HANGZHOU, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Livestreaming is expected to help boost business in the world's leading small commodities market in east China's Zhejiang Province.

File photo: CGTN

Merchants at Yiwu International Trade Market will be trading next week via livestreaming on China's e-commerce platform Taobao amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to Taobao on Friday.

Selling goods through Taobao livestreaming has become a trendy practice. At present, more than 3,000 merchants at the market have begun selling their commodities through livestreaming to customers from around the world.

Merchant Huang Xianping started selling products via online broadcasting on Thursday. On messaging app WeChat, she wrote, "Livestreaming services provided by Taobao will definitely bring new opportunities to us merchants."

Through the livestreaming rooms, customers can not only see the products, but also save on travel expenses. In addition, selling goods through livestreaming platforms is more efficient for merchants.

According to Taobao, since February, the number of new broadcasters has increased tenfold compared to the same period of January. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people visit the learning platform "Taobao University" to improve their livestreaming skills on a daily basis.

On Feb. 25, Taobao will open a free online course to help merchants learn about online operations.

Dubbed as "the world's supermarket," Yiwu receives more than 550,000 overseas buyers and sells commodities to more than 210 countries and regions every year. It is home to the world's leading small commodities market. In 2019, there were more than 1.4 million non-natives and 15,000 overseas businesspeople in Yiwu.