What is Chinese Douyin Life Services? What is the difference between DOU+ and Local Promotion?

What is Douyin Life Services?

It refers to turning local dining, entertainment, and leisure offerings into group-buy deals and vouchers that are sold on Douyin. How are they promoted? Through short videos, live streams, and store detail pages.

So, what’s the difference between DOU+ and Local Push?

① Target Audience

DOU+ serves all content creators, while Local Push is exclusively designed for local businesses.

② User Behavior Targeting

DOU+ primarily targets users based on their interests. For example, if you’re in the food industry, DOU+ will recommend your content to users who enjoy watching food-related videos. In contrast, Local Push targets users who have previously purchased food vouchers or group deals.

③ Ad Type

Local Push is a bidding-based advertising product, while DOU+ is not.

④ Advertising Strategy

Local Push allows advertisers to customize audience demographics, products, creatives, bids, and more. DOU+, on the other hand, focuses more on content-based promotion.

⑤ Content Style

Local Push supports hard-selling ads with a stronger commercial intent, while DOU+ is more aligned with organic, discovery-driven content such as user-generated reviews and check-ins.

⑥ Ad Format

Local Push ads carry a clear “ad” label, whereas DOU+ promotions do not have explicit advertising tags.

⑦ Spending Threshold

Local Push requires a minimum prepaid deposit of ¥500, while DOU+ starts at just ¥100 and offers more flexible top-up options.

⑧ Time-Based Promotion

Local Push allows advertisers to schedule ads for specific time slots, a feature not available with DOU+.

As an internet tech company, Douyin doesn’t have the same deep-rooted merchant network as traditional local service platforms like Meituan. Therefore, maintaining consistent video content production and supporting merchants through their digital transformation remains a key challenge.

At a recent Douyin conference, a new possibility emerged:

First—Service Providers.

Douyin’s ecosystem operates under the idea that “content is king,” meaning high-quality content is essential for business growth. Over the past year, service providers have played a critical role in the rapid expansion of Douyin Life Services. On Douyin, consumption is heavily influenced by content.

Second—For merchants, promoting group-buy deals via live streams and short videos requires rich content and relatively high operational expertise. The transition to video-based marketing involves multiple steps: registering on the platform, selecting products for group deals, content planning, and influencer collaborations. As the saying goes, “leave it to the professionals.” Service providers act as a bridge, connecting merchants with the platform and simplifying the process.

In the era of “Internet+”, Douyin Life Services has become a new blue ocean for e-commerce businesses, thanks to its strong technical capabilities and superior user experience. According to Douyin, 25% of businesses on the platform are now operated through service providers—and that number continues to grow.