By Marcus Zhan, China market strategist at GMA.

Douyin is not a place where people look for your brand. It is a place where an algorithm decides whether to show you at all. This is “interest e-commerce”, 兴趣电商, and it flips everything Western marketers think they know. You do not wait for demand, you create it in the feed. Most foreign brands get this completely wrong, because they treat Douyin like a search channel or a TV ad. Here is how interest e-commerce actually works.

Douyin interest e-commerce in numbers (2026)

• Over 746 million monthly active users on Douyin.
• Discovery is driven by the algorithm, not by search.
• Short video and livestream lead straight to the buy button.
• Douyin Mall adds a shelf layer on top of content commerce.

What interest e-commerce means

Traditional e-commerce is search-driven: people want something, they look, they buy. Interest e-commerce is content-driven: people are not looking for anything, then a video sparks desire and they buy on impulse, in the same app, in seconds. On Douyin, the algorithm serves your content to users it thinks will care. Great content gets amplified to millions; weak content dies unseen. Your job is not to be found, it is to be so good the algorithm spreads you. Douyin Mall then adds a searchable shelf for repeat and intent-driven purchases.

Stop being lazy: content is the strategy

Here is the hard part foreign brands avoid. On Douyin, content quality is your media buy. You cannot pay your way past bad content, the algorithm will not push it. That means real, native, fast, entertaining video, made for Chinese viewers, tested and iterated constantly. Brands that treat Douyin as a dumping ground for repurposed TV ads fail. If your marketers are not studying what actually performs on Douyin, watching it daily, learning the formats, they are guessing. And guessing loses.

The mistakes every brand makes

• Repurposing TV ads. One brand posted its global commercial. The algorithm buried it instantly.
• Expecting search. Waiting for people to look for the brand on a discovery platform. They never do.
• Ignoring the algorithm. Not making content the feed wants to amplify.
• No livestream or shop link. Sparking interest, then giving nowhere to buy.
• Being lazy. Not learning Douyin’s formats, then blaming the platform.

How to win on Douyin

Make native, entertaining short video built for Chinese viewers, and make a lot of it. Work with creators who know the platform. Connect every spark of interest directly to a buy button or livestream. Use Douyin Mall for intent-driven and repeat purchases. Test relentlessly, double down on what the algorithm amplifies, and treat content as your core strategy, not an afterthought.

What this means for you

On Douyin, you do not get found, you get discovered, if your content earns it. Create demand in the feed and connect it to the buy button, or stay invisible. For context, see Douyin and live commerce.

Read next on our blog: how to sell lipstick in China, e-commerce first and water in China, a big opportunity.

Go deeper: our fashion sister agency explains how to enter the biggest marketplace in this Tmall Global guide for brands, a useful companion to Douyin selling.

FAQ: Douyin interest e-commerce

What is interest e-commerce?

兴趣电商: content-driven commerce where the algorithm sparks demand in the feed and users buy on impulse, in the same app, rather than searching for a product first.

Why can’t I rely on search on Douyin?

Because Douyin is a discovery platform. People do not go there to look for your brand. The algorithm decides who sees you, based on how good your content is.

How does the algorithm decide what to show?

It serves content to users likely to care, then amplifies what performs. Great native video reaches millions; weak or repurposed content dies unseen.

What is Douyin Mall?

A searchable shelf layer on top of content commerce, useful for intent-driven and repeat purchases once your content has created awareness and desire.

How do I win on Douyin?

Make native, entertaining short video for Chinese viewers, work with platform-savvy creators, connect interest to a buy button or livestream, and test relentlessly.

Win Douyin in China with GMA

At GMA, we build the native content, creator campaigns and livestream that make Douyin’s algorithm work for you. If Douyin is not selling for you, tell my team about your project.

Written by Marcus Zhan, China market strategist at GMA (Gentlemen Marketing Agency). I have watched too many strong brands lose in China because their marketers stopped reading and got lazy. I do not sugarcoat. Stay curious, or lose. — Marcus Zhan

GMA is a French agency based in Shanghai with more than 75 specialists, running digital marketing and e-commerce for foreign brands entering China.