LIVE STREAM SHOPPING

 LIVE STREAM SHOPPING – POTENTIAL OPTION

Post Covid , the uncertainty of business for brands, retail and trade, the option to look for survival and sustaining business could be “LIVE STREAM SHOPPING”. Though it is well established in South Korea and China, in India it is still to grow but strategically it can make a strong base in the country, where covid fear factor would dominate the coming days and India having a large population of mobile users. Live stream shopping is a union of streaming video and e commerce.  Alibaba, Taobao are important players in this arena. This combines live video and real time customer interaction, transforms reality and addresses customer quotient. It’s a platform of live video with seamless online shopping experience, having ultimate engagement and conversation. It’s a mix of content marketing, influencer marketing, entertainment videos and encouraging participation.

The process is live, rather than earlier uploaded videos. The host on the live shopping sells the product in real time. The host acts as a model or demonstrator and shows off the product , details and explains and talks of the various facts, figures, functionality, features and usage of the product. Micro level demonstration is conducted to impress and convince the viewer. Highly interactive contents are displayed and potential buyers have the option of leaving a comment or asking questions. The host can see and address the comment or answer the questions. Promotions could be run but live and applicable till the stream. The host could be a professional, influence marketer, celebrity or a model. Corporate and companies have started initiating this option to promote their products. The process could be done from a physical store, so that the shop gets promoted or home or a comfortable location.

The buyer or viewer is at advantage and comfort as he can engage with the host from his own location and understand details he wants to know, be it price, material, shipping details, size, product functionality, features, return policy, warranty/guarantee or packaging. This experience could be as satisfying as,  if not more than physical shopping. All this, with the comfort of no travel, less time and energy spent and option to see new and additional products. It’s a social and interactive solution, to customers concerns of fear factor (covid), detailing factor, conversation factor, reliability factor and confidence factor. In the west Live Streaming is popular in the gaming and entertainment sector. In fact Maybelline had launched a Live Streaming campaign to promote its new Lipstick line few years back and broad casted it on nine popular platforms and reached across millions of people and successfully sold 10,000 pieces in two hours.

Once a buyer is convinced and makes up his mind to buy, the seamless transaction to e commerce takes place. The click link available activates the selection, billing, payment, logistics, home delivery and customer service options to make the whole transaction seamless, hassle free and a delightful experience.  This is a Pseudo “in store” shopping experience PLUS…. A potential strategy to scale up business and sustain the present adversities