Mums go live: Meet three women in Singapore making a living from live-streaming at home
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(From left) Live streamers Natalia Rajahmany, Elaine Heng and Joyce Mak.
ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR, GIN TAY, SARAH LEE
- Live commerce is booming in Singapore, offering flexible working from home for women and mothers with 10x higher conversion rates than traditional e-commerce (DBS).
- Singapore's social commerce reached US$2.5 billion in 2024, projected to grow significantly, attracting a largely female audience for products like beauty and fashion.
- Live-streaming is gig economy work, demanding constant online visibility, personal branding, and resilience, with women potentially facing harassment and scrutiny (SUSS).
AI generated
SINGAPORE – It is a different kind of working from home (WFH).
At a time when most people have returned to the workplace – doffing, many with reluctance, the hybrid work arrangements of the pandemic – live-streaming and e-commerce are booming, extending a particular appeal for women and mothers.
Research by DBS notes that live commerce, where live-streaming is combined with online shopping, has conversion rates 10 times higher than those of traditional e-commerce.
The DBS report on the bank’s website, titled Live Commerce: Retail’s Next Chapter, notes that platforms such as Shopee Live and Lazada Live, and social media channels such as TikTok Live and Instagram Live, use interactive tools like flash sales and gamification to “drive impulse purchases”.
Social commerce in Singapore, which includes live commerce, reached US$2.5 billion (S$3.2 billion) in 2024 and is expected to continue to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 15.6 per cent until 2030, the DBS report adds. Social commerce is the process of selling products and services directly within social media platforms.
Ms Joanne Chen, 43, founder of EzHub, a business whose services include training live streamers and e-commerce development and distribution, says that live-streaming suits mothers with caregiving responsibilities, as “you can work on the phone and laptop even if you have your child with you”.
Mr Eric Tan, a lecturer at the School of Business Management at Nanyang Polytechnic, adds that, while “mothers and homemakers form a noticeable segment of live streamers in Singapore, the audience for livestream commerce is also largely female, particularly women in their late 20s to 50s”.
Products commonly sold include beauty products, fashion, household items, food, baby products, lifestyle goods and affordable daily essentials, he says.
“Female live streamers often perform well; authenticity and relatability are key factors in building trust and gaining repeat customers,” Mr Tan says.
Live-streaming with a view to sales conversions and income generation, however, is part of the gig economy, which has less established processes than mainstream work.
Mr Tan says: “Traditional WFH arrangements usually involve formal employment, fixed salaries, employee benefits and defined deliverables set by the company. Live-streaming from home, however, is more similar to freelance or self-employed work.
“Income depends heavily on personal effort, audience engagement and platform algorithms. Live streamers are also constantly ‘visible’ online, which means that they have to manage their appearance, communication style and personal branding while working.”
Associate Professor Dianna Chang from the School of Business at Singapore University of Social Sciences, notes that live-streaming typically requires one to smile and “entertain” other people for hours to keep them engaged, which can be exhausting.
Women may also experience “harassment and appearance-based scrutiny” online, she says.
While acknowledging how live-streaming can lead to creative fulfilment, income growth and greater digital savvy, she urges live streamers to build emotional resilience and establish firm boundaries to maintain a sense of privacy and autonomy.
Live-stream mum learns to block out trolls and not overshare
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Three months after she started live-streaming on TikTok in 2024, Ms Natalia Rajahmany, 34, changed her profile name owing to the negativity she encountered.
She recalls how she would start her TikTok Live in a good mood, but it would quickly get derailed by comments posted by strangers.
“Why don’t you get a full-time job?”, “Why don’t you wash plates at the coffee shop?”, “I know why your husband left you” and “Your son is autistic because of you” were some of the nasty comments she received.
Talking too much while live-streaming caused her voice to change
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Ms Elaine Heng sounds hoarse.
She has been “talking too much”, she says, while live-streaming for the past few days for TikTok’s 5.5 campaign, a huge retail sale on the platform in early May.
“Before I started doing live-streaming, my voice was not like this. It was higher-pitched,” she says.
Grappling with pay cut, tech skills and isolation to pursue her passion for cooking
ST PHOTO: SARAH LEE
In the open kitchen that Ms Joyce Mak, 51, custom-built to pursue her dreams, a mirror next to the stove is partly covered by aluminium foil.
The 60cm by 30cm metallic sheet hides any reflection of the living room in her HDB flat, which ensures that the privacy of her family is respected, she says.
“There are only certain areas of my home that I’m comfortable showing on screen. This is a challenge many stay-at-home mums face: whether live streaming will affect the family and cause conflict,” says the live streamer and content creator, who goes live on TikTok when her husband and 20-year-old son are not at home.
