Live Commerce: Everything You Need to Know About The Next Big Thing in E-Marketplace

It would be too much to say that humans now have an attention span shorter than a goldfish (8 seconds, that’s it!). However, indeed, our attention span has considerably reduced. Should this concern an eCommerce business owner or marketeer?

Definitely. It means that they now have less time to convince their customers to purchase their products. It calls for effective campaigns and strategies. However, the eCommerce industry never fails to surprise the world. Just when we think we have seen it all, it springs up a new trend that takes both sellers and consumers by storm. Currently, the Live Commerce trend is ruling the roost because it is a more engaging way of retaining consumers for a longer duration and converting more leads into actual sales.

What is Live Commerce?

With the increasing penetration of the internet, more and more people are now resorting to online shopping for various reasons. Covid-19 lockdowns have only propelled its growth on a meteoric scale. However, many online shoppers are missing that ‘real shopping’ experience in which they could visit a shop, they are attended by a shopkeeper, and based on their choices and budget, items are presented in front of them.

Live commerce or Livestream shopping aims to fill this vacuum. In live commerce, brands, designers, or individual eCommerce retailers promote and sell their products through Livestreams, chat functions, or reaction buttons on a digital platform.

In simple terms, live commerce is showcasing products to potential consumers just like the shopkeeper does in a traditional brick-and-mortar store. It also gives consumers an opportunity to purchase products in real-time if they like them. It is like replicating a real shopping experience on a virtual platform. Livestreaming is mostly done by an influencer, a person having a prominent presence on social media.

What is the Growth Potential?

A report by WATConsult’s research division Recogn suggests that the number of social commerce users is likely to increase by 45% by the end of 2022. Deloitte’s research gives further insight into the consumer’s buying behavior. It says that 71% of shoppers believe that they can confidently purchase items if they can test or try out products. Recommendations and comments also play a crucial role here. Live commerce can facilitate this to a great extent.

Augmented Reality (AR) experiences clubbed with live commerce can help consumers make purchasing decisions much faster. Mckinsey’s analysis suggests that apparel and fashion, beauty products, fresh food, consumer electronics, furnishing, and home decor, automobile, and local online-to-offline sales such as tickets, experiences are more efficiently sold through Livestream events. Needless to say that clothes, footwear, fragrances, cosmetics are some of the products that consumers prefer to purchase after ‘feeling’ it. They are widely purchased online, however with an element of doubt. By providing interactive and personalized buying experiences, live commerce can boost their sales exponentially.

How to Start?

Live commerce is undoubtedly the next big thing in the eCommerce market. Ecommerce giant such as Amazon is also trying their hands with this model. In fact, it gave us a glimpse of the future of e-commerce in its 2020 Amazon Prime Day event in which two hosts amusingly discussed air fryers, tempting many consumers to purchase them.

Live Video Shopping App Development is still in its nascent stage. The earlier you begin with it, the more benefit you will reap. If you have the right strategy and game plan, you can tap into its optimum potential. Here are a few steps that will guide you in starting your journey in this direction.

• Start slow. Start live streaming with a few products. Let’s say, start with five products. Observe the response and gradually increase the number of products. Experience will teach you how you can engage viewers for a longer period.
• Choose the right channel. Decide whether you want to approach your potential buyers through social media channels like Instagram or Facebook, or a marketplace like Amazon Live.
• Be thoroughly clear and transparent with brand guidelines. Create content that instantly helps consumers make purchasing decisions.
• Set KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for evaluating Livestreams. i.e total number of views, top-selling products, conversion rate etc.
• Once established, experiment with the format of Livestreaming. Find ways to make it more engaging.
• Integrating Livestreaming into your website is a good idea.
• Set up a strategy or design a campaign to reach out to the target audience online.
• Scale up. Insights derived from analytics will highlight your strengths and weaknesses, guiding you to move in the right direction.
• As mentioned earlier, adapt the latest technologies such as AR/VR, Machine Learning to augment the online-shopping experience. It will set you apart in a fiercely competitive eCommerce industry.

Live Video Shopping App:

“We are going live in 15 minutes! Black Friday sale! Grab the best deal.” Imagine, your app or portal being crashed after sending out such messages to your clients. Anyone would like to avoid a faux pas like this. A great amount of effort can go in vain if the app or portal is not capable of providing a comfortable user experience.

In order to establish a strong presence in the eCommerce marketplace, it is important to have a mobile application that can support and enhance the live video shopping experience. It will give you an edge over your competitors and also help increase revenue by boosting sales.

Summary:

Live commerce is an emerging eCommerce trend that is likely to gain momentum in 2022. It personalizes the online shopping experience through interactive sessions, almost replicating the shopping experience from brick-and-mortar stores. The right strategy, gradual scale-up, and a robust live video shopping mobile app can help you stay ahead of the competition.

Author Bio:

Mayur is the CTO of Excellent WebWorld ( Web & Mobile App development company). He is updated with all the latest trends in the mobile app technology field. He writes blogs that are helpful for businesses to implement technology in the operations. You will find him swimming whenever he is free.