China Livestream Shopping Slows as AI Hosts Cut Costs

Retail sales in China rose 0.4% year-on-year in August 2026, down from 0.6% in July, with 1.1% growth in the first eight months. Online retail exceeded 36% of sales in 2025, up from under 18% in 2021. Livestream gross merchandise volume has reached nearly 7 trillion yuan a year since 2016. JD.com made AI hosting free in December 2025 and said adoption surged within three months; it says AI hosts cut operating costs by 80% to 90%. Li Jiaqi, who began livestreaming in 2016 and has more than 100 million followers, said growth may not be as explosive as four or five years ago. He said AI is already changing livestream e-commerce but cannot replace human hosts, calling AI always yesterday's version of him. Ashley Dudarenok said growth is a lot more difficult as merchants compete for lower customer budgets. Lu Lin of Romomo said digital presenters still struggle to build customer trust. Zhang Junling of Romomo said competition is no longer simply between individual hosts. Rules requiring clear labelling of AI-generated content took effect in September 2025. Douyin has banned fully AI-generated livestreams and requires disclosure of digital host use. Some influencers faced backlash after revealing AI avatars had appeared in their place.