Live shopping or social e-commerce happens on our social media platforms in real-time. How does it work? The brand or one of its influencers shares in real time what products are for sale, their benefits, and even the brand’s favourite products. It reminds us a bit of what we used to see back in time with telecommerce programs; the brand would deeply explain every product in each category.
Why should we consider using this tactic as a brand for holiday and after-holiday sales?
As mentioned in our “Consumer Trends 2022” report, by 2026, 60% of millennial and Gen Z consumers will prefer purchasing on social platforms over traditional digital commerce platforms.
TikTok, the pioneer in video format, is also a pioneer in live video formats. Live shopping surfs this wave of video content, generating the most powerful bond with the audience.
Live shopping brings closer the relationship between the brand and the influencer to the audience. When an influencer recommends a brand, customers experience real-time engagement with the brand. They believe the influencer, follow their recommendations and want what they have. Making it live gives the customer a chance to ask all their questions, get some inspiration and ideas and access the most authentic part of the brand. Thanks to this, customers shop smarter.
On the other hand, thanks to a live shopping experience, the influencer or the brand can give a more detailed review, giving the audience access to the behind-scenes of the brand.
This way they can learn about the values, their way of work and exciting and fun facts about the products.
“Nearly one-third of B2B and B2C organizations have included selling on social platforms as part of their digital commerce strategy — motivated by growing customer purchase activity on social channels. As e-tailers vie for market share, brands need to rethink the customer experience and how organizational design supports it.”
Charles Ruyant Global Head of Performance at Thyga. State of Influencer 2022
The impact of our influencers over live shopping
Social e-commerce is expanding fast and is accelerating influencers’ effect on the retail industry by raising the competition. According to RetailDive, 72% of consumers buy and consume influenced by something or somebody they saw on Instagram. Social e-commerce is rapidly evolving, and brands seek to capitalise on all the purchase avenues available. Even McKinsey estimates that by 2026, live stream commerce sales could account for as 20% of all e-commerce.
As said in our State of Influencer 2022, Live shopping represents the ultimate expression of retail and Influencer Marketing. The main benefit of live shopping is that it creates an actual real-time shopping experience in which customers and brands become closer. Live shopping allows customers to interact directly with the brand via live Q&As over products. Live shopping is an opportunity to share product details, demos and the ones on sale at that specific moment.
If we prioritise our relationship with influencers, we will be on the correct path to building a successful live shopping experience for our audience. Influencers already have their audience, and it’s an audience that believes in them. So, since viewers are already interested in what the influencer has to say, brands have a smaller gap to close when motivating their customer’s purchase decisions. Use the power of your influencer over its audience correctly.
Watch out! Some platforms have new ideas for their live shopping experience!
From YouTube to You
Three YouTubers have come together to celebrate the holiday season on Youtube. Their mission? Promote beauty products in a stimulating cosy cabin in the woods. But unlike these YouTubers’ typical edited content, this collaboration is broadcasted live for their fans. Opening a new era for Youtube, this unique action “From Youtube to you” opens the holiday shopping season and the expansion of the platform to the live shopping format.
POG Picks
Twitch is restoring its Pog Picks live shopping. Pog Picks, produced by Twitch’s Brand Partnership Studio and hosted by Twitch streamers, showcases products from editorial picks and brand sponsorships and encourages viewers to compete to win the products.
Types of POG Picks:
There are many different types of POG Picks. Holiday Hive, a POG Pick in the US, is a live, interactive game show hosted by streamers sharing products from brand sponsors to inspire viewers to buy during Black Friday and Cyber Monday or other Holiday dates such as Christmas.
The POG Pick MultEHevers is a three-hour livestream in Canada featuring viewers predicting the winners of streamer challenges. Brands like Samsung, Chromebook, Doritos and the Source sponsored the MultEHvers. The Black Friday Battle Deal showcases products and head-to-head gaming, where viewers can win sponsor prizes, giveaways, and Twitch gift subscriptions.
TalkShopLive
As we’ve seen in our State of Influencer Marketing 2022, TalkShopLive events statistically have three to nine times more sales than other online pre-orders with a 45% organic cart-to-purchase, so this new in-store experience makes total sense for the platform and the user. Now, the leading live shopping marketplace announces that it will offer customers the option for in-store pickup for the first time in partnership with Best Buy. The platform’s newest innovation eliminates costly shipping expenses while getting products to customers faster than any other live shopping marketplace. TalkShopLive’s in-store pickup is another step in creating a seamless shopping experience for live commerce consumers and connecting the retail landscape.
Inspired by Amazon
The Amazon in-app shop allows customers to discover ideas, explore products, and view content created by other customers, influencers, and brands they love. Just like a Tik Tok feed, Inspired features endless photos and videos that the user can swipe through, and once they see something they like, they can buy it with one click. This new in-app shop solves one of the biggest eCommerce websites, the absence of users. This new way of shopping will invite more customers to spend time on Amazon, though they will still have to compete with the other social media apps that offer more than just shopping experiences.