(Yicai Global) Nov. 25 -- Gome Electrical Appliances, one of China’s biggest home appliance retailers, told Yicai Global that it plans to expand livestream sales to more brick-and-mortar outlets after trialing the booming e-commerce phenomenon at some stores.

Chinese soccer commentator Liu Jianhong livestreamed on apps of the firm's parent company Gome Retail Holding during the England v.s Iran World Cup game on Nov. 21, drawing in nearly 100,000 viewers, Yicai Global learned from the company yesterday.

Gome rode the wave of China’s emerging middle class, but fell behind when e-commerce took off, ceding ground to competitors such as Alibaba Group and JD.Com. E-commerce has now moved into the realm of livestream shopping, and Gome is taking note. Other home appliance retailers, including Suning.Com and CBest, have also ventured into the arena this year.

Livestreaming is Gome’s new revenue growth point, an insider told Yicai Global, adding that products sold through live online sales are more popular. Moreover, Gome includes discounts and other promotions in livestreams to entice shoppers to its physical stores.

Livestream shopping has become a key tool to attract consumers to offline outlets. It helps to connect physical and online channels and improve Gome's shopping experience in brick-and-mortar stores, according to the Beijing-based firm.

Gome will try to turn some store managers into internet celebrities and will invite famous hosts from social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Douyin, the firm noted, adding that it may also join hands with banks, car clubs, shopping malls, and others for charity purposes.

Gome has already tied up on livestream sales with big Chinese home appliance makers such as Haier Appliances and Midea Group.

Apart from employees, others can also sign up to promote goods for Gome via live online sales, said He Jian, operations vice president at Gome Retail's to-customer business division. Participants can get a cut of the sales revenue by helping advance word-of-mouth marketing and social retailing, he added.

More than 330,000 people have already signed up for the program as of this month, according to figures Gome shared with Yicai Global.

The Chongqing branch of rival Suning set up a dedicated livestreaming team for this year's Double 11 shopping festival. Eleven livestreams attracting 56,000 viewers had contributed CNY7.8 million (USD1.1 million) of sales as of 7 p.m. on Nov. 11. Meanwhile, livestreams have become CBest's primary sales method, an company executive told Yicai Global.

Traditional home appliance retailers are not as professional as internet firms when it comes to livestream and they lack the fanbase of influential online celebrities, said Wu Xianjian, assistant to the president of China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

But thanks to the accumulation of regular shop-going customers and membership systems, physical stores have a relatively higher capacity to convert online visitors to customers, he said.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione