On Chinese live-streaming platforms, the trend of “pity-selling” has become increasingly widespread. Despite ongoing reports and bans targeting influencers and companies engaged in such practices, this phenomenon remains persistent.
“Pity-selling” in Livestream E-Commerce Typically Manifests in Three Main Forms:
- Exploiting Emotional Disputes for Sales
This strategy involves leveraging emotional disputes to drive product sales. For example: “Let’s help reunite this mother and daughter who’ve been separated for 20 years. Every purchase of a bracelet contributes to their reunion.”
- Fabricating Bizarre Stories to Garner Attention and Sales
Sensational and often fabricated narratives are used to attract viewers and boost sales. Examples include: “A newborn baby says ‘mom’ and ‘dad’,” “An 89-year-old grandmother gives birth to an 8-pound baby,” or “I met my husband, who passed away six years ago, on my way to work.”
- Exploiting Sympathy to Push Products
Sympathy is manipulated to encourage purchases. For instance: “XXX’s child can’t afford school fees anymore. Today, we’re helping him collect debts and have cornered the factory owner who owes him. This ring was originally priced at 3999 but is now discounted to just 99. First come, first served!” This exploitative tactic not only raises ethical concerns but also challenges consumer trust in livestream e-commerce platforms.
The Pervasiveness of “Pity-Selling” in Live Streaming is a Double-Edged Strategy
“Pity-selling” has proven to be an alarmingly effective tactic for increasing sales conversion rates. However, the exploitative and deceptive nature of this approach raises serious ethical concerns.
Case 1: Fabricated Personas and Counterfeit Products
In July 2022, a company orchestrated a deceptive scheme by leveraging scripted scenarios and false personas. Using abandoned rural production facilities as their backdrop, they created two influencer accounts, each amassing over 2 million followers.
The personas, a humble and honest man and a kind-hearted woman, gained widespread sympathy and trust. The influencers promoted agricultural products, claiming they were sourced directly from farmers under the banner of “natural and eco-friendly.” In reality, the company purchased cheap honey, walnuts, and other products from urban suppliers in Chengdu and Nanjing, falsified trademarks like “Daliangshan Special Agricultural Products,” and sold counterfeit goods nationwide.
This fraudulent operation distributed subpar products to over 20 provinces and cities, generating sales exceeding tens of millions of yuan before being shut down by authorities.
Case 2: Staged Emotional Scenarios for Viral Videos
In September 2023, as pomegranates reached peak harvest season, heart-wrenching videos flooded social media. These videos portrayed elderly individuals selling pomegranates on the roadside, only for passersby to cruelly reject them—throwing the fruit out of car windows. The elderly sellers, depicted as silently picking up the fruit with bowed heads, evoked widespread sympathy.
However, observant viewers noticed discrepancies: the pomegranate-throwing scenes were strikingly similar, despite featuring different elderly sellers.
Journalistic investigation uncovered the truth: the videos were staged. Elderly individuals were recruited to act, with scripts dictating their every move. In one case, a videographer even suggested making an elderly man kneel for added emotional impact.
One particularly viral story featured a boy nicknamed “Little Treasure” and his grandmother. The video claimed they were struggling to sell their pomegranates, garnering millions of views and widespread empathy. However, the grandmother later revealed that the entire narrative was fabricated. The videographers paid her family 200 RMB for their participation and later brought a bicycle, clothes, and 3,000 RMB in additional compensation.
Moral of the story? Suffering is noble but exploiting it for profit is reprehensible. Trust is fragile, and abusing it undermines consumer confidence and damages the integrity of marketing practices.
Brands and marketers must prioritize ethical standards and authenticity in their campaigns. Building trust and maintaining transparency are far more valuable, and sustainable, than short-term gains achieved through deception.
