CaixinWeChat's short video e-commerce site struggles to gain traction
Few users stick around long enough to buy livestreamed products
Sluggish consumer demand and entrenched rivals are making it hard for Tencent Holdings' WeChat app to make significant inroads into China's e-commerce market. © Reuters
QIAN TONG and MO YELIN, Caixin
As goes China's broader economy, so goes the nation's e-commerce spending. It may be little surprise then that after last month's 618 shopping festival -- an annual Black Friday-style event that stretches for weeks -- e-commerce giants were tight-lipped about how their sales went.