One of the Monetization Methods for Micro Dramas Micro Dramas for E-commerce

As a new form of online audiovisual content, micro dramas have rapidly emerged in the Chinese market in recent years, particularly driven by short video platforms. The supply of content has shown explosive growth. According to data from iiMedia Research, the market size of China’s online micro drama sector reached 37.39 billion yuan in 2023 and is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan by 2027. The main commercial monetization models for micro dramas include paid subscriptions, revenue sharing from copyright, and e-commerce integration. Among these, e-commerce integration, as an emerging revenue model, leverages the traffic advantage of micro dramas to achieve a synergy of brand and sales through product placements within the storyline or through live-streaming by the creators.

Micro drama e-commerce typically relies on the content of the series and character settings, integrating product information naturally within the plot development or setting up product links on related pages, guiding viewers to make purchases. Additionally, lead actors or KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) in micro dramas can further increase sales conversions through live-streaming after accumulating a fanbase. This model not only provides new revenue streams for micro drama producers but also offers brands a more precise product promotion channel.

However, micro drama e-commerce also faces some challenges, such as the alignment between content and products and the audience's acceptance of product placements. Therefore, producers need to carefully consider the relevance between the plot and the product, as well as the impact of the e-commerce integration on the viewer experience, to achieve a balance between commercial benefits and content quality.

Below, we introduce two of the most popular examples of micro drama e-commerce:

Duoduo Video

E-commerce Platforms Cross into Micro Dramas: An Innovative Experiment in "Storyline Commerce"Pinduoduo's Cross-Industry Micro Drama

Recently, Pinduoduo launched a “micro drama” section on the secondary channel of its “Duoduo Video” platform, alongside “live streaming,” “following,” and “recommendations,” forming a part of its short video business. Sanwanhui Cultural Industry also noticed that short dramas on Pinduoduo’s platform are accompanied by product links, with some high-quality products in the dramas having already achieved over 1 million successful group buys. This demonstrates that short dramas have become a new source of traffic on this e-commerce platform, known for its algorithm-driven and low-price offerings.

From last year to this year, the popularity of micro dramas has remained high, and this trend has now extended into the e-commerce sector. Pinduoduo, known as the "king of e-commerce in lower-tier markets," recently launched a “micro drama” section on the secondary channel of its “Duoduo Video” platform, alongside “live streaming,” “following,” and “recommendations,” forming a part of its short video business. It is clear that “micro dramas” now hold a weight comparable to the “live streaming” business, which directly drives sales.

Pinduoduo Screenshot

In fact, this is not Pinduoduo's first foray into the micro drama market. Previously, the platform mixed micro drama content into the short video feed and recommended it to users, allowing short drama clips to grow organically through user sharing. At that time, Pinduoduo seemed uninterested in producing its own short dramas, let alone venturing into the MCN (Multi-Channel Network) business. However, now Pinduoduo has an independent micro drama section.

In terms of policy support, in December 2023, Pinduoduo—through Duoduo Video—launched the “Duoduo Great Drama Plan,” which supports high-quality micro drama content through weighted recommendations and revenue sharing models.

So far, Pinduoduo's micro drama support plan has begun to show results. For example, the account “Sisters Watching Dramas” on the platform has released a short drama titled Super Strong Mommy Agent, which consists of 99 episodes and has garnered over 28 million views. Such high-view micro dramas are not uncommon. For instance, The Heiress's Revenge has accumulated over 90 million views.

Sanwanhui Cultural Industry also noticed that short dramas on Pinduoduo's platform are accompanied by product links, with some high-quality products in these dramas having achieved over 1 million successful group buys. This indicates that short dramas have become a new source of traffic on this e-commerce platform, known for its algorithm-driven and low-price offerings.

01 E-commerce Platforms Intensively Enter the Micro Drama Market: Only Pinduoduo and Taobao Have Dedicated Entrances

In the face of the micro drama market—dubbed the "most commercially viable content" with high growth potential—veteran e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo have all increased their investments in the short drama business to seize this new traffic high ground.

Looking at the entrances, Taobao and Pinduoduo have shown more direct emphasis: Taobao has created a dedicated “Theater” entrance on the secondary page of its “Explore” section, divided into categories such as New Releases, Taobao Exclusive Shorts, In-Depth Explanations, and Curated Recommendations. Pinduoduo has directly set up a “Short Drama” entrance on the secondary page of its “Duoduo Video” section. JD.com does not have a dedicated entrance; instead, short drama content is mixed into the “Explore” short video feed.

The short drama field

△ Organized by Sanwanhui Cultural Industry

Since the second half of 2023, Taobao has been aggressively expanding into the short drama field, launching more than 20 short dramas in one go. Taobao’s determination to invest in short dramas has been particularly strong this year. At the Taobao Content E-commerce Festival, Taobao directly announced the "100 Billion Taobao Drama Plan," which includes various support measures such as cash guarantees, traffic protection, short video-live stream integration, and promotional boosts. The investment amount for a single drama can reach up to 5 million yuan, indicating Taobao's significant commitment to the short drama sector.

JD.com has been slower to enter the short drama field, and currently, the popularity of its short dramas is not very high. Unlike Taobao and Pinduoduo, JD.com’s short drama releases are mainly concentrated among merchants, primarily for their brand promotion or product sales, without a dedicated platform section. However, JD.com recently announced an investment of 1 billion yuan in cash and 1 billion in traffic to support short video creators and high-quality content. It is foreseeable that short drama content on JD.com will receive more support in the future.

Comparatively, among the three e-commerce giants—Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo—Taobao has been more comprehensive and proactive in its short drama efforts. It not only provides a dedicated platform for streaming but has also invested heavily in funding and traffic to support the creation and promotion of short drama content, creating a complete brand short drama production and exposure chain for brands. Pinduoduo quickly followed suit by launching its short drama section and has already started exploring new paths for monetizing content through short drama e-commerce. JD.com, relatively conservative in its approach, has made some moves in the short drama market but seems to focus more on brand promotion and product sales by merchants.

02 E-commerce Platforms Like Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo Intensify Short Drama Efforts: Enhancing the Feasibility of "Omni-Channel Interest E-commerce"

The e-commerce value behind short dramas is self-evident. A report by NewRank summarizes the key characteristics of short drama users as "middle-aged, in lower-tier markets, and having a strong willingness to pay." For e-commerce platforms facing saturated competition, "micro drama+" represents a rare growth opportunity.

The success of content platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu shows that combining video and text content with user interest and attention can significantly enhance user stickiness. Specifically, by attracting users with emotionally engaging short drama content and leveraging the interaction, discussion, and sharing triggered by short drama content, platforms can drive social activities within their ecosystem, ultimately converting these into purchase behaviors.

Short dramas

△ Short dramas are currently one of Taobao's strongest content strategies. Source: Taobao App Screenshot

In recent years, with the rise of content marketing, interest e-commerce platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu have completely redefined the relationship between people, goods, and settings. Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms that rely on users searching for products or recommending items based on search history, interest e-commerce offers a new mode of consumer insight, known as the “product-to-person” model, forming a new consumption logic of “planting the seed—purchasing—sharing” in a continuous cycle. The core of this model is “using content to stimulate and match users’ potential needs.” Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo aim to capture interest through micro drama content.

This partly explains why traditional e-commerce platforms like Taobao, Pinduoduo, and JD.com have chosen to invest heavily in short dramas. Beyond the superficial reasons of attracting new users and increasing user time on the platform, there’s a larger trend at play: the importance of increasing the frequency and duration of user engagement has surpassed the competition for exclusive users.

In an era where supply far exceeds demand, consumption can sometimes be triggered: for instance, when a user is watching an “engrossing” short drama and happens to see a product they’re interested in, placing an order becomes a natural next step. It’s clear that Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo view short dramas as a form of “e-commerce advertising” designed to drive traffic. For them, micro dramas—these “short videos with a plot”—are the best medium for converting traffic content into commercial value.

As a leading short video platform executive mentioned, “The e-commerce conversion rate of short dramas is very high. For example, in one drama, if a likable female character is using a certain water bottle, and a similar one pops up on the screen, many users will click on it.” This illustrates that micro dramas have both content marketing and traffic marketing attributes, blending the product placement features of long-form dramas with the sales-driving capabilities of short videos. Their efficiency in reaching e-commerce goals makes the upgrade to “omni-channel interest e-commerce” on e-commerce platforms feasible.

03 Conclusion

In a context where users’ mental frameworks are still being established, the primary goal of e-commerce platforms’ short dramas is to drive traffic rather than to create commercial conversion models like paid short dramas. Currently, the core objective of e-commerce platforms’ short drama businesses is not to produce “viral” content that goes beyond the platform’s reach, nor is it to compete with short video platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou for market share. The fundamental goal is to attract new traffic with interesting and valuable short drama content, increase user dwell time and stickiness on the platform, and ultimately convert this into commercial value. Simply put, e-commerce platforms produce short dramas to sell products, which is their fundamental intention and underlying logic.

This article is from the WeChat public account “Cultural Industry Review” (ID: whcypl), authored by the Cultural Industry Team.

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.