A network anchor introduces home textile products during a live stream. [Photo/WeChat account: dongzhouchengshi]

A three-hour live stream attracted 169,600 viewers and brought in 4 million yuan ($565,600) in sales on March 28.

The live stream marked the start of a rebound for Jiangsu Mingchao Home Textile Co, which had struggled with dealership overstock since February due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

According to Ding Yusheng, who is in charge of online operations at the Haimen-based company, the success was the result of targeting viewers and selecting products accurately.

"The live stream was launched at 7 pm. More than 500 offline dealers across the country promoted the event on their WeChat Moments and set up group chats for clients on the day," said Ding.

During the program, gifts and red packets were offered to attract viewers. The gifts included products popular among young people, like iPads and vacuum cleaners. Products for sales were also targeted on the young and featured high-cost performances.

"We invited a local online celebrity to host the program with the chief of the commodity department," said Ding. "It took us more than 10 days to prepare."

In the future, the company will train its own network anchors, arrange one to two live streams per month, and launch new products regularly, according to Ding.

Mingchao is not the only home textile company in Haimen which has adopted the new marketing model.

To increase sales, Meiluo Home Textile also invited online celebrities to help sell its products. Online sales have accounted for 30 percent of the company's total turnover since it resumed operations after the Spring Festival holiday.

A two-hour live streaming promotional event held last week attracted 300,000 viewers and brought in 2 million yuan.

The consistent success of the live streams has given confidence to many local home textile companies. "2020 will see more businesses start doing live streams," an industry insider said.