During the 2022 holiday shopping season, Amazon hosted many live streams promoting a wide range of products. Amazon Live Events — a form of live stream shopping — has thousands of developers and influencers selling products.
Live stream selling is a proven marketing strategy. A personable host demonstrates products while shoppers can ask questions or share their experiences. It’s similar to QVC and the Home Shopping Network, except the audience is online.
Live stream shopping started in China around 2017. It has since migrated to the United States and Europe. The tactic will generate $68 billion in US sales by 2026, according to Corsight Research. Traders should act now, especially those targeting Gen Zs and younger buyers.
McKinsey Digital reports that 36% of live stream purchases are apparel and fashion items; Beauty accounts for about 8%, followed by fresh food, electronics and home decor.
Amazon Live is home to thousands of content creators who rate products for direct purchase.
New conversion tool
Live stream selling focuses on buyers’ desire to learn more about a product and their propensity for impulse buying. It provides instant answers and minimizes the guesswork.
A well presented live stream:
- Builds a community by connecting and communicating with consumers.
- Entices viewers to click on the calls to action.
- generated revenue.
- Reduces pre-sales support calls, including live chat.
- Lowers returns by providing key details and answers.
Started
There are four primary ways to integrate live stream sales.
- Via social media, selling directly on this platform or linking to the online shop.
- On Amazon Live for Marketplace sellers (free).
- On a third party live selling network such as YouTube, Firework, Vimeo and others.
- Directly from the ecommerce site through a provider for a fully branded experience.
All methods require analysis and planning to determine what is best for your audience.
American Girl live streamed its Girl of 2022 event and pinned products throughout the feed. Source: fireworks.
Costs associated with live stream sales include:
- Monthly fees for hosting the onsite events, which range from $40 to $20,000 depending on facilities, attendance and more.
- production costs. A simple setup with a smartphone and a ring light costs less than $50. However, streaming from a professional studio requires the right lighting and sound. Split-screen streaming requires extra work unless you’re going through zoom or something.
- Fees for a spokesperson or influencer that can cost more than recruiting on-camera staff.
- Marketing, a must for live events. Provide announcements via email and social media. Also think about advertising.
Detailed analytics are critical to live selling. Make sure your platform or provider can track:
- abandonment rate,
- entry and exit points,
- viewing times,
- Chat activity, ideally by communication type, such as host questions, testimonials, images
- Viewer reactions – like, love,
- Call-to-action clicks and funnel performance.
Moderation tools, chat exports and replay functions are also important.
Not too far away
Livestream shopping will be an expected norm in the not too distant future, connecting online consumers like never before. This engaging content will be critical to the success of ecommerce.
