Last week, Apple made its first live selling session on Douyin, TikTok’s China version.
This follows the opening of the Apple Official Flagship Store on Douyin Store (equivalent to TikTok Shop outside China) just a few weeks ago. By last weekend, the flagship store — with Apple’s signature clean and slick design — already attracted more than 3 million followers.
Apple even created a unique colour hue for its logo to match Douyin’s vibe. The store lists close to 200 items on sale, all at original prices.
“Livestreaming is such an incredible way to reach out to our customers all across China,” Apple’s VP for Apple Online Store Karen Rasmussen told Chinese media in Shanghai last week.
Apple’s first steps into liveselling
The live selling session on 19 September was notable for what it didn’t include: no playback, no screaming, and no discounts. It was instead a simple product explainer with some Q&A with the live audience.
This wasn’t Apple’s first brush with live commerce. Back in June 2023, Apple trialled livestreaming on Tmall (Alibaba’s brand mall). That session was pre-recorded, with no products on sale — a sharp contrast to China’s GMV-busting livestreaming culture.
The cautious approach is telling: Apple is experimenting, but carefully.
Why Apple is different
Apple’s premium brand image has long been a strength in China. It enjoys a loyal, affluent customer base — and the usual chaotic livestream style, with screaming hosts and steep discounts, doesn’t quite fit.
Search for iPhone livestreams on Douyin and you’ll mostly find sessions run by distributors and resellers, where discounts are rare but bundles and free gifts are common.
Here’s a telling example: Jia Nailiang, a TV star turned live seller, often streams iPhones from E27 livestreaming mall in Hangzhou. (We visit E27 during Momentum Works Ecommerce & Live Commerce Immersions, and sometimes bump into Jia’s sessions.)
Last year, iPhone 16 went on sale in China as we were hosting the 3rd cohort of Momentum Works Live Commerce Immersion to Hangzhou. The following slide we put together back then was a vivid demonstration of the competition of value propositions in China:
Even though Apple’s official Douyin store clearly displayed brand credentials and authorisation, some users still questioned whether it was genuine. That shows how trust gaps still exist, even for one of the world’s most recognisable brands.
A contrast with local brands
Unlike Chinese brands, which typically run ecommerce and live operations in-house with rapid iteration, Apple continues to rely on Baozun (NASDAQ: BZUN) to manage its official online stores in China.
This outsourcing reinforces Apple’s reputation for control and distance, rather than agility. Meanwhile, local competitors move fast, test formats aggressively, and adjust in real time.
Apple also uploaded the full 1-hour-12-minute Apple Event video (from 9 September) onto its Douyin store. The slick production drew admiration, but also bemused comments:
- “The progress bar of the video is not moving?”
- “Run — the video is more than 1 hour long!”
- “Did they not know this is a short video platform?”
Lessons for other brands
Most brands are not Apple.
Even with Xiaomi, Huawei, and Honor rising fast, Apple still leads in gross margins and profit in China. Its premium image is reinforced by a solid product line and a tightly integrated hardware-software ecosystem. Chinese investors often say: “Apple and Moutai are unshakable.”
But other premium brands face the same challenge Apple does: how to balance a carefully crafted image with new formats in video and live commerce, while fending off aggressive competitors.
The key? A deep understanding of the local playbook and inner workings — and the courage to adapt quickly.
Final reflection
Apple can afford to move cautiously. Few others can.
As TikTok Shop and Chinese brands expand globally, incumbent brands everywhere face the same dilemma: adapt to the fast, discount-driven playbook – or impose a more controlled brand approach.
Most don’t have Apple’s halo or margins, so agility will matter more than caution. Livestreaming is no longer just a China experiment; it’s becoming a global retail format, and every brand needs to decide how to play.
