Live Shopping: Do they have a place in the future of eCommerce?

Live shopping videos have been the talk of the town for some time now. There are plenty who believe that it is likely that live shopping will play a role in how people all around the world shop. Tech giants announcing their plans to invest in it or to scale back contribute to the hype around it. It’s true that it is growing in Asia - where it all started. But looks like it is not the case in Europe or the US - it does not match the hype so far.?

So, let’s go one by one…

Live shopping still going strong in Asia

The trend has already reached a fever pitch in many parts of Asia. Campaignasia.com reports that plenty of people in China have already engaged in this type of consumerism:?

The emerging trend kicked off in China, where consumers could watch celebrities and influencers tout products, available for purchase with one click while communicating with each other and influencers through a chat feature. In 2020, two-thirds of Chinese consumers bought products via live streams, according to McKinsey Digital.?

On China's "Single's Day" (the same as Black Friday in America), live streams sold more than $6 billion worth of products in 2021. This was more than double the total from the year before.?

When you look at the numbers, actually you can easily see that live shopping surged in popularity in China right from the start. In 2016, Alibaba partnered with the online shopping business known as Taobao. The opportunity to watch live videos and shop at the same time was something that instantly appealed to a Chinese audience that has been able to increasingly enjoy consumer experiences in recent decades.

The power of influencers

A major part of what makes live shopping successful is the influencers who pitch products to their followers. There is certainly no argument that there is a shortage of influencers in the US and UK. However, even the Chinese-started TikTok has had trouble getting its users to adopt the concept of live shopping.?

A Chinese audience that is highly interested in following some of their favorite celebrities and online stars have gravitated towards looking at the videos that these individuals put out and getting shopping ideas and tips from those same people.?

Major American stars like Kim Kardashian have sprung into action to take advantage of the live shopping craze that has been sweeping China. She did so recently and was able to sell out of all 150,000 bottles of her $47 line of KKW fragrances within seconds of starting the video.

Big Tech dabbling in the? live shopping

The successful results in the Asian region and hype don't go unnoticed by the biggest players.

Although the program has an expected shutter date of October 1st, Meta did take a swing at offering live shopping options for its customers. It seems that it wasn't quite successful enough to continue on that platform at this time. And until last week, I’d say it seems that Meta is not ready to give up on the concept entirely at this point. But interestingly, Instagram is also “planning to drastically scale back its shopping features as it shifts the focus of its e-commerce efforts to those that directly drive advertising, the Information reported.”

Meta is not the only one that took a chance in live shopping. The eCommerce giant Amazon also has been using live shopping videos for some time. Apparently, they see part of the future of their platform as including short videos that encourage customers to purchase something that they might not otherwise have bought. TechCrunch even reports that the company is experimenting with a TikTok-like feature that they are putting directly on the app to create a somewhat more social experience for the shopping experience.

The last 2 years also saw investments by Kering to video shopping app Ntwrk, Gucci launching a personalized shopping offer, and so on. I can see the reason why behind these investments and experiments: The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the growth of live shopping even as other avenues of commerce were choked off. There were people who were locked up in their homes and unable to get out into the broader world. Many of them felt that they needed something to do to fill up their in-home hours. Needless to say, some of those people turned to online shopping to help satisfy their need to fill the hours and everybody thought the momentum created during the pandemic would continue in the long run.?

So, is live shopping the future of eCommerce?

I’d say no - at least, it would not be a valid statement for every part of the world. So far, there has been a somewhat muted response to efforts to offer live shopping in the United States and other Western countries. However, sometimes it will take a bit longer for something to catch on in a part of the world where it is not a native experience.

Retailbankerinternational.com details the stark difference in total revenue generated by live shopping in China compared to the United States:?

Livestream shopping experiences are expected to rake in $480bn in China this year, according to eMarketer. Conversely, their Stateside counterparts are only projected to top up their coffers with $11bn in 2022, according to Foresight Research.

Vogue Business reports only 29% of American shoppers made a purchase by video in comparison to 63% of consumers in China. I mean, think about it, how many purchases have you made through a live shopping experience?

Final thoughts: How will videos be a part of the shopping experience??

In a world every player is fighting for attention and consideration, you cannot expect consumers to sit and watch a long session of live streams to make a purchase. After all, isn’t it about keeping the attention on whatever it is that you are offering and driving the impulse? I’d say making the experience on-demand and offering it in shorter and snackable forms would result in higher chances of conversion.?

And if you think about it, these shoppable video experiences are much like infomercials on TV. But there is a difference: You can create interactive experiences and build a strong relationship with your mobile community in shoppable video content.?

Let’s see how things turn out and time will show if I’m right.?