1 . “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.

2 . More than 100 people, all visually damaged models, attended a fashion show organized by a 41-year-old Hempstead blind model, Annalee Smith, on Saturday.

Smith, who began modeling five years ago and won The Face of Kurvacious Model Competition last year, was diagnosed(诊断) with retinitis pigmentosa(色素性视网膜炎) at the age of 12. The rare genetic condition worsened her vision.

She explained that there were few visually damaged role models in the public field. And while the first New York fashion show starring blind models took the stage in 2016, visually damaged models still don’t have a large presence in fashion.

So Smith began planning her own show over a year ago. She initially planned for only a handful of models, but after announcing the event, she expanded the number of participants after reaching more visually damaged woman than she expected. “I’m inspired even by my own self,” she said.

Rafia Lawal, also a model, 37, was diagnosed with cataracts as a young girl. She auditioned(试演) for a spot on “America’s Next Top Model ” during the show’s early seasons but wasn’t selected. She blamed it on her previous lack of confidence and insecurity due to her disability. “Instead of looking at the camera, I was kind of closing my eyes,” she said. Now filled with confidence, she said she viewed the event as a chance to correct the belief that blind or visually damaged women don’t care about fashion.

3 . For many consumers, low prices are often equal to cheap products. While everyone loves a good bargain (特价商品), low prices can harm how your product is viewed. Instead of getting a great deal, customers often believe that you get what you pay for. Though everyday low-pricing strategies can work for some companies, they’re not always the best idea for certain lines of business.

Consumer perceptions play a significant role in strategic pricing. Despite all the promotions surrounding great deals, it turns out that cheaper isn’t always better. Research from Vanderbilt University suggests that low prices can backfire because consumers sometimes see them as signs of low-quality products. However, researchers also found that consumers sometimes see low prices as simply good deals. Shoppers’ perceptions depend on what they’re thinking about when deciding whether or not to buy a product.

If consumers come across a low-priced product or service, they may see it as either a good deal or not worth their time and money. How consumers think about price is just as important as the actual price itself.

Consumers rarely have complete information and use various strategies to fill gaps in their knowledge when considering products. One strategy involves using naive theories: informal explanations used by consumers to make sense of their environment. A consumer may perceive an upscale (高档的) company’s prices are too high or assume discount retailers’ (零售店) products are inferior (次的) due to its reputation being associated with lower quality items than other stores selling similar goods.

Companies can influence how customers feel about their low prices by conducting market research and improving marketing strategies focused on highlighting product quality rather than just value alone which tends towards making people rate cheaper products more favorably. When companies focus on the product quality in marketing materials, consumers look more favorably upon more expensive products. However, when companies focus on value, consumers rate cheap products more favorably.

Businesses can also identify their customer base and narrow their marketing efforts to become perceived as a specialist. This leaves customers less likely to question pricing strategies because they trust that the company knows what it’s doing and has done its research into what works best for them.

4 . The general understanding of slow fashion is that it is sustainable fashion with a slightly different focus-speed. In 2007, when author Kate Fletcher coined the term "slow fashion", she called on consumers, designers and brands to slow down and care about quality.

Natural clothing materials and low-impact manufacturing are large parts of the sustainable fashion movement. This movement has invited a closer look into what sustainability looks like and how a change in thinking and practices could influence the fashion industry. Slow fashion is considered to be a continuation of sustainable fashion. Today, it is distinguished by quality, locally manufactured clothing, producing clothes on a smaller scale and with slower production times. Mindfulness is paid to workers, the environment, and cultural connections.

Slow fashion was a reaction to the rapid development of the fast fashion industry, which focuses on cheap, stylish, mass-produced clothes that have a huge impact on the environment. People had begun to notice the instability of the fast fashion model — from the employment of workers to pollution. However, fashion isn't always like this, and slow fashion aims to take us back to where it began, even before the Industrial Revolution.

When Kate first described slow fashion, she wanted it to focus on quality instead of quantity, in addition to the environmental ideals that were associated with sustainable fashion. Though Kate presented slow fashion as an opportunity to create an effective relationship between designer, production and consumer, it has developed over time to function even more. No longer is slow fashion only a theory on connection and better products; now, it includes consumer lifestyles and ethical production.

As consumers learn more about the troublesome practices within the fashion industry, the circles of sustainability are growing closer. Social media has only helped slow fashion brands reach more consumers. Adopting a slow-fashion way of living may seem frightening if consumers are new to the movement; however, it doesn't have to be difficult.

5 . About Saturnbird Coffee

Founded in 2015, Saturnbird Coffee is a unique coffee brand exploring new lifestyles. With excellent products, we dream for a new life with coffee which is born with limitless possibilities.

Why a Bird LOGO?

We wouldn't have thought of choosing a bird as our logo. This is a 2015 story when we were decorating our first studio. One day, a bird flew in and was trapped by the glass curtain wall. It had been few days when a collage finally found this dying little one. Our primary idea was to bury the barely breathing animal in the neighboring garden, but Wang Lian our co-founder, brought it home. To our great surprise, the bird, after being tenderly cared of, finally recovered and flew back to nature.

This lovely bird comes from nature, so do our little coffee beans. We aim to bring natural products to our customers, and give the concern back to nature through our environmental protection commitments and practices. This bird is a perfect symbol of love and nature.

How to Interpret “Make Coffee More Accessible”?

This is where we started. With years of experience in this industry, we hope we can achieve it. Coffee is not a luxury (奢侈) since the stage of plantation (种植园). Therefore, it can only become more accessible through modern media. Instead of simply focusing on coffee itself, we care more about the lifestyles with coffee. For instance, a sip of our drip coffee can open up a whole new world to beginners, but in a relaxing way.

What we want to do is to present the even more possibilities of high quality coffee through product development and design. Coffee will then become an everyday part, so near at hand.

Project Return

Project Return is a long-term project of recycling used Saturnbird coffee cups. During the biannual event, customers can sign up on our website to participate in this project. Themed goods are available for participants at designated (指定的) locations in various cities on mission days. Recycled cups will later be transformed into new items.