Online shopping has become a go-to for modern customers with busy schedules and little downtime. They are more than happy to embrace the convenience of shopping from the comfort of their couch. This development has made the ecommerce market fiercely competitive, especially in online spaces. The race to attract customers has given rise to the trend of live shopping.
The live shopping trend first emerged in Asia and is now steadily gaining popularity on a global level. By 2026, the US livestream shopping market is projected to be valued at $68 billion. A live shopping event combines the best aspects of both online and offline shopping, elevating the otherwise mundane task to a meaningful and enjoyable experience that can foster long-term trust.
Not to mention, tactics like live shopping can boost your business’s customer experience (CX). This blog will be a deep dive into live shopping, its benefits, challenges, and best practices.
What is Live Shopping?
With its roots in livestreaming, live shopping is one of the marketing strategies that is expanding rapidly across all industries. In these shopping events, a presenter showcases items and viewers can purchase these items in real-time
The concept is very close to Home Shopping Network infomercials. Live shopping has simply revamped the same formula to work efficiently in the current digital landscape.
Live shopping can take place in a variety of ways, but it mostly happens on websites and social media platforms where brands can engage with consumers and target a specific audience. While these events are hosted by businesses or influencers, common people can also hold their own live shopping events thanks to services like Amazon Live.
How Does it Work?
A good live shopping experience consists of four key elements – Platform, host, products, and high-quality video content.
A live shopping event can take place on your business’s website or mobile app, on social media, or on native live shopping platforms. More e-commerce sites are beginning to embrace live shopping thanks to its explosive potential. Live shopping events usually target a primarily Millennial and Gen Z audience. Hence, they are featured on e-commerce sites like Amazon as well as social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook Live.
During a livestream, one or more people usually present products by trying them on, demonstrating how to use them, outlining their advantages, or giving guidance on how to get the most out of them. These hosts can be your employees or trusted influencers. Viewers of the livestream can engage with the host(s) regarding products or ask questions that will help them select the best product for their needs.
Viewers can see and click on links to products mentioned in the livestream around the video screen; these links typically appear as pinned comments, pop-ups, or sidebars. Depending on the platform, customers have the option to view and purchase products directly from the interface or be directed to the brand’s website to complete the transaction.
The best livestream shopping shows use giveaways, rewards, and special pricing to create a sense of urgency and excitement among their viewers. Longer livestream events that last up to 25–30 minutes typically have higher viewership than shorter ones.
Benefits of Live Shopping
Increased Engagement: real-time, genuine interactions promote organic sharing and boost brand recognition.
Improved Customer Experience: Customers feel heard and valued when they can engage and interact with your business. This enables you to enjoy heightened consumer loyalty.
Generate Instant Sales: You can generate instant sales on underperforming products by showcasing them live and giving incentives like exclusive discounts.
Higher Conversion Rates: Given that users who are participating in live shopping events are already intending to shop and make purchases, using this feature usually yields higher conversion rates.
How Can You Deliver the Best Live Shopping Experience?
- Understand Your Target Audience
Before kickstarting the livestream shopping event, conduct thorough research on your target audience and gain insights into their needs to determine the platform you should use, the products you should promote, etc.
- Plan Engaging Sessions
It is important that you use the live event to engage with your audience and provide value. You can choose to host events that are based around::
- Q&A Sessions: By responding to questions from your audience, you can build trust.
- Product Releases: Your audience will feel more a part of your organization and will be more invested if they are the first to learn about a particular product.
- Tutorials: These sessions can serve as guidance to help potential customers understand your products even better.
As a business owner, it is up to you to choose the best format for your live shopping events, but any one of the above choices will help customers relate to you on a personal level.
- Market the Event
Create buzz across your channels ahead of your live shopping event. You can make posts on your socials, run ads, and offer incentives like discounts and giveaways to encourage your audience to sign up for the event.
- Choose A Suitable Platform
Make sure to choose a platform that is accessible to your target audience by researching their regulation and accessibility in your country. It is also important to choose a platform that the majority of your target audience frequents.
- Build the Right Strategy
Planning and strategic vision are key to interacting with a community of buyers. Keep in mind that livestream shopping is a sales channel in and of itself. It is an experience that includes the whole buying journey. Best practices to keep in mind include the following:
- Keep ecommerce marketing tactics in mind. Plan compelling marketing initiatives to spark curiosity before the event.
- Interact with your community and oversee discussions by outlining and communicating ground rules during the event.
- Post live shopping and on-demand video content on product pages to attract new viewers after the event.
Key Takeaways
Making online shopping more fluid and integrated across channels is key to the future of e-commerce. Live shopping can boost engagement, growth, and long-term benefits for your e-commerce business, regardless of whether you decide to livestream independently or in collaboration with social media personalities.
Live shopping provides authenticity, personalization, and genuine conversations with your customers, which translates into increased sales, loyalty, and trust. Needless to say, trying live shopping for your business can significantly boost your customer experience (CX). You can either hire dedicated resources to manage your customer experience or you can collaborate with an experienced and reliable company that can take care of it for you.
