Retail livestreaming

Only 7% of consumers have never purchased products online before.1 However, even if consumers are increasingly interacting with brands via digital means, they are still looking for engaging experiences, with 59% of consumers believing that companies are focusing too much on tech and losing the human element. One avenue in which businesses are addressing this concern is through livestreaming. Livestreaming combines online and offline retail experiences by enabling consumers to interact with sellers or streamers from the comfort of their own home. On Taobao, a Chinese e-commerce platform with livestreaming capabilities, shoppers can ask questions, interact with each other, send virtual gifts of appreciation, and make purchases directly within the same app. In 2018, Taobao generated over $15.1 billion USD in gross merchandise volume through livestreaming alone.2 Whilst livestreaming has grown rapidly in China, the trend is also predicted to expand to other countries, with social media outlets like Facebook offering livestream capabilities and e-commerce platforms like Amazon testing livestreaming and purchasing functionality.

How is livestreaming enhancing online shopping?

When online shopping, consumers face risks regarding the quality of a product because unlike shopping at brick-and-mortar shops, they cannot ask questions in real time and judge the trustworthiness of the seller. Along with being unable to inspect products prior to purchase, customers may perceive online shopping as risky.3 The real time nature of livestreaming increases authenticity and transparency as viewers can interact with the seller and get their questions answered more immediately.4 For example, ShopShops is a livestream platform which takes viewers to fashion boutiques in the US, where viewers are able to direct the streamer as well as ask the seller questions.5 This allows consumers to feel in control of the process, and become more at ease with the seller and the products.

Despite time differences and livestreaming sessions lasting 2-3 hours, ShopShops reports that they average 15,000 viewers and $8,000 in sales per event. Consumers also frequently send in-app virtual gifts to the streamers during their livestream as a token of appreciation6. This is because consumers are able to immerse themselves in the experience, exploring products as if they are in a brick-and-mortar store.5,6 Consumers are also able to treat sellers, streamers, and other viewers like friends, conversing and asking for each other’s opinions and advice.2

Livestreaming is growing in popularity. With the ability to develop trust and understanding between sellers and consumers as well as provide engaging experiences, livestreaming is a promising solution to address the human element that is lacking in current online shopping platforms.

  1. Paxton, C. (2019). Source.
  2. Wang, J. (2019). Source.
  3. Aziz, N. (2018). Why Consumers are Hesitant to Shop Online: The Major Concerns towards Online Shopping. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(9), 1175–1185.
  4. Wongkitrungrueng, A. & Assarut, N. (2018). The role of live streaming in building consumer trust and engagement with social commerce sellers. Journal of Business Research.
  5. Stott, R. (2017). Source.
  6. Li, B., Hou, F., Guan, Z., & Chong, A. (2018). What Drives People to Purchase Virtual Gifts in Live Streaming? The Mediating Role of Flow. PACIS 2018.