Brands can use a variety of live shopping tools to boost sales. These can range from simple streaming add-ons to full-fledged ecommerce platforms that enable direct-to-consumer experiences from start to finish.
Some software enables brands to sell live on social media and websites simultaneously (simulcasting). It is a popular tool among fashion, beauty, and home goods brands that want to leverage social commerce.
Increase Engagement
Online shoppers go through a series of steps before making a purchase decision. Live shopping brings an emotional aspect to the online experience, fostering brand loyalty and transforming one-time shoppers into lifetime customers. It also helps reduce return rates, as shoppers are less likely to buy a product they need clarification on.
Live shopping tools enable brands to engage with consumers through real-time chat, Q&As, and social selling. These tools can be as simple as a streaming add-on that does an overlay, displays some stats, and helps you switch cameras or as complex as a full-fledged Ecommerce platform that replaces your traditional DTC experience.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are also used to create immersive experiences for online shoppers. For example, VR can help customers envision how a piece of clothing or furniture would look in their home before purchasing. The goal is to close the digital-physical gap and give shoppers a more personal experience.
Build Trust
Using live streaming, influencers, and other tools, live shopping has modernized the home shopping experience and made it available to a more connected audience. It combines the broadcasting aspect of traditional teleshopping, the eCommerce functionality of online stores, and the community engagement of social media platforms to create a truly unique and engaging shopping experience.
These events can include product tutorials and demonstrations, interviews with industry or product experts or trusted influencers, or behind-the-scenes content. The immersive nature of these videos helps build customer trust, making them more likely to buy from brands they know and trust.
Boost Conversions
Brands may promote and sell their items immediately on social media platforms thanks to live-to-sell, often known as social shopping. Customers may purchase via a live checkout procedure on their viewing channel. Live consumers are 40% less likely to return goods, according to Coresight.
Include a narrative in your live streaming to boost your sales. This strengthens your relationship with your audience and motivates them to tell their friends about your material.
Some platforms offer a free basic plan to help you test the waters. However, to maximize your sales, consider opting for a premium solution. These more robust tools enable you to create a scalable experience with strong platform integrations. They also provide detailed analytics and reporting to help you optimize your Live shopping strategy. The best part is they’re all quite easy to implement – add the apps to your online store.
Create a Community
While home shopping channels like QVC used to be all the rage, live stream shopping has brought this concept into modern times by adding digital, social, and engagement elements. Live selling is also about making the purchasing experience fun rather than being a stressful transaction.
This can be achieved through interaction with customers in real-time (Q&A, product reviews), polls, quizzes, and interactive in-event elements such as games and prizes. Having influencers and industry experts co-hosting events can also add to the authenticity and trustworthiness of the content, as well as reach new audiences that would not have otherwise engaged with your brand.
To get started with your Live selling strategy, research the best livestream shopping apps available and check out how they work. Some apps are free; others charge a small fee per viewer minute or a flat subscription fee for advanced features. The key is to find the one that fits your audience, content, and event type. Then, test and measure to see how it impacts your conversion rates.
Increase Sales
Live streaming shopping brings the human element back to eCommerce sales, allowing customers to interact with your brand and buy products they know are in stock. Depending on how the live stream is conducted, it can be entertaining and engaging, providing an experience that is less like a commercial or more like a social interaction.
Live selling was first popularized by teleshopping and home shopping networks such as QVC in the 90s. By combining the broadcast aspect of teleshopping with the eCommerce functionality of online stores and the communal aspects of social media, live shopping tools are taking the retail industry by storm.
The best live-streaming shopping tools provide seamless integration with your existing eCommerce platform and can be used on the channels you already use to reach your audience. Some of the best options offer a full suite of social commerce and comment-selling tools. These platforms offer robust platform integrations, various product catalogs and categories, detailed analytics and reporting, and one-on-one customer support and training.
