How will live streaming for retailers change online purchasing behaviours?

Ideal for boosting customer commitment on online retail sites and marketplaces, live streaming has become an essential feature. This sales channel – half-way between entertainment and product recommendation – is a favourite when it comes to showing new products off!

China is at the forefront of this sales technique – whose success rate has boomed over the last few years, namely because it was adopted by the heavyweight Alibaba via its Taobao Live branch. Hundreds of millions of customers have already taken part in live product demonstrations! Live streaming for e-commerce is only just starting to develop on European and French markets.

E-commerce is entering the era of live streaming

Live shopping or live commerce makes the most of video formats to increase conversion rates and therefore sales. Brands partner with influencers and use them to showcase products to a large audience, turning their retail websites into social platforms built around common interests and consumer communities.

Each live presentation is of course associated with an integrated purchase link. Thanks to this link, viewers interested in what they see can make an easy purchase in just a few seconds and a few clicks.

The main advantage of this sales channel is its immersive appeal. It informs customers by showing how items work, and communicates with them thanks to a chat function so all their questions can be answered! 

How to make a product presentation in 2021?

Up until now, media specialised in gaming and special events (Twitch and YouTube) were used for live product presentations. However, other social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram) and marketplaces (Amazon, Google Shopping) are starting to roll out compatible functionalities!

The cornerstones to live e-commerce streaming are interaction and authenticity. The goal is to offer a differentiating customer experience within the purchasing journey, whenever people are looking for new items to buy.

The social distancing required in 2020/2021 has sped up the development of this form of product presentation. Indeed, it has become very complicated for brands to organise face-to-face product demonstrations or launches…