Short dramas are starting to drive sales. Is this a traffic goldmine?

E-commerce giants like Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo have all introduced short drama content, using customization, collaborations, and other strategies to enrich platform content, attract users, increase user stickiness and loyalty, and boost product sales. Short dramas have become a key part of their content strategies.

These e-commerce giants—Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo—are all eyeing the lucrative short drama market. Taobao was the quickest to act, adding a “Theater” section under the “Live” tab in its app, filled with its own short dramas. Pinduoduo quickly followed, adding a “Short Drama” section to its “Duoduo Video” in April of this year, making it as prominent as the live-streaming section. JD.com wasn’t idle either, subtly promoting short dramas in the “Explore” section on its homepage.

In simple terms, these e-commerce giants have carved out prime positions on their platforms for short dramas, hoping to use this fresh format to attract users and offer a bit of entertainment during shopping breaks.

It's immediately clear that the fresh format of short dramas is becoming increasingly valued on e-commerce platforms. The reason is that these e-commerce giants, like Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo, are all facing the issue of slowing user growth. They’ve started incorporating short dramas to make their platform content more diverse, so users can stay on the platform longer, and perhaps buy something while watching the dramas.

Now, these platforms are quietly competing in this new field of short dramas, hoping to find new growth points that can take their businesses to the next level.

E-commerce Giants Customizing Short Dramas

Although Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo are all making moves in the short drama space, each has its own unique strategies and methods.

Taobao has invested heavily in the short drama field, putting in the most resources and valuing it highly. Its setup looks quite professional, making it seem like they’re ahead of JD.com and Pinduoduo.

Taobao’s “Theater” section is well-organized, resembling the short drama sections on video streaming sites. It’s divided into several categories, such as popular short dramas across the web, Taobao-exclusive dramas, sweet dramas specifically for women, and action-packed dramas for men. This way, no matter who the viewer is, they can find a short drama that suits their interests here.

At the end of last year, Alibaba Group, Taobao's parent company, merged the Taobao Live and Taobao Explore departments, creating a new division called the Content E-commerce Business Unit. This new department was led by Cheng Daofang, who was then the General Manager of Taobao Content E-commerce.

By April of this year, Taobao Explore and Taobao Short Drama made a significant move together by launching the "100 Billion Taobao Drama Plan." This plan involves a substantial investment, with tens of millions in cash and billions in traffic resources to support short drama production. The investment for a single project can reach up to 5 million yuan.

Taobao is spending heavily, adopting the strategy of branded custom dramas. Essentially, Taobao collaborates with brand merchants to tailor a short drama according to the brand’s needs and marketing strategy. These dramas include embedded links to the brand's products, so while users watch the drama, they can easily add the products to their cart with just a click.

In essence, these seemingly ordinary short dramas are actually branded advertisements. For example, in the drama Work, BOSS! sponsored by Proya, the plot revolves around a worker and a boss swapping bodies, ultimately leading to the domineering CEO falling in love with the female lead. Throughout the storyline, Proya's products are repeatedly featured, and viewers can click on the links at the bottom of the screen to purchase the same products that appear in the drama.

Micro-dramas have become a key component in the content strategies of e-commerce.

The commercial value behind micro-dramas is clear. For brand merchants, it provides another opportunity to showcase products and boost sales; for e-commerce platforms, micro-dramas not only enhance user stickiness and loyalty but also alleviate concerns about traffic to some extent.

Moreover, compared to live-streaming sales, the cost of producing micro-dramas might be lower. Consider the live streaming sessions of popular hosts—just the fees for slots, commissions, and royalties add up to a significant amount.

Now, as competition among e-commerce platforms intensifies, micro-dramas have become their new arena. Everyone is trying to use micro-dramas to attract and retain users, while also exploring how to use them more effectively to drive sales.