Livestream Selling: Engaging with customers through live e-commerce

Live stream selling is the new phenomenon that is taking Asia by storm and looking to explode into the Western markets during 2021. The growing trend enables brands to use a live-video format to engage with viewers who can purchase the items in real-time. As livestream shopping becomes more prevalent across e-commerce platforms, items sold through this medium can benefit from ending up on the top-selling list.

What is Livestream Selling?

Although livestream selling is becoming more prominent in e-commerce, its format is reminiscent of QVC or other similar shopping channels, except now it’s integrated directly in your web browser or mobile device. Simply armed with an iPhone and internet connection, brands can now reach their audience at the touch of a button. There are also a growing number of apps that allow merchants to go live and link to their website, or simply upload your products into social media to talk about your items whilst having them instantly purchasable, making conversion far simpler. 

Live stream selling allows you to be more engaging and interactive with your audience and has been used across a variety of sectors to showcase products, from beauty and accessories, to second-hand cars and wood cabins. The live element provides the invaluable opportunity for brands to answer consumer questions in real-time, driving higher conversion rates for those that attend the events. Therefore, it is no surprise that key opinion leaders believe that live stream selling will be the fastest-growing media tool through 2021 and beyond. With an estimated 24 million+ e-commerce websites, the battle to stand out continues.

Who Can Benefit From Livestreaming?

Selling through livestreaming may become a more viable option for businesses as it becomes commonplace, so it is essential to consider how this may affect your brand’s ability to showcase products to customers in another arena.  Retailers who have been comparatively slow to adopt e-commerce may punch above their online weight with live selling. However, e-commerce platforms are indicating that the feature will become more influential in the way people shop online, with notable examples including Amazon Live. as well as Walmart’s partnership with TikTok, to create an in-app shopping experience to enable real-time purchases by customers.

Authenticity is a buzzword that has been around for a couple of years now. Consumers want to know who's behind the brand. In a world saturated with information, having that instant one-to-one feedback from your audience allows for greater credibility. Livestream selling allows brands to talk directly to their consumer, explain certain elements and key selling points of your product, and communicate passion. While this format has worked well for companies such as QVC, new technology opens up the doors for more users as an additional mode of selling. In January 2021, QVC themselves announced their launch on YouTube for the live selling funnel, with changing consumer behaviour away from traditional TV and the power of the internet providing the perfect opportunity. This is about shoppers, convenience, and rethinking shopping experience: whilst many will still prefer the physical interaction of retail, the click to checkout convenience is growing strong. 

A common mistake for brands is to also think that influencers are required for engaging with an audience via livestream. Often, consumers want passion, authenticity, and strong brand values. Livestream shopping arguably provides greater power to the brand than the battle-weary shop assistant who often knows less than a Google-armed consumer. The right hosts and a live broadcast will help many stand out.

Livestream sales are growing around the world

It is estimated that $125 billion of sales during 2020 in China alone was achieved through livestreaming, with two-thirds of Chinese consumers stating that they have purchased through this option. Audiences across Asia have taken to live selling in a wide range of sectors, with some companies now even using the feature for selling real estate and vehicles, industries that traditionally revel from developing in-person experience. The exciting element for many brand owners is being able to show their interest in consumer products and explain key elements of those. 

Other notable examples include Kim Kardashian in 2019 when she was able to sell 15,000 bottles of perfume in a matter of minutes on the Tmall platform, a great example of both consumer engagement with 1.3 million viewers and fast commerce. Livestream selling has demonstrated its potential to have far faster adoption rates than traditional forms of e-commerce.

All signs are indicating that livestream video will grow rapidly and link the live commerce element to online shopping. Buyers currently may not be quite as accustomed to live shopping options as consumers within China, for example, but expect that to change quickly. 

How Can Brands Use Livestreaming Sales?

It can look quite complicated and expensive to set-up a live stream. The reality is it is far simpler than it has ever been.  Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok are all venturing into this space and making it simple for brands to either present products themselves or via a growing number of influencers. Depending on your technology setup, you can either use platforms that are linked directly to your products via a feed, sell via social media platforms or embed them in your website.

The key element, as always, will be audience building.  With any marketing, it is important that brands give their audience a reason to take interest in them, for example in the form of new product launches, VIP events or special discount events. Access to consumer data will be a key driver. Whilst many platforms will retain the hold on the consumer, some applications are now allowing brands to have ownership of the consumer data. When launching further new events or products, understanding this data will ease the process of engagement and help improve the initial offering. Due to the digitisation experienced last year, combined with the absence of in-store experiences, the trend in Europe has been to move significant elements of your brand’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) to the online world.

Taking the steps to start selling live

The first thing you are going to need is a camera, whether via access to a smartphone or some of the other more expensive production setups on the market. There is an argument that the rawer your content, the more real you will feel to your audience. Celebrities are often great for brands, but more often it is about entertainment value. The quality of your production should match the aspirations of your brand: if you are high-end, it’s likely you’ll need high-quality production. 

Your production or budget doesn’t have to rival that of big brands but presenting products in their intended setting to really highlight their USPs will resonate most with the audience. Customer research or simply going live and seeing what works and what doesn’t is often the best way to learn. Look at what is working on platforms such as TikTok and Alibaba and what is popular with their audiences.

The challenges with livestream selling

There are a number of barriers that may put brands off more than the consumers. Despite living in a world heavily integrated with technology, for example, we still see broadband speeds impacting the quality of even the simplest Zoom calls. For the best experiences, a reliable connection is of paramount importance. 

Building enough of an audience is always key for brand building. We are not all influencers but many smaller brands are owned by enthusiastic founders who may be a little camera shy: the modern audiences don’t mind that if you turn up with the passion that drove you to start your business. If you do need somebody to present for you, however, this may be through an influencer, an enthusiastic customer, or a paid professional. You may find getting some of your top customers as ambassadors helps with this growth; whether through assisting with live interviews or presenting your products, have that conversation to find out what resonates with them. 

Focus on simplifying the order and delivery of your content. You may be the best presenter in the world, but consumer experience is about the whole journey so ensuring your operations can match your passion for your brand is crucial.

Discover the right platforms and applications for livestream selling

The number of live selling options is growing rapidly: not only are existing large platforms implementing live selling tools, but there are bountiful solutions that allow businesses to go live across their website and other applications. The benefits and drawbacks to each solution can vary between businesses, the process, therefore, involves finding what is right for your brand.

Brands that use e-commerce platforms such as Shopify may find it easier as there are many integrations into social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Having your products linked will make this process easier.  In other instances, it is fairly simple to upload products to the platform as and when you need them - for this, you will need to consider platforms that benefit you most.

With some standalone platforms, you can find the startup costs are prohibitive physically when compared to social media platforms that already have traffic. This is driven heavily by the options you select within each platform. Although this is the case, it is still possible to be cost-conscious: opting for other platforms such as StreamKast that work on a pay-as-you-go show basis may ease costs.