Why Middle-Aged and Elderly People Are Falling into Livestream Shopping Traps
Livestream shopping and online purchases have grown rapidly, making middle-aged and elderly people a key consumer group. While convenient, it also create risks. Many in this demographic become addicted to livestream shopping and even fall into traps.
Why are they more likely to fall into traps? Lacking companionship is a key reason, leaving them prone to forming trust and emotional bonds with livestream hosts.
Yang Jinling said, “My dad is getting elderly and also has memory disease. Somehow he starts shopping on Kuaishou and buying fake collectibles like old coin sets, commemorative money booklets, and replica paintings. He convinces these things are great investments. No matter how we family talk him out of it, he always believe these livestream hosts.”
According the China Youth Daily Social Survey Center with Questionnaire Network’s survey, 69.7% of respondents reported having conflicts with their elders over livestream shopping purchases. Over 40% of respondents noted their elderly family members trust livestream hosts more than their own relatives.
Another interviewee Ruan Hongbo said, “My older relatives keep buying stuff like ‘longevity jewelry’, health products, and ‘one-yuan bargain’ groceries like flour and milk. Every time the package arrives, they realize they got scammed again and swear they’ll stop… but then they’re right back falling for the hosts’ smooth talk, and hitting ‘buy’ on the same kind of junk all over again.”
The sophisticated tactics and strategic traps behind livestream shopping has become the underlying reason middle-aged and elderly consumers ensnared.
A screenshot shows host “Li Fei” promoting ” wellness tools” at totally 331.39 yuan from kuaishou platform.
Jiang Ying, 55, watches a livestream on her smartphone on June 16.
Photo by Rubia
Jiang Ying, a frequent audience, who often watched “health host”‘s livestream said: “The host does all these health sessions for free, just teaching wellness tips daily. I believe it can improve my health. Sometimes he sells some wellness tools. Although they’re much pricier than regular stores, I just want to buy these stores to support the host.” Investigations found these products are often unverified, with substandard materials causing fading and peeling.
56.7% of respondents said elderly consumers crave the social connection hosts create, while 53.7% noted how hosts target older consumers’ habits. To further explore the reason, we interview a livestream host named Zhang Yue, who used to sell goods for middle-aged and elderly people. She said, “That company trains us to pretend to health experts or teachers, who are very familiar with health preservation and care, using fake experiences to gain trust. We would address viewers with affectionate nicknames and maintain private chat groups for regulars. Company also use fake accounts to post scripted reviews.”
Platform’s design exacerbates this problem. Many elderly users like Chen Yumei only can make purchase but lack digital literacy to check orders or request refunds. “I unknowingly bought many unwanted items,” she said. We found she unknowingly activated one-click payments, a feature that bypasses password confirmation for faster checkout.
Middle-aged and elderly Chinese increasingly fall prey to live-commerce scams, exposing both social neglect of the aging population and regulatory gaps in digital consumerism.
On June 10, 2025, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation released a draft of the “Supervisory Measures for Live-Stream E-Commerce” for public consultation to curb livestream fraud and strengthen regulations. Its purpose is to help reduce online shopping scams targeting middle-aged and elderly consumers. However, it is also challenging to ensure the effective implementation of these policies across various platforms and safeguard the well-being of this demographic.
Interviewees:
- Jiang Ying, 1715918778@qq.com, accountant, +8613689862337
- Ruan Hongbo, 512673966@qq.com, pharmacist, +8615543437658
- Yang Jinling, 2845843328@qq.com, farmer, +8615844795796
- Chen Yumei, no e-mail, retired, +8615662869982
- Zhang Yue, 2214168002@qq.com, live-stream host, +8615318284936
Research Data
1. Reasons Elderly Enjoy Live Shopping
| Reason | Percentage |
| Convenience & affordability | 61.6% |
| Social feeling via streamers (like interacting with familiar people) | 56.7% |
| Targeting elderly consumption traits | 53.7% |
| Not feeling lonely with someone to talk to | 38.4% |
| Info cocoon via algorithm recommendation | 29.9% |
2. Who Do Elderly Trust More on Product Function & Quality
| Trust Object | Percentage |
| More trust in streamers | 42.4% |
| More trust in family | 37.4% |
| About the same | 20.2% |
3. Frequency of Disputes Between Youth and Elderly over Live Shopping
| Frequency | Percentage |
| Sometimes happens | 45.4% |
| Often happens | 24.3% |
| Never happens | 30.3% |
Post Comment