From Digital Advertising to Live Streaming for E-Commerce: The

Impact of Content Marketing Transformation on Consumers’

Purchase Pathways

Jingting Han

School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

Keywords: Content Marketing Transformation, Digital Advertising, Live-Streaming E-Commerce, Consumers' Purchase

Pathways, Huaxizi Case Study.

Abstract: With the rapid development of e-commerce, marketing methods have gradually shifted from traditional digital

advertising to live-streaming e-commerce sales. This has had a significant impact on consumers' purchase

paths. This study takes Huaxizi as a case and adopts the case analysis method to explore the influence

mechanism and collaborative value of digital advertising and live-streaming e-commerce sales on consumers'

purchase decisions. The research results show that Huaxizi has constructed a marketing ecosystem of synergy

between product and effect by integrating digital advertising and live-streaming e-commerce sales, and

verified the complementary value of the two models in brand building and sales conversion. Live-streaming

e-commerce sales focus on real-time interaction and immersive experience, and through detailed explanations

by the host and embedded purchase links, it shortens the decision-making path of consumers and quickly

achieves product explosion. Digital advertising strength-ens brand culture recognition through Eastern

aesthetic narrative and precise placement, and ac-cumulates long-term cognitive assets.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the rapid development of e-commerce, the

marketing methods for products are constantly

evolving. Digital advertising, as a classic marketing

tool, has dominated consumers' brand awareness and

purchase decisions over the past few decades.

However, in recent years, live-streaming shopping, as

an emerging digital marketing method, has risen

rapidly and changed consumers' shopping habits by

virtue of its immediate interaction, strong immersion,

and social dissemination effects. Digital advertising

is no longer confined to the Internet but is

disseminated through various media. This fluidity is

reflected in the fact that advertisements can appear on

multiple channels such as TV, mobile phones, and

smart devices, and even be encountered

unconsciously (Hou, 2022). The diversity and

personalization of online platforms require

innovative and personalized advertising content to

differentiate from other advertisements. Brands and

advertisers utilize big data technology to analyze user

data, precisely construct user profiles, and achieve

personalized advertising content delivery (An, 2024).

Live-streaming-based e-commerce can provide

consumers with an immersive experience, featuring

stronger interactivity and authenticity. Through real-

time exchanges between the hosts and consumers,

brand trust and purchase impulsiveness are enhanced,

influencing consumers' purchasing decisions. In the

marketing model of live-streaming-based e-

commerce, hosts attract audiences through real-time

interaction and emotional expression. This immersive

experience has a significant impact on consumers'

purchasing decisions. For instance, consumers may

be more influenced by the emotional communication

of celebrity hosts, while the communication of private

consumer goods may be more effective (Shi, Huang,

Lv, Hu, 2024). Purchase intention is the final

behavioral response formed by consumers during

live-streaming-based e-commerce. Through real-time

video streams and interactive segments, live-

streaming-based e-commerce creates a virtual

shopping environment for consumers, enabling them

to experience a shopping experience similar to that in

physical stores. This immersive experience can

enhance consumers' identification with the group

Han, J.

From Digital Advertising to Live Streaming for E-Commerce: The Impact of Content Marketing Transformation on Consumers’ Purchase Pathways.

DOI: 10.5220/0013988100004916

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication (PRMC 2025), pages 183-189

ISBN: 978-989-758-778-8

183

identity of the live-streaming room and their

compliance with the rules and moral standards of the

live-streaming room, thereby positively influencing

consumers' purchase intentions (Liu & Zhang, 2024).

However, at the same time, live-streaming-based e-

commerce also faces issues such as false promotion,

low-quality products, and impulsive consumption by

consumers, which contrasts sharply with the brand

image marketing model established by digital

advertising over the long term. Therefore, how

different marketing methods affect consumer

behavior, as well as the underlying psychological

mechanisms and economic effects, still warrant in-

depth research.

This research aims to explore the influence

mechanisms of digital advertising and live-streaming

e-commerce on consumer behavior. Taking Huaxizi

as an example, this study adopts the case analysis

method to investigate the impact of the

transformation of content marketing on consumers'

purchase paths. The case of Huaxizi is innovative,

typical and dynamic, which can comprehensively

reflect the full-chain influence of content marketing

from dissemination to conversion. The interactive

relationship between its strategic adjustments in the

new media environment and the changes in consumer

behavior provides a multi-dimensional analytical

perspective for the research.

2 BRAND INTRODUCTION OF

HUAXIZI (FLEUR DE SI)

Hua Xizi is a domestic cosmetics brand centered on

Eastern aesthetics. HuaXiZi adheres to the concept of

"Eastern makeup, nourished by flowers", and is

committed to integrating Eastern culture with modern

cosmetics technology. The brand name is derived

from the line "If you want to compare West Lake to

Xi Zi, the light makeup and heavy makeup are always

in harmony", aiming to inherit and promote the

beauty of Eastern culture (Chen, 2024).

HuaXiZi's products are mainly characterized by

natural ingredients, with floral essence and Chinese

herbal ingredients as the core. They are suitable for

the skin types and makeup needs of Eastern women.

The product design of HuaXiZi integrates elements of

traditional Chinese culture and intangible cultural

heritage, such as floral elements (peony, water lily,

etc.), architectural elements (windows, concentric

locks, bridges, screens, etc.) and craft elements (relief

carving, silver-making techniques, etc.). The use of

these elements not only demonstrates the brand's

respect and inheritance of traditional Chinese culture

but also enhances the cultural connotation and artistic

value of the products (Zhu, 2024). Products like the

concentric lock lipstick, Jade Nourishing Loose

Powder, and the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to

the Phoenix Eye Shadow Palette not only perform

well in terms of functionality but also showcase the

profound depth of Eastern culture through exquisite

designs.

HuaXiZi achieved market breakthrough during its

brand's early stage with "Airy Powder" as its strategic

product. Its success stems from the synergy of precise

differentiation positioning and innovative marketing

strategies. In terms of product design, the brand

constructed a visual barrier through the design based

on Eastern aesthetics - the powder packaging

incorporated the relief patterns of the West Lake

umbrella and the celadon glaze color, and was

complemented by the powder box lid engraved with

silver craftsmanship. This transformed traditional

cultural symbols into highly recognizable consumer

symbols. Meanwhile, relying on the micron-level

powder particle grinding technology of international

supply chain giants such as Kao of Japan, the brand

achieved an industry breakthrough with a powder

quality as fine as 5.5 microns, breaking consumers'

stereotypical impression of domestic cosmetics with

"premium quality and domestic price". In marketing,

HuaXiZi pioneered the transformation of top-tier

live-streamers into product experience officers.

LiJiaqi conducted visual evaluations such as "powder

cloud floating experiment" and "24-hour makeup

retention challenge", replacing traditional one-way

advertising output with "empirical marketing", and

boosting the repurchase rate of this product to 38% in

2019 alone. This deep binding not only led to an

explosive growth of 120 million yuan in sales in the

first year but also completed the transformation from

traffic dividends to brand assets through 3-4 times of

high-frequency exposure per month.

The purchasers who bought through the live-

streaming rooms are mainly from first-tier and new

first-tier cities. These regions have high internet

penetration rates and strong consumption capabilities.

Consumers in these areas have a high acceptance of

Chinese cultural trends and are more inclined to shop

through emerging channels such as live-streaming.

The characteristics of small weight and high unit

price make the consumers of this product need to have

certain economic capabilities. The purchasers are

mostly from the upper-middle income group and can

PRMC 2025 - International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication

184

accept domestic products at the "light luxury" price

range. The purchase behavior of consumers of

Huaxizi is often emotionally bound with "supporting

domestic products". The brand strengthens cultural

identity through concepts such as "Oriental

aesthetics" and "Chinese cultural trends", attracting

young people who resonate with traditional culture.

The live-streaming rooms' limited-time discounts and

the talkativeness of the hosts make consumers place

orders quickly by taking advantage of the scarcity

effect and the psychology of immediate satisfaction.

In addition, consumers are easily influenced by the

recommendations of the hosts and the atmosphere of

the live-streaming rooms, and exhibit herd behavior.

3 ANALYSIS OF HUAXIZI'S

DIGITAL MARKETING

STRATEGY

3.1 Digital Advertising

Under the digital advertising marketing model,

consumers are more likely to be in a passive receiving

state, and the matching degree between the advertising

content and users' demands is relatively low. Taking

Huaxizi as an example, in digital advertising

marketing, it mainly conducts brand promotion and

product promotion through social media, short-video

platforms, etc. For instance, the official account of

Huaxizi on Douyin attracts users' attention and

interaction by posting contents such as product

introductions, usage tutorials, and brand stories.

However, due to the passivity of digital advertising,

consumers may not be interested in these advertising

contents, resulting in poor advertising effects.

Secondly, consumers need to go through multiple

steps from seeing an advertisement to completing a

purchase, such as "clicking on the advertisement -

jumping to the page - browsing details - adding to cart

and making payment", which leads to a relatively high

average churn rate. After seeing an advertisement on

social media or short-video platforms, if consumers

are interested in the product, they need to click on the

purchase link, jump to the e-commerce platform page,

browse the product details, and finally make the

purchase. During this process, consumers may give up

purchasing due to slow page loading speed, unclear

product information, or complex payment procedures.

Even if they are interested, they cannot get immediate

answers to questions about product efficacy,

applicable scenarios, etc., resulting in a decision

interruption. In contrast, the live-streaming e-

commerce model, through real-time interaction and

scenario-based display, can better address these

issues and increase the purchase conversion rate of

consumers.

3.2 Live-Streaming for Product

Promotion

Under the marketing model of live-streaming e-

commerce, the cooperation between Huaxizi and Li

Jiaqi has further enhanced the brand's popularity and

influence. Based on consumers' interest in Chinese-

style makeup, they actively choose to follow Huaxizi's

live-streaming room. During the live-streaming

process, Huaxizi uses scene-based construction to

shift consumers' attention from product functions to

usage experience and emotional value. For instance,

Huaxizi showcases the product's usage effects in

various scenarios during the live-streaming, such as

daily makeup and ancient-style imitation makeup,

enabling consumers to more intuitively feel the charm

of the product.

The embedded purchase links in Li Jiaqi's live

streaming rooms have significantly shortened the

conversion path, making it more convenient for

consumers to purchase products. During the live

streaming process, consumers can directly click on the

links to purchase the products they are interested in.

This seamless shopping experience has greatly

increased the purchase conversion rate. In addition, Li

Jiaqi uses the real-time chat box interaction

mechanism to provide personalized answers

promptly, effectively eliminating consumers' doubts.

In the live streaming, he elaborates on the features and

usage methods of the products and provides real-time

answers to consumers' questions, enhancing

consumers' trust and purchase intention.

The collaboration between Li Jiaqi and HuaXiZi

not only manifests in sales but also extends to the

design, research and development, and marketing

promotion stages of the products. For instance, LiJiaqi

helped the brand improve its products by sharing live-

streaming data with it, thereby enhancing the brand's

connection with consumers. This in-depth cooperation

enabled HuaXiZi to better meet consumers' demands

and further enhance the brand's market

competitiveness.

3.3 Content Marketing

HuaXiZi has integrated its products into stories

through creating advertisements with cultural

From Digital Advertising to Live Streaming for E-Commerce: The Impact of Content Marketing Transformation on Consumers’ Purchase

Pathways

185

connotations, quietly seizing users' minds. For

instance, its advertisement "Zhang Chong's Eyebrow

Painting" incorporates the lipstick "Tongxin Lock"

and the eyebrow pencil "Luo Da Shenghua" into the

story, endowing the products with profound cultural

atmosphere. In terms of brand asset marketing,

HuaXiZi launched a virtual image of the brand with

the same name to showcase "Oriental Beauty", which

is helpful for reaching users in the secondary circle.

Besides, the brand also tied up with intangible

cultural heritage and traditional art, launched

documentaries such as "Impression High-end

Design", enhancing the brand's cultural connotation.

It also collaborated with creators like Fang Wenshan

and Zhou Shen to create the brand theme song

"HuaXiZi", further enhancing the brand's cultural

connotation. HuaXiZi also used brand stories and

cultural connotations for advertising promotion. For

example, through the short film "Not Ordinary

Intangible Cultural Heritage", it showcased the

combination of the brand and traditional culture, and

launched theme advertisements and micro films such

as "Again, the Color of National Beauty", conveying

the brand's concepts and cultural values through

storytelling. In terms of cross-border collaborations,

HuaXiZi cooperated with Hanfu brand Sanzexiong

Meng to launch pink-toned Hanfu with a national

style, collaborated with "Honor of Kings" to launch

makeup products with a national style, and

collaborated with "Hua Mulan" to launch ancient-

style makeup imitation. Through these cross-border

collaborations, HuiaXiZi continuously expanded its

brand influence and realized the innovative

inheritance of traditional culture. HuaXiZi's content

marketing, through various strategies such as brand

stories and cultural connotations, successfully

enhanced brand awareness and user stickiness, and

also achieved the inheritance and innovation of

Chinese traditional culture.

4 THE INFLUENCE OF HUXIZI'S

DIGITAL MARKETING

STRATEGIES ON

CONSUMERS' PURCHASING

DECISIONS

Huaxizi's digital marketing strategy influences

consumers' purchasing decisions in an all-round way

through various means such as influencer promotion,

user recommendations, multi-channel promotion,

channel strategies, data-driven approaches, content

marketing, promotional activities, brand value

transmission, social media interaction and e-

commerce live streaming.

The influence of influencer's product promotion

and user reviews on consumers' purchase decisions is

significant, accounting for 24.93% and 20.29%

respectively. The digital marketing methods through

which influencers and users recommend products

have a notable impact on consumers' purchase

intentions (He, 2024). 59.42% of the respondents

indicated that they would recommend Huaxizi to

others, suggesting that digital marketing strategies

have played a positive role in forming positive

reviews (He, 2024).

The extensive promotion of Huaxizi on new media

channels such as Tiktok and Rednote has increased

the brand's visibility and the purchasing opportunities

for consumers. The willingness to participate in

offline activities is relatively high, with 53.98% of the

respondents willing to attend Huaxizi's offline

activities (Wu, 2023). This indicates that offline

activities can provide a more direct brand experience,

deepen consumers' understanding and affection for

the brand, and thereby influence their purchasing

decisions. The official online flagship store is the

mainstream choice for consumers to purchase

Huaxizi products, accounting for 48.59% (Wu, 2023).

This shows that in digital marketing strategies, the

construction and optimization of online channels

have an important impact on consumers' purchasing

decisions.

Huaxizi uses data to explain the ingredients,

functions and features of its products. For instance, it

uses a skin moisture tester to demonstrate the

moisturizing effect of the products and provides

specific data such as the retention time of makeup

(Xie, 2022). This data-driven marketing approach can

directly show the advantages of the products to

consumers, enhance their trust in the products, and

thereby influence their purchasing decisions.

Additionally, Huaxizi attracts potential customers by

posting high-quality content related to the products on

social media, such as product usage tutorials and user

reviews, helping them make more informed

purchasing decisions.

Huaxizi stimulates consumers' desire to purchase

by conducting promotional activities on social media,

such as time-limited discounts and coupon

distribution. These promotional activities can attract

consumers' attention and participation, thereby

influencing their purchasing decisions. Meanwhile,

Huaxizi conveys brand stories and values through

social media to establish emotional connections with

PRMC 2025 - International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication

186

consumers and enhance their brand recognition,

which in turn affects their purchasing decisions.

Huaxizi has achieved brand exposure and attracted

consumers' attention through cross-border

collaborations with brands in other fields, such as

Lushaojiu, Sanzhe Meng, Yanglu, and Geaya

Legend. These collaborations have an impact on

consumers' purchasing decisions (Zhang, 2022).

Cross-border co-branded products often possess

uniqueness and innovation, which can stimulate

consumers' curiosity and purchasing desires.

Moreover, Huaxizi adheres to the principle of user co-

creation in research and development, involving

consumers in the product design and feedback

process to enhance the market adaptability of the

products and strengthen consumers' identification

with the brand, thereby influencing their purchasing

decisions.

Huaxizi actively interacts with consumers on

social media platforms such as Weibo. By posting

content related to consumers' lives, such as festival

greetings and sharing of seasonal makeup looks, it has

shortened the distance between the brand and

consumers and enhanced consumers' trust and loyalty

towards the brand. This interactive marketing strategy

helps consumers obtain more product information

and convert communication and interaction into

actual purchasing power. In addition, Huaxizi

collaborates with well-known e-commerce anchors

like Li Jiaqi for product promotion and sales during

live broadcasts. The interactivity and immediacy of

live broadcasts can quickly attract consumers'

attention and influence their purchasing decisions

through the recommendations and demonstrations of

the anchors.

5 THE DIGITAL MARKETING OF

HUAXIZI HAS CONTRIBUTED

TO THE BRAND BUILDING

Digital advertising can be widely exposed. Brands

can use digital advertising to attract traffic to live

broadcasts and preheat the audience, thus achieving a

closed-loop of "advertising exposure - live broadcast

conversion". High-quality advertising content can

remain on social media for a long time and

continuously influence users' minds. By re-

distributing live broadcast content, it is possible to

convert live broadcast clips into digital

advertisements, extending the content's lifecycle and

creating a snowball effect of "live broadcast e-

commerce - advertising seeding".

The user groups and content styles on different

platforms vary. Brands need to choose the appropriate

platforms based on their own positioning and target

audience. Taking Xiaohongshu as an example, the

user group of this platform is mainly composed of

young women, who have a strong interest in beauty,

fashion and lifestyle content. Beauty brands can place

digital advertisements on Xiaohongshu and adopt

forms such as influencer posts and videos to shape

their brand image and attract the attention of the target

audience. When conducting live streaming for

product sales, they can leverage the influence of

platform influencers. Invite them to conduct product

trial live streaming. By leveraging the fan base of the

influencers and the traffic advantages of the platform,

they can achieve short-term sales conversion.

Live-streaming for e-commerce can effectively

attract consumers to make purchases and provide

them with purchase channels for products that are

popular among the public, have low unit prices and

short decision-making time, such as cosmetics,

clothing and food. However, for high-priced goods

like cars and real estate, live-streaming for e-

commerce cannot directly and effectively increase

sales. Such goods require more detailed

understanding and more decision-making time. But

through the live-streaming platform, the hosts can

provide consumers with clear introductions, and

combined with digital advertising, consumers can

have a preliminary understanding of them.

In the field of live-streaming e-commerce, public

welfare activities and environmental protection

concepts are gradually becoming important leverage

points for brand image building. In terms of public

welfare, brands can donate part of their sales revenue

to public welfare undertakings, or collaborate with

public welfare organizations to jointly carry out

public welfare activities. By leveraging the

dissemination power of digital advertising, they can

widely publicize these public welfare measures and

enhance the brand's public welfare image and sense

of social responsibility. In terms of environmental

protection, the entire process from product design to

production and sales should adhere to the

environmental protection concept, such as using

environmentally friendly materials, reducing

packaging waste, and minimizing the negative impact

on the environment. At the same time, actively

promoting environmental protection concepts during

live-streaming can guide consumers to pay attention

From Digital Advertising to Live Streaming for E-Commerce: The Impact of Content Marketing Transformation on Consumers’ Purchase

Pathways

187

to environmental issues and shape the brand's positive

image in the field of environmental protection.

6 CONCLUSION

This study, through a case analysis of Huaxizi,

demonstrates that it has constructed a marketing

ecosystem that integrates digital advertising and live-

streaming e-commerce, achieving synergy between

product and effectiveness. This has verified the

complementary value of the two models in brand

building and sales conversion. Live-streaming e-

commerce focuses on real-time interaction and

immersive experience, relying on the trust

endorsement of top host Li Jiaqi, and shortening the

consumer decision-making path through the Pink

Cloud experiment, quickly achieving sales explosion

- the first-year sales of Air Powder exceeded 120

million yuan, especially suitable for high-experience

product categories. Digital advertising strengthens

brand cultural identity through Eastern aesthetic

narrative and precise targeting. The synergy of the

two models is manifested in content linkage and

technology empowerment. At the content level, the

advertisement pre-emptively promotes and attracts

consumers, and the live-streaming clips are re-

distributed for secondary dissemination to form

grass-roots promotion materials; at the technical

level, data interoperability optimizes the placement

strategy, ultimately building a growth loop of grass-

roots promotion - conversion - repeat purchase. This

model retains the brand penetration power of digital

advertising while fully leveraging the immediate

conversion advantage of live-streaming e-commerce,

becoming a typical paradigm for new consumption

brands to break through.

Based on this research, suggestions are proposed

for enterprises' marketing strategies. Enterprises can

choose appropriate marketing methods based on the

target audience and product characteristics. For high

decision-making cost products, it is recommended to

build brand potential mainly through digital

advertising, and convey craftsmanship value through

documentary-style content, such as the documentary

"Non-ordinary Intangible Cultural Heritage" of

Huaxizi, showcasing the brand's inheritance and

innovation of traditional craftsmanship and shaping a

high-end image. At the same time, it is suggested to

use limited edition live streaming to convert core

users and leverage the interactivity and scarcity of

live streaming to stimulate purchasing desires. For

fast-moving consumer goods and experiential

products, it is recommended to prioritize live

streaming for product promotion. By leveraging the

evaluations of live-streaming hosts and time-limited

promotions, sales can be ignited, such as the "Pink

Cloud Experiment" and "24-hour Makeup Wearing

Challenge" of Li Jiaqi's live streaming room. Through

professional recommendations and time-limited

discounts from live-streaming hosts, product sales

can be rapidly increased. At the same time, through

short-video advertisements, product memory points

can be strengthened, such as the tutorials and user

reviews of Huaxizi on platforms like TikTok and

Rednote, helping consumers quickly understand

product features and enhancing brand recognition.

The core of future research will focus on

technology empowerment and refined audience

operation. On one hand, enterprises integrate AI and

VR technologies to create immersive marketing

scenarios, breaking through the experience

boundaries of traditional media. On the other hand,

enterprises need to deeply analyze the generational

behavioral differences of consumers and then design

marketing strategies that are adapted to them. This

will help solve the growth bottleneck and achieve a

qualitative upgrade in marketing efficiency.

REFERENCES

An, N. 2024. Exploration of characteristics and marketing

strategies of advertising communication in the new era.

News Culture Construction (19): 195-197.

Chen, R. 2024. Research on the product marketing strategy

of Huaxizi cosmetics. Modern Marketing (23): 60-62.

He, X.Y. 2024. Analysis of Hua Xizi's marketing strategies

in the context of new media platforms. Jiangxi Normal

University.

Hou, Y. 2022. Research on the cross-border forms and

communication of online advertising. China Radio and

Television Journal (01): 61-63.

Liu, Y.Q., & Zhang, Z.N. 2024. Research on the

influencing factors of the impact of e-commerce live

streaming interaction on consumers' purchase intention.

News and Communication Review (06): 115-124.

Shi, W.H., Huang, L.N., Lv, T.J., & Hu, M.Y. 2024. The

impact of host emotional communica-tion and

cognitive communication on consumers' live-purchase

behavior in e-commerce live streaming. Management

Review (05): 113-125.

Wu, Z.H. 2023. Research on the brand communication

strategies of cosmetics e-commerce brands from the

perspective of integrated marketing. Soochow

University.

PRMC 2025 - International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication

188

Xie, J.W. 2022. Research on Huaxizi brand marketing

strategies. Zhongnan University of Economics and

Law.

Zhang, H.Y. 2022. Research on the innovative

communication strategies of domestic beauty brand

"Huaxizi". Nanning Normal University.

Zhu, Z.Z. 2024. Research on visual marketing strategies of

Huaxizi, a domestic makeup brand. Exhibition

Economy (04): 72-75.

From Digital Advertising to Live Streaming for E-Commerce: The Impact of Content Marketing Transformation on Consumers’ Purchase

Pathways

189