“When pigs fly”: Resources swapping, affordable marketing, and the transformation of Douyin from short video sharing to online shopping

Abstract

With 600 million daily users in 2020, Douyin faced monetization challenges after increased advertising led to a decline in user engagement. The app pivoted successfully to “shoppable videos” and livestream shopping by operating as a retail infrastructure. This article analyzes this transformation, arguing that Douyin strategically limits data availability, creating an artificial scarcity for capturing advertising and infrastructural rents. This approach is sustained by Douyin’s carefully crafted vision for career and business success derived from data’s speculative value. The app established reciprocal relationships with music creators and later video creators and sellers through reward programs, contractual deals, and online workshops. However, success often remains unattainable due to the uneven growth between continuous influx of creators/sellers and stalled user growth. This disparity allows Douyin to incorporate paid traffic into its business model, perpetuating data’s manufactured scarcity and obscuring exploitative practices by making paid traffic an essential component for success.