What’s livestream shopping and why is it taking the world by storm?
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There are many ways to shop, whether you go to a brick-and-mortar store, a website, or something in between. With video-based social media like TikTok becoming more popular by the day, social media is changing the way we shop. And no, this isn’t through traditional ads. It’s through streamers and influencers selling products during live broadcasts.
Welcome to the world of livestream shopping (aka live shopping). It’s sort of like QVC, but withoutMartha Stewart or Lisa Rinna. You’re also not going to find it on your television (yet): All you’ll need to spend your hard-earned cash isa great Android phoneand a handful of social media apps. But how exactly does livestream shopping work, just who is hawking these products, and is anyone actually buying this stuff?
Livestream shopping: a brief introduction
Livestream shopping is a relatively new way for influencers and celebrities to sell products on social media. Instead of prerecorded segments on legacy networks like HSN, Livestream hosts take to Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and even Twitter. During a livestream, the host answers questions and interacts with the audience live, so you may ask questions in real-time.
Crystal giveways dominate TikTok’s live shopping posts.
These interactions often offer a promotion or giveaway that encourages followers to engage with the host. These are often one-off deals, which create a sense of FOMO or false urgency that motivates viewers to act quickly. This strategy works better with more viewers since the chances of an individual winning decrease, which increases the fear of missing out.
What platforms is livestream shopping on?
Livestream shopping commonly occurs on large social media or e-commerce sites such as TikTok, Instagram, and Alibaba. Alibaba also created Taobao Live in 2016, which was the first livestream shopping platform and jump-started the marketing trend. With the explosion of TikTok, it has become one of the most common and easiest platforms to use for livestream shopping.
Nothing says impulse purchase like a model train live shopping event on YouTube.
Facebook and Instagram also have livestream capabilities to sell products. Amazon has two services, Twitch and the Amazon Live Creator App, used to market products using livestreams. There are more platforms used for livestream shopping, but social media apps are where most of it happens.
Where is livestream shopping popular?
Live shopping is becoming more popular by the day, but it has really made its mark in two major markets. The U.S. and China are the two largest markets for livestream shopping, with the U.S. marketestimated to reach about $35 billion in 2024. The Chinese market grew from $3 billion to $171 billion in three years, so the U.S. may continue to grow in a similar trend. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a large amount of growth in the industry, and it has continued to grow since.
The younger the customer, the more effective this form of marketing will be. In a recent study,more than 60% of Gen Z and more than 70% of Millennialssaid that social media was an essential part of their lives, so they are the most likely demographic to engage with this type of marketing. More than 70% of Gen X survey participants thought social media was an essential part of their life but use more “traditional” social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Only 40% of Baby Boomers consider social media an essential part of their lives and use similar platforms to Gen X.
There are several livestream shopping influencers, but a few stand above the rest.Laura Cleryis a popular live shopping influencer with 15 million followers on Facebook, 3 million followers on Instagram, over 900,000 followers on YouTube, and 6.9 million followers on TikTok. Laura is a comedian and actress, but most of her content is about motherhood and family. She has held livestreams promoting everything from merchandise created from a misspelled comment from a troll to the mobile game Best Fiends.
Another popular livestream shopping influencer is Itsjudytime, who has 3 million followers on Facebook and a large number of followers on Instagram, Twitter, and two YouTube channels. Judy runs her own beauty brand, which she promotes through livestreams, and did a livestream on Black Friday 2021 promoting Kohls.
What are the pros and cons of livestream shopping?
There are a number of benefits and downsides to using livestream shopping as a marketing strategy. Live shopping creates a huge opportunity to interact with consumers where they feel comfortable. It can inform customers about a brand and products to build brand loyalty.
Livestreams are often more engaging than browsing a web page, so customers stay engaged with the content longer. Virtual events like livestreams can help build a bigger audience since consumers can access the event from anywhere. If livestreams happen often enough, a community could be formed, which helps strengthen a brand.
Even with all the benefits of this type of marketing, there are some downsides. Technology doesn’t always work as intended, so if there are glitches or technical issues, consumers could become quickly disengaged. Also, if the user interface of the platform is unappealing or difficult to engage with, it will be hard to keep viewers hooked. Viewers can become upset if the moderator or host cannot keep up with questions, so this is an essential element to success. Viewers can become disgruntled and complain if it’s hard for them to find the products being showcased.
Overall, having an easy-to-use and functional platform with proper moderation will lead to a successful event and can even build a community.
Is livestream shopping the future of e-commerce?
Live shopping will continue to grow and evolve in the coming years. Retailers want to capitalize on the new opportunity and bring a more diverse demographic into the fold. With the likes ofThe Pioneer Woman hawking apparel and cookware on Walmartlive shopping events and upscale retailers likeNordstrom partnering with Burberry and other luxury brandsto create livestream shopping experiences, companies are betting big on selling big ticket items to people of every age.
And while hamburger-shaped stone giveaways will, no doubt, continue to turn lurkers into shoppers on TikTok, Amazon has no need to worry: people aren’t going to buy toilet paper and dog food on TikTok; people willstill join Amazon Prime for free shipping and other perksthat make our lives simple and strange.
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