5 . “One, two, three, post the product links!” “Please press the button and give us a thumb-up” “exactly!” the “vibe group,” which means a group of people who are pumping some life into live-streaming and coordinating with live streamers to help steer customers to buy products. The group, also referred to as the “E-commerce straight man/crosstalk” by Chinese users, has stirred a craze in recent weeks on Chinese media platforms.
For the “E-commerce crosstalk” or people who help live streamers to sell their merchandise, it is their specialization. However, others believe that this is confusing to consumers.
The “E-commerce crosstalk” is also known as the center control of the live stream. The work of the center control spans across the pre, mid and post-stage of the live stream, and needs to be responsible for equipment debugging (调试), backstage operation, maintenance of the live stream order, data review and other contents.
They usually create a warming vibe to help live streamers sell products such as “I want 100k likes, could you guys help me to get them, please”, “Post product links!”, “Repost!” or “Let’s join the fan club”. These are normal psychological suggestions for customers which don’t break any of the rules of how to conduct business.
While the “E-commerce crosstalk” group doesn’t just control tempo, they also have another important role — they create a sense of exigency for customers, making them buy now, such as “My friends, the last one! Hurry, buy it now!” “How many are left? No, almost out of stock, only 30 left!” “Buy more today! Hurry up my friends! Go to the yellow cart, find the 1st link! Great price, great quality!”
“These practices are creating an illusion (错觉) of inventory constraints to mislead customers,” Fan Xiaolin, a Beijing-based lawyer told us. The unrealistic atmosphere created by the “E-commerce crosstalk” can easily mislead consumers, causing them to make irrational purchases. The 2020 China Live E-commerce Industry Research Report shows that the average return rate of live e-commerce is as high as 30 percent to 50 percent, which is much higher than the traditional e-commerce return rate of 10 percent to 15 percent.
1. What do “E-commerce crosstalk” specialize in?
| A．Guiding staff to post the product lines. |
| B．Motivating followers to click the “like” button. |
| C．Assisting live streamers to sell goods. |
| D．Monitoring the live stream to function smoothly. |
2. What is the “E-commerce crosstalk” group forbidden to do in live stream?
| A．To ask for a great many thumb-ups. |
| B．To tempt the fans to shower the streamer with gifts. |
| C．To invite consumers to join fan clubs. |
| D．To share or forward the live stream to others. |
3. What does the underlined word “exigency” in paragraph 5 mean?
| A．Urgency | B．Rhythm | C．Involvement | D．Motivation |
4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．E-commerce crosstalk can create an authentic atmosphere for viewers. |
| B．The customers of e-commerce tend to be irrational. |
| C．The traditional e-commerce return rate is relatively lower. |
| D．The products of live streamers are in short supply. |
