China's online celebrity economy, a product of the Internet era, has snowballed in recent years, with statistics indicating that the income of some of these celebs may have overtaken the net profit of a number of companies.

In 2019, the economic achievements of many Internet celebrities refreshed people's understanding. Cyber stars such as Li Jiaqi and Li Ziqi have attracted enormous attention, putting themselves on the map and solidifying their brand”.

Gan Youqin (L1), a farmer in Lingshan county of South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is in live broadcast. She sold about 350,000 kilograms of Lychees through live broadcast in 2018. (Photo/Xinhua)

Meanwhile, the identity of many online celebrities as salespeople has been widely recognized.

Statistics from relevant big data trading platforms show that Li Jiaqi made a lot of money in 2019 - more than the net profit of some companies.

The number of online shoppers reached 610 million in 2018, and the vast user base has led to the growth of the online celebrity e-commerce market. In 2019, online celebrity live broadcast emerged as a new force.

More than 50 percent of the businesses on Tmall, a Chinese website for business-to-consumer online retail, participating in the "Double Eleven" shopping festival, increased their income through live broadcasts, leading to a turnover of nearly 20 billion yuan (about 2.9 billion U.S. dollars).

In China, the economy of online celebrities has a sufficient social foundation. Research shows that more than 70 percent of Chinese consumers born after 1995 prefer to buy goods directly through social media.

China's current online celebrity economy is subverting the traditional consumption concept and bringing a more diversified and personalized shopping experience to consumers. However, adequate market regulation should be implemented to help guide development, to give better play to its leading role in the real economy.