<p>Live streaming e-commerce involves the streamer promoting the product, which can be a single person or multiple individuals. Based on the person-positivity bias theory and group size effect, this paper explores the impact of single-streamer and multi-streamer live streams on the audience retention rate. We recorded 4,485&#xa0;min of video data on TikTok, then used Baidu API to determine whether each minute featured a single streamer or multiple streamers. The results show that multiple (vs. single) streamers on screen have a negative impact on the audience retention rate, especially in rooms with a small (vs. large) number of fans and in influencer (vs. brand) live rooms. However, when multiple streamers form a coherent and united team, the negative effect of the multi-streamer strategy disappears. This study provides valuable insights for firms in deciding whether to employ a single streamer or multiple streamers for their live streaming e-commerce strategy, and under what conditions multiple streamers are beneficial.</p>