Daraz (Alibaba Group): building live commerce into an acquisition channel

The problem

Live commerce was a new format for Daraz in Bangladesh. Locally it had no creator base, no content standards and no clear link to the numbers the business cared about. My job was to turn it into a channel that drove orders and could be measured like any other part of the acquisition mix.

What I did

Built the roadmap and the team. I set the live commerce roadmap in line with the regional plan, built the local team, and worked with regional leadership to keep strategy and targets aligned as the channel grew.

Built the creator network. We grew a network of 700+ creators, along with the vetting process behind it: brand-safety screening and selection based on performance rather than follower count. I led the live stream content strategy, formed partnerships with local agencies and influencers, and negotiated the contracts.

Plugged it into the funnel. Live commerce only works as a channel if it connects to everything else. I tied the live and affiliate programs into the platform’s acquisition and conversion funnels, working with traffic, paid media, category and brand teams. During the 11.11 and 12.12 sales, the region’s biggest retail moments, I ran the live schedule and kept commercial and operations teams on one calendar. Brand partners on livestream campaigns included Unilever, Reckitt, Samsung, Oppo and Vivo.

Held it to the numbers. I owned the livestream P&L and reported channel performance and unit economics to category and regional leadership every campaign cycle. That kept the channel judged on orders and margin, not views.

The results

Livestream-driven orders grew 139% and affiliate transactions grew 109%. Live commerce went from an experiment to a measurable part of how Daraz acquired and converted customers.