My take on the current state of live shopping…..
If you’re anything like me, you enthusiastically keep tabs on industry news to stay updated on the latest and most innovative ideas in your area of interest — in my case, the dynamic world of live shopping. After the initial wave of highly positive articles that began in late 2021, those closely monitoring the discussion have observed a diverse range of opinions. Some remain strongly optimistic about live selling following the trail of success seen in Asia, while many others express uncertainty, and some have even shifted to a more cautious view. As someone who has closely observed this space for several years, I firmly believe it’s still too early to embrace a negative perspective, and here’s why.
First and foremost, it’s crucial to acknowledge that, outside of Asia, the live shopping landscape is still very much in its infancy. When viewed from a technology standpoint, it’s akin to an early beta launch. Many retailers and brands express interest, but there are relatively few who have dedicated the time and effort to develop a comprehensive live shopping strategy and, more importantly, produce actual live shows.
This situation is understandable to a certain extent, as brand marketers and retailers predominantly allocate their resources to well-established social marketing techniques, where data and analytics on conversions are readily available and easily digestible. They have a clear understanding of the return on investment for every dollar spent on social media marketing. Unfortunately, the same level of confidence doesn’t yet exist for live shopping because we have not reached a critical mass of content and a comprehensive understanding of results across various channels. That critical mass will come, and soon enough, as more and more brands and retailers jump in and the industry as a whole starts to become more mature.
For those who have taken the bold leap into the uncharted territory of live shopping, a key realization is that no one has truly perfected the format yet. While TV shopping channels have enjoyed past and, to some extent, ongoing success, the formats they employ don’t necessarily guarantee success in the world of live shopping.
In my observations of numerous live shopping shows, a common mistake I’ve noticed is the attempt to closely mimic TV shopping formats. The traditional single-shot, talking-head pitch show is a dated format that doesn’t seamlessly transition to a digital context with a younger and more discerning audience. Brands and retailers venturing into live shopping content creation need to recognize that the content must be immersive, engaging, and interactive.
The competition for the attention of the buying audience is fierce, given the abundance of options competing for their limited viewing time. Brands must break free from convention and think creatively, aiming to craft formats that entertain and convert simultaneously. While we may not have seen many outstanding examples of this yet, innovation is on the horizon. In due course, we can anticipate live shopping content presented in fresh and inventive formats that invite viewers to be an integral part of the show.
While I don’t think the formats translate directly, that’s not to say that there isn’t a lot that brands and retailers shifting to a live shopping model can learn from the past success of TV shopping channels. One of the primary learnings we can take away from TV shopping is in the hosting……they have absolutely nailed the art of the sale. They have mastered the techniques used to push the sale and to turn viewers into buyers. From regular mentions of the “how to” buy, to eliciting value and creating scarcity and FOMO, TV shopping hosts are the gold standard for driving conversions. To date, many brands and retailers have used social media influencers in this capacity, and with mixed results. I don’t think that’s a bad strategy, but it is clearly one that can be improved upon with some simple sales training.
The other thing we should learn from the TV shopping model is that regularity breeds familiarity. Their structured programming model means that viewers know when to find the brands, hosts and products that they want to see and for many it becomes appointment viewing. While I don’t think that we will ever see that level of scheduling in a digital environment, it is key to be there when your buyers want to see you. A regular cadence of shows, and being live at the same time and on the same day(s) is critical to live shopping success. As we grow live shopping, we need to reinforce that feeling of predictability in enforcing that when a viewer comes to watch the content, the content will be available and accessible. So far in the new world of live shopping, we have seen far too many one and two-offs to fully understand viewer behaviors and gain any real market insights or understanding.
What other mistakes am I seeing in the market? Distribution remains a challenge. Most brands and retailers have an audience split across multiple social channels, so it’s hard to figure out which one is the best destination for their live shopping content. With this thinking though, the early adopters of live shopping are overlooking a key aspect of using social media channels as distribution for shoppable content: people generally are not going to Facebook or YouTube to shop, they are going to look at Grandma’s new kitten, or watch Mr. Beast videos. The social media platforms do have traffic, but it’s not the right traffic of motivated buyers with an interest in your brand or product. We’ve seen this in pilots we have run with some brands and some of the social platforms, where conversions were under 1% on social.
From what I’m seeing, live shopping strategists are overlooking their own online properties as destinations for their shoppable content. People coming to the brand website already have an interest in the product and are wanting more information to make a buying decision, so why not drive traffic there by creating complimentary content to drive conversions? The best use of the social channels is to promote the shows to your fans and bring them to your site, where you can have complete control of the buying experience. Use social to build hype in the weeks and days leading up to the live shopping experience, inform your buyers of great value sales and limited edition product drops, get them excited and then link them out to your owned and operated platform. In the previously mentioned pilots we ran, we saw conversions jump to in excess of 10% when we moved off social and onto a brand’s owned and operated e-commerce sites. In short, bring your audience to your shoppable event, and don’t take your shoppable event to where you think your audience might be.
Another thing that I think is playing into some of the negative sentiment surrounding live shopping: shows need to be truly conversational in nature to be effective. This goes back to distributing content via the social platforms. The inherent latency causes a delay of generally in the ballpark of 10–30 seconds. Imagine going to a store, approaching a salesperson, and asking them a question, then waiting 30 seconds for a response. It doesn’t make for a positive interaction or buying experience. Live shopping is the same, and the near real-time engagement with a host or brand who might be thousands of miles away is what makes the live experience so fun and unique. Demonstrating products, answering questions, and engaging with the audience is what delights the viewers and drives conversions, and this can’t happen without the connection happening in close to real-time.
The final issue I see with a lot of the early live shopping shows I have experienced is a big one…..the close. The transaction needs to be easy, and it needs to happen in the context of the content. What I have seen far too many times is a checkout flow that is not integrated into the overall content experience. By this, I mean that the checkout, the entire reason the brand or retailer created a live show, takes the buyer away from the content to another page to buy. Once the other page is open, the buyer has lost their connection with the content, which was the reason they were there in the first place. When you take the viewer, the buyer, away from the content they were consuming, the engagement is lost, and the sense of FOMO or connection with the brand or host is also lost. This leads to abandoned carts and lost sales.
A better experience is a fully integrated native checkout, where the transaction is as much a part of the content as the show format or the host. The buyer stays in the content experience throughout the whole buying process, and the purchase is made seamlessly. This also enables the host to see who is buying and what they have purchased, and further delights the audience by offering up another opportunity to engage by shouting out or thanking the purchaser by name.
In conclusion, the world of live shopping is at a pivotal juncture, balancing promise and challenges. While its full potential is yet to be unlocked, it’s clear that innovation, creativity, and an understanding of audience dynamics will be the keys to success. As the industry matures, embracing the real-time engagement and immersive, interactive formats that distinguish live shopping is critical. By drawing inspiration from TV shopping, fostering regularity, and making smart choices regarding content distribution, brands and retailers can look forward to a brighter future in the evolving world of live shopping. The stage is set for an exciting journey, as industry players continue to adapt, refine, and ultimately perfect the art of live commerce.
