If you are the kind of person who enjoys the thrill or adrenaline rush that comes with shopping in person, livestreaming commerce may be your plug.
Coresight Research estimates that by the end of 2021, the U.S livestream shopping market will likely reach $11 billion. By 2023, it will reach $25 billion.
In China, the sales revenue generated from livestream shopping skyrocketed from $66 billion in 2019 to $150 billion in 2020.
These figures are likely to rise to $300 billion by the end of 2021.
The figures above show that livestreaming commerce is rising dramatically and provides an interactive platform where retailers and consumers can “physically” connect for that ultimate shopping experience.
What is Livestreaming Commerce?
Livestream E-commerce is a platform where influencers, retailers, or celebrities can sell their products to consumers via online video streaming.
Vendors will present their products, demonstrate how they work, and take several pictures from all angles to give the buyers a clear view of the product they are selling.
Usually, livestreaming and demonstrations can happen on vendors’ E-commerce websites, social media pages, and even in influencers’ pages for better visibility.
You must be thinking;
Is there a difference between livestream shopping and home shopping channels?
Yes, there is.
For starters, livestream shopping enables the shoppers to interact with the product/service through comments, likes, and polls. That way, the audience can get answers they may have regarding a product in real-time.
This isn’t possible with home shopping channels since these shows are pre-recorded.
This gives the audience the confidence and urgency to add items to their carts. It also brings back the social aspect that’s lacking in regular online shopping.
While many brands may be skeptical about exposing themselves to a live audience – as they may not be in total control if anything goes wrong – livestreaming feels more natural to customers and reduces hesitancy. This in turn works in the retailers’ favor.
How Does Livestreaming Commerce Work?
Livestream commerce is pretty simple.
It combines online video streaming with a direct purchase feature that gives viewers the option of buying the product then and there.
Like Facebook or Instagram Live, livestreaming commerce also allows customers to react with likes or emojis, ask questions, and get answers during the live session.
This provides an interactive shopping experience that’s much better than online shopping where buyers simply pick items and fill in their shopping details.
Livestreaming works best with a huge audience. With a huge following, you can be sure to make as many conversions as possible.
An easy way to generate hype is by creating limited-edition releases where your product is available for a set time. Display a countdown timer on your website or page during the livestream to create a sense of urgency.
You could also offer discounts for shoppers who purchase within a specific window period.
These approaches create excitement among shoppers that is rare in traditional shopping. This makes it easier to generate sales for your online store.
Think of livestreaming as a virtual marketplace where buyers and sellers can virtually meet in a more human and engaging way. The experience is compelling and supports a wide range of customers who are not capable of physically visiting your stores, or prefer shopping from the comfort of their homes.
What Are the Benefits of Livestreaming Commerce?
Building Customer Confidence
Nothing makes a customer more confident than attaching a face to the product they intend to purchase online.
Unlike the usual online shopping experience where you pick a product without prior knowledge of how it works, livestreaming gives customers a clear and live demonstration of the product in action.
This addresses their fears and creates an urgency for the purchasing of your products.
This practice not only builds confidence towards your product. It also helps to build confidence towards your brand, ensuring that you also build a strong relationship with them that will lead to repeat purchases.
Improving Visibility
If you are operating a brick and mortar store, you can only address the needs of consumers who visit your shop. This makes your product limited to only those in your locality.
Livestreaming, however, makes your products accessible to a huge audience across the internet, making it easier for you to get more sales.
You’ll also increase brand awareness through livestreams, ultimately leading to more conversions and increased revenue.
Understanding Your Customers’ Needs
Customer feedback is very important to businesses. It’s even better if you get them immediately as it allows you to take corrective measures as soon as the complaints arise.
During livestreams, customers will give their opinions about your products, which is an easier and more direct way of understanding their needs.
Such feedback will aid in creating products that meet and even surpass the expectations of your customers.
More importantly, once they learn that you value their input and that your products meet their needs, you can be sure that demand for your products will only increase as time goes by.
Giving You a Competitive Edge
With the cut-throat competition always present, ask yourself what makes consumers choose your products over your competitors’ products. Livestreaming is already an edge that businesses and brands can readily utilize to stand out.
For starters, livestreaming makes you more visible to a huge audience. This is an opportunity for creating brand awareness.
Secondly, the fact that competition is always present means that there is a need to elevate and distinguish your brand and products. As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron. In the competitive environment of livestreaming, you need to constantly think of ways to improve and stand out.
It’s important to note that the more compelling, engaging, and lively your livestreams are, the easier it is to convince clients to buy your products.
One tip we have is to do a thorough and honest presentation of your products. It will also greatly help if you find the right talent who is engaging enough to present your products.
Reducing Overheads
The beauty of livestreaming is that it’s affordable and does not require specialized equipment. You can even do it with your smartphone from the comfort of your home.
With livestreaming, you can reach a larger audience with few associated costs and make the sales you so desire.
Brands That Use Livestreaming in Their Marketing Strategies
Below are some top brands that have adopted livestreaming in their marketing strategies and have succeeded with it:
- Doritos
- Spotify
- Nestle
- Adidas
Tips to Successfully Use Livestreaming for Your Business
With an increase in buyers shopping online via livestreaming sites, vendors must hold these streams in the most compelling and meaningful ways possible.
This will help create demand for your products, leading to increased sales revenue.
Below are tips that will help get you utilize livestreaming commerce for your business.
Choose the Right Platform to Livestream On
There are various platforms that you can choose from to start your livestreaming.
Your Ecommerce Website – Streaming live from your websites gives you the flexibility to manage and control your engagements with customers. It also eliminates the need to rely on other sites.
The only downside of using your E-commerce website is that you may not reach a huge audience.
Social Media Platforms – If you decide to use social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram for your livestreams, you’ll undoubtedly reach a larger audience. This means that there is a bigger opportunity for more visibility and more sales.
However, the social media channel you decide to use has to correspond to your target audience and the market sector you serve.
It’s important to note that it may be difficult to keep your engagements private, which may affect you in the long run.
Livestreaming Sites – Livestreaming sites give you real-time video delivery technology and are quite advanced. Several notable livestreaming sites include Brandlive and TalkShopLive.
The only downside is that they are not well known or trusted by a vast majority of internet users, and this means that choosing them may reduce your visibility.
E-commerce Marketplace – Amazon is working to improve its livestream capabilities. This means that brands can carry out their livestreams to increase their visibility on the platform.
The only disadvantage is that customers will be buying from the platform and not from you directly.
Identify Your Target Audience/Market
As is standard in E-commerce practices, it’s important to identify the audience you are selling to.
What products are you offering? Can you identify customers who are more likely to buy from you?
Once you identify them, focus on meeting their needs. Doing this will have the demand for your products double.
It’s important to note that livestreaming is not meant for the younger generation only. The older generations have also embraced the new technology and are steadily changing their shopping habits.
You should, therefore, not keep changing your products to serve different market segments. Identify one market segment and stick to it.
Plan Before the Actual Livestream
Planning can be a daunting task when all you want is to get it over and done with. However, planning is so necessary to success as it will help you cover all the bases, keep you from making mistakes, and help you stay focused.
Before livestreaming, perform extensive research. Have a grasp on the market you intend to sell to. Who are your competitors? What are their selling styles?
It helps to know the different sales styles for your product range, the target audience, and even the ideal time to livestream.
All these preparations go a long way to help you deliver meaningful and impactful presentations that can lead to success.
Remember, going live is putting your brand on the line. Make sure you act and stream as professional as possible.
Take Advantage of Influencers
The psychology of using influencers is that customers are more likely to identify themselves or buy a product that particular celebrities associate with.
Identify an influencer who’s relevant to your niche, and make them the face of your livestreams.
Using influencers will help you be more visible as they already market to their communities and followings. This can ultimately increase your conversion rates.
Market Your Upcoming Livestreams
Do you want many people to watch your livestreams?
Well, like any event, market your livestreams before you hold them.
Advertise your coming livestreams on your social media pages. Carry out PPC campaigns and invest in content rich in keywords that target the livestream on your site.
Once your target audience is aware of the livestream, it increases the chance of more people taking part in the event. This will cultivate huge brand awareness and bring in more sales eventually.
Engage Your Audience and Be Meaningful
E-commerce usually lists the pros and cons of a product to educate the client before buying a product. With livestreaming though, it goes a level higher in engaging buyers.
Make sure that when you are holding your livestreams, your viewers get a comment section where they can share their thoughts and opinions about your products.
Ensure that these conversations or engagements are as interactive as possible. This is done by answering questions, clearing doubts, or even accepting their requests (like taking pictures from different angles) should they have any.
Infuse some humor and lightheartedness into the interaction. Don’t be too serious. You don’t want your viewers to watch passively. Instead, they should enjoy the whole shopping experience and actively participate.
Stream to New Heights
With the constant changes in technology and marketing tactics, you always have to be on the lookout for better ways of reaching your customers.
Livestreaming offers a platform for you to reach a huge audience and grow your brand.
The exponential growth of livestreaming is unprecedented, and you cannot afford to be left behind. You risk losing a huge opportunity to grow your business should you ignore it.
Luckily you don’t need to be an expert to start livestreaming.
Take advantage of the millions of active users online, and start your livestreaming today. Be natural, engaging, and compelling in your presentation and watch your sales skyrocket.
Bring back the human and social feel to online shopping with your livestreams and grow your business to greater heights.
Finally, if you ever need expert assistance in elevating your marketing strategy, contact the team at Signalytics and let’s work together to reach those new heights.