JD.com enlists digital Richard Liu avatar in live commerce battle

HONG KONG -- Chinese online retailer JD.com has launched a digital avatar of its founder Richard Liu to be its live sales host as it fights for market share in live commerce, a thriving sector that the company has been struggling with.

In his debut live streaming sale on Tuesday evening, the digital Liu, dressed in a dark suit, promoted food and home appliances, and distributed digital coupons. He also announced a three-year plan to allocate resources worth 10 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) to subsidize agricultural products on JD's platform.