resulting in illegal and irregular behaviors during live broadcasting. These behaviors violate the seriousness of the law, and also damage the good ecology of the live bandwagon industry, damaging the image of the industry. There are also some influencers who lack the necessary self-restraint and self-discipline in live broadcasting. They may have made inappropriate remarks and behaviors on impulse or out of control of their emotions. These words and actions not only trigger consumer dissatisfaction and resentment, but also cause damage to the personal image and reputation of the influencer, which in turn has a negative impact on the industry as a whole, reducing consumer trust and willingness to buy. 4. Countermeasures To Solve the Problem of Influencer Live Banding Under the New Situation 4.1. Strengthen Education on Regulations, Scrutinize Live Streaming Content and Protect Consumers' Rights and Interests In order to protect the healthy development of the live bandwagon industry, the platform needs to strengthen the propaganda and education of laws and regulations. For example, special training activities on laws and regulations are held regularly to enhance the legal awareness of the influencers. The platform should also build a set of strict audit mechanism, through the establishment of a special audit team, 24/7 real-time monitoring of live content, to ensure the authenticity and reliability of all promotional information. In order to create a more authentic and credible shopping environment, the platform should also actively encourage consumers to share their real experience and establish a transparent and fair evaluation system. This system will effectively reduce the room for false evaluations and provide consumers with valuable reference information to help them make more informed purchasing decisions. In terms of strengthening the protection of consumer rights, platforms need to establish a sound complaint and rights protection mechanism to ensure that consumers can quickly obtain effective help and compensation when they encounter false advertising or other violations of their rights and interests. This will help to enhance consumers' shopping confidence and promote the sustainable development of the live bandwagon industry [3]. 4.2. Enhance Influencer Quality, Strengthen Service Management and Promote Personalized Development In order to safeguard the healthy development of the live banding industry, platforms should take a series of measures to improve the overall quality. Strengthen influencer training, the platform should provide professional product knowledge, sales skills and industry dynamics and other training, to help influencers build a solid professionalism, to improve their performance and persuasive power. At the same time, the establishment of the influencer rating system, the system should take into account the influencer's professional ability, service attitude and audience feedback and other dimensions, objective and fair rating, open and transparent display to consumers, to facilitate their choice of trustworthy influencer. Influencers can also identify their own deficiencies through the ratings and make continuous improvements. The platform needs to strengthen the service attitude management, set up a special consumer feedback channel, and continuously monitor the service attitude of the influencer. For influencers with bad service attitude, the platform should give timely warning or punishment to maintain a good live shopping environment. The platform should provide personalized growth plans and guidance according to the characteristics and needs of different influencers. Through customized training programmers, they can help influencers find a development path that suits them, stimulate their potential and creativity, and promote the continuous progress and development of the whole industry. 4.3. Relieve Pressure on Influencers, Optimize the Competitive Environment and Promote Healthy Live Broadcasting In order to safeguard the healthy development of the live bandwagon industry, platforms need to take comprehensive measures to mitigate it. To optimize the competitive environment, platforms should ensure that every influencer grows in a fair environment and promote the formation of a benign competitive atmosphere by formulating and strictly enforcing fair and transparent competition rules and eliminating vicious competition behaviors. It is also important to pay attention to the mental health of influencers. Platforms should provide psychological support services, such as setting up psychological counselling hotlines and online platforms, to provide professional psychological counselling to influencers and help them effectively deal with pressure, adjust their mindset, and maintain a positive attitude towards work and life. The platform should encourage influencers to pay attention to their own health, reasonably arrange live time, avoid overwork, and ensure that they 109 maintain a good physical and mental state while working efficiently. This will not only help influencers remain competitive in their long-term careers, but also lay a solid foundation for the healthy development of the entire live broadcasting industry. 4.4. Strengthen Compliance Education and Set an Example of Self-Discipline In order to safeguard the healthy development of the live streaming bandwagon industry, platforms need to take a number of measures. Platforms regularly organize compliance education activities to enable influencers to gain an in-depth understanding of and strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations and industry norms, and to enhance compliance awareness. Set up clear compliance standards and codes of conduct to provide influencers with specific operating guidelines to ensure that every aspect of the live broadcasting process complies with the regulations. The platform can set up an industry model and recognize outstanding influencers to motivate more influencers to consciously comply with laws, regulations and industry norms, forming a good industry culture. This positive guidance helps to improve the service level of the entire industry and enhance consumers' trust in live streaming with goods. Through these measures, platforms can effectively improve the overall compliance level of the industry and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the live streaming bandwagon industry. 5. Influencer Live with The Future Development of The Proposal 5.1. Continuous Learning and Professional Improvement In the field of live streaming with products, influencers need to continue to deepen and improve themselves. They should become practitioners of learning, actively drawing on product knowledge, refining their sales skills, keeping up with the pulse of the market and grasping the latest trends. By participating in professional training, influencers can systematically improve their professionalism and maintain a keen insight into the market through extensive reading of industry information. Influencers should also communicate and learn from their peers and share their experiences, which not only stimulates innovative thinking but also broadens their horizons. Such continuous learning and practice make the influencer more comfortable on the stage of live bandwagon, and win the trust and love of consumers with a more professional image. In a competitive market, influencers stand out in the industry by continuously improving their abilities and realizing the common growth of individuals and brands. 5.2. Strengthen Personal Brand Building In the fierce live broadcast market, influencers need to strengthen their personal brand building to stand out. They should create a unique live broadcast style to attract viewers through personalized charm; at the same time, they should uphold a sincere service attitude to win the trust and loyalty of fans. Influencers should also be committed to providing high-quality live content to meet the diversified needs of viewers. Influencers can also make clever use of social media and other diversified channels to broaden the scope of communication and enhance brand exposure, thereby attracting the attention of more potential viewers. This process not only helps to build a solid fan base, but also establishes a distinctive brand image in the market and maximizes personal value. By constantly optimizing their brand, influencers will be in a good position to compete and win greater success. 5.3. Live Broadcast Content and Form Innovation Facing the increasingly diversified needs of consumers, influencers need to be brave to innovate the content and form of live broadcast. They should continue to explore new live scenes, try new interactive methods, and introduce diversified product categories to bring viewers an unprecedented viewing experience and freshness. At the same time, they should follow the trend of the times, combine with hot topics or festivals, and carefully plan live events to attract viewers with unique perspectives and creative content, and inspire their enthusiasm for participation and desire to buy. This continuous spirit of innovation not only allows the influencer to remain competitive in the highly competitive market, but also continues to meet consumer expectations and promote the prosperity of the live broadcast industry. 5.4. Focus on Fan Maintenance and Interaction Fans are the indispensable cornerstone of the influencer's success, and the influencer should attach great importance to the interaction and maintenance of fans. Through regular live broadcasts, they can bring their fans continuous enjoyment of content; actively reply to comments, showing affinity and care; and give out benefits at the right time to return their support. More importantly, influencers need to pay close attention to the needs and feedback of fans, this valuable information is like a lighthouse, guiding the influencer to adjust the live strategy and content direction, to ensure that every live broadcast can accurately reach the hearts of fans, to meet their expectations, thus deepening the emotional bond, and building a solid foundation of fans. 5.5. Expand Diversified Income Channels In addition to live broadcasting, influencers should actively explore diversified income channels, such as brand endorsement, advertising cooperation and offline activities, in order to broaden their income territory and enhance their personal popularity and influence. In the process of pursuing diversified development, influencers need to carefully consider each cooperation and activity to ensure that it fits with their brand positioning and image, and avoid the negative impact of excessive commercialization, so as to maintain the good impression and loyalty of fans. Through a smart balance between commercial cooperation and content quality, influencers can not only achieve steady economic growth, but also secure their position in the highly competitive live broadcasting market and win a broader space for development. 6. Summary Under the new situation, the influencer live carry industry faces both challenges and opportunities. With the intensification of market competition and the upgrading of consumer demand, influencers need to continuously improve their professionalism and service quality to cope with the 110 problem of squeezed living space and declining income. At the same time, the industry needs to strengthen education on regulations and strict scrutiny of live content to protect consumer rights. Influencers should continue to learn, strengthen personal brand building, innovative live content and form, and focus on fan maintenance and interaction. In addition, expanding diversified income channels is also the key to the influencer to achieve sustainable development. In the future, the influencer live with goods industry needs to continue to promote standardization and professional development, through continuous innovation and optimization, to meet the growing needs of consumers, and jointly promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry. In this process, the influencer needs to maintain a keen market insight, flexibly respond to market changes, and lead the industry forward with a professional attitude and innovative thinking. 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