TikTok Inc.'s sister app in China, Douyin, capitalized on the growing popularity of livestreams during the world's largest shopping festival, Singles Day.

The Beijing Byte Dance Telecommunications Co. Ltd.-owned short video app recorded 18.7 billion Chinese yuan in transactions over a series of livestreamed events between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, a company spokesperson told S&P Global Market Intelligence. On Nov. 11 alone, Singles Day, Douyin saw 2 billion yuan in transactions, the person said.

Livestreamed events featured social media personalities with large online followings, known as influencers, and celebrities, who promoted products that could be purchased directly via the app.

Byte Dance created its e-commerce department in June 2020, and its rapid progress should concern rivals, analysts said.

The company launched livestreamed shopping shows during Singles Day 2019, but its app mainly functioned as an advertising portal for other shopping platforms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Taobao. In 2019, around 30% of buyers visiting Taobao's top merchants were taken to the site by clicking on links posted by Douyin streamers, according to a Nov. 11 DoNews report. Douyin blocked links to other e-commerce portals in September 2020, the report said.

"Taobao must worry about Douyin's rising e-commerce function," Lai Xingyu, an internet and e-commerce investment analyst who also works for video-streaming agency Weila, told S&P Global Market Intelligence. "It is obvious that Douyin, as well as its rival Kuaishou, aims to rake in market share in the online shopping sector," he added.

Douyin still has some catching up to do, though.

On the final day of online promotions, the most lucrative streamer on the platform sold over 80 million yuan's worth of products within four hours. During the first several days of the events, the streamer sold over 200 million yuan on Douyin.

In comparison, the top two streamers on Taobao's video streaming portal, Taobao Live, sold more than 550 million yuan on Nov. 1, the start of the Singles Day festival, 36kr reported.

"Taobao remains the leader in e-commerce sector as it has built up its kingdom for decades," Lai said. "But the future of the e-commerce will be for the platforms that attract young people," he said. Younger demographics will be the group who will spend more when they grow older, and now is the time to foster their consumption habits, according to Lai.

Douyin, Beijing Kuaishou Technology Ltd., Bilibili Inc. and Xiaohongshu are apps with live-streaming features that typically attract younger demographics.

Streaming e-commerce is a rapidly growing sector in China. The latest data from the country's Cyberspace Administration shows 32.9% of Chinese internet users were viewing livestreamed shopping content in June.

As of Nov. 12, US$1 was equivalent to 6.62 Chinese yuan.