Is Live Shopping Right for Your Business?

As technology drives shopper experiences, brands must look for new and innovative ways to reach the customer and make a connection.

What is live shopping?

Live shopping has its origins in Asian markets, and is fast becoming a staple in North America. You may also hear it called live stream shopping, social shopping, streamable shopping, and live commerce. The popularity of live shopping experiences comes from in part the entertainment value. Most feeds are hosted by an influencer or internet celebrity, and sometimes include movie or TV industry celebrities of a select country who are endorsing the product or brand.

As the host introduces the product, attendees have the ability to ask questions in real time and engage with other people watching the feed. Links are available to purchase the item or items without leaving the streaming service or app. In short, any product becomes a shoppable ad.

Who are the Leaders in the Live Shopping Platforms Space?

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch are often mentioned platforms currently supporting the live experience; however Amazon, NTWK, TalkShop, the Bambuser app, PopShop, and TaoBao are fast becoming live shopping platforms with a following.

Here are a few key livestream shopping statistics regarding live shopping and its growing buzzworthiness:

• Live video will be used for more than half of all shopping by this year
• People are spending an average of $500 per purchase on live-streamed items
• The most popular categories to shop include clothing, beauty products, and home

Would a Live Stream Experience Augment Your Business?

It depends. Consider the following: 

If you’re trying to reach a particular generation such as Gen Z or Millennials, you may want to consider offering a live shopping experience. It’s an excellent way to reach new customers who are craving both the social engagement or community of a live feed, and who consider influencers a form of social proof, instilling confidence in a brand or product. 

Do you have an existing presence on social media today with an influencer marketing budget and a plan? Investing in social commerce is a segue into live shopping experiences. Customers who follow you across social networks may be expecting or excited to see live stream shopping available and eager to buy with one click.

Maximize Social Commerce in Your eCommerce Strategy

How will you use social eCommerce to your advantage? For more resources on what’s trending and what the future holds, check out our resources on the Future of eCommerce.

Mastering Live Shopping With Multiple Geos, Brands, or Catalogs 

If you have certain complexities with your business, live shopping feeds can work in your favor. If you have multiple brands under one umbrella, you sell your products in different locations or perhaps multiple countries, you have an opportunity to create customized, even personalized content. 

By Geo or Region 

A livestreaming commerce feed helps target particular markets with tailored content for the region, such as content for North American versus European markets, or broken down by regions within a country. It’s also possible to offer personalized content based on your customer data, such as by invitation only sales or new product launches for loyal or rewards program customers. 

By Brand

Let’s say you’re an apparel retailer with multiple brands. A live feed shopping experience helps you refine the message to your audiences. You may distinguish the event by any number of customer segments or products such as outdoor apparel and accessories by season, footwear, or children’s clothing. Each feed can additionally have its own influencer closely aligned with the brand who resonates with those customers and builds consumer confidence.  

By Catalog 

Consider the possibilities of creating net new catalogs with the information you’ve gleaned from a live feed. You may discover from engagement during the feed that your customers have an interest in overstock items or a post-holiday refurbished items event. You can then take that information and build a specific catalog based on real customer demand. 

Post Show Offers

Benefits of the live feed extend out to the post-show experience. Consider an offer to attendees only such as a percentage discount or free shipping after a certain spend. For those who missed the event, consider a follow-up email describing what they missed. As I’ve mentioned before in blogs, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), is a powerful marketing tool when creating customer engagement and driving conversion. 

Knowing that your audience has interest in the product offering already is a leg up in conversion - you already know they intend to buy, it’s a matter of how much they will spend, and what you can do to increase AOV. 

Use Live Shopping to Differentiate 

As brands compete for market share, you’ll need every tool to set yourself apart from the competition. Another advantage of live shopping feeds is the low barrier to entry. Anyone interested in selling a product or service with an internet connection can in some way create a feed or shoppable opportunity. 

Even if your brand is not backed by an influencer shopping app at present, you still have the tools readily available to experiment with live shopping and scale according to your business plan.