Livestream shopping: Another leg in experiential eCommerce
By: Samuel Adebayo
Tags: Consumer, Retail, Livestream, Ecommerce, Shopping

As consumer shopping aspirations and needs continue to evolve, the future of retailing and shopping lies in an omni-channel journey where all channels are available to the consumers and they are connected.

Winning will be defined by how best retailers and advertisers can leverage innovative and interconnected executions to drive online to offline (O2O) experiences across the omni-channel path to purchase

Tech enabled shopping remains pivotal for growth in retail. eCommerce being its brewer, continues to grow rapidly around the world accounting for 89% of the consumer digital economy estimated at US $2.6 trillion.

China and US contribute two-third of the global consumer digital spend and Africa remains a niche market with less than 1% of global spend but it is expected to grow tremendously with the rising urbanization, population growth, internet and smartphone penetration, drive for last mile connectivity and data affordability.

China is leading the way in eCommerce innovations from an online food delivery boom (more than 40% of internet users in china have used it) to democratizing commerce propositions via messaging delivered by Super Apps like Tencent’s WeChat mini programs (a digital service that allows WeChat users to discover mini programs, from local restaurants to bike share platforms, and are prompted to programs related to their search options. Over 580k programs were launched in its first year in 2017 and by the beginning of 2020, the number of mini-programs available through WeChat reached 3.2 million, with a user base of more than 840 million).

Likewise an AI-powered experiential shopping ( Alibaba and INTIME — AR Mirror which allows consumers to buy beauty products at the Rest Rooms — an augmented reality restroom mirror for women using the facilities can virtually test make up looks and , if they like the products, can make purchases at an adjacent vending machine using QR code link on their phones).

Yet again, it continues to brew innovations targeted at driving in the moment shopping by leveraging real time interaction between shoppers and sellers online via livestreaming.

Livestream shopping is an emerging trend that combines livestreaming (live video), a feature that can be found on a majority of social media platforms, with the ability to purchase products directly from the livestream.

It is largely seen as an improvement on Home shopping — an avenue where items are advertised live on TV or Radio and shoppers can dial in to buy them. This is coupled with content plus influential marketing and entertainment experience delivered online

It provides consumers with a more engaging experience as level of interaction between consumers and livestream hosts creates a more dynamic environment for shopping instead of just clicking and filling a virtual shopping cart.

Revenue generated by livestream shopping is expected to reach 170 billion dollars in China by 2020 EOY.

Though this trend is already established in China and other Asian markets like Korea and Japan since its introduction in 2014 and other US originated apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon have added livestream shopping services to their apps in late 2020.

Compared to traditional online shopping, livestream shopping allows users real-time insights on the products they buy through feedback from comments. Retailers and Brands continue to leverage this to strengthen their eCommerce proposition and it is expected to drive more engagement in the future

Source: Statista, Forbes, Bloomberg, CGTN

#eCommerce #LivestreamShopping #distruptiveinnovation