Live Shopping, Improve Your Customer Experience

Have you ever heard of Instagram stories? Youtube shorts? Tiktok lives? What about "live shopping"?

We’ve all seen a teleshopping show in the morning on TF1 or France 2 to sell revolutionary household appliances or sports equipment to build muscle without moving. Well, Social Media has reinvented the concept of Home Shopping!

During the COVID pandemic, businesses were going through tough times due to lockdown: no more in-person shopping, no more events, which meant no more personal customer experience, a lack of sales, and thus a decrease in profit margin. But in these difficult times, adaptability is key, and from this situation originated a turning point. Social Media platforms saw this change as a source of new business opportunities.

Companies adopted and used Social Media as a new channel for their marketing strategy. But one element was missing. How could they create a unique experience for customers to feel close to the brand? Two words: Virtual Experience. With a lack of physical communication, brands started investing in virtual events to keep customers connected. Moreover, with the evolution of e-commerce, online shopping sales went through the roof. Thus, after having proved its worth in Asia, during lockdown, "live shopping" represented a real potential for European and American companies.

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What is it and why does it work?  

Live shopping is a real-time review in which the host will present a product, try it and share their opinion while spectators watch and react. Thus the audience can comment and ask questions to the entertainer, who can also respond publicly. The trend eases communication with customers by promoting products and services while customers share their doubts to receive advice on how to use the product.

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Who, Where, and Why

The host choice highly impacts the lives' success, so influencers are the perfect personalities to animate them. They are already familiar with Social Media and its users; hence, they know how to communicate with the audience. Moreover, the most popular live shopping events are on Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok, Twitch, and a few others. So companies can choose the platform and the host accordingly to their brand's strategy.

Let’s recap!

Advantages of live shopping:

👉 An appropriate channel to gain visibility: with the right platform and influencer, lives can reach a huge number of spectators

👉 Great option to increase engagement rate

👉 It provides authentic content, a great asset to build positive brand image

👉 Social Media platforms have an extensive amount of active users, which facilitates the reach process

👉 Social Media helps brands keep up with the needs and wants of their customer segments

👉 Provides clear facts and figures like the number of spectators

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Our tips for running a successful live shopping!‍

‍CONTINUITY: the brand's priority is to create positive publicity for the product

THE HOST: lives can be of great success if the audience recognizes a friendly face! By collaborating with influencers, you will most probably reach their audience in addition to your current customers and prospects. So choose wisely by analyzing their Favikon score as well as the audit’s summary!

‍THE PLATFORM: the field you choose is as important as the influencer. Each Social Media has a different framework, format, and community. Your decision will depend on the type of content you will share and the audience you want to reach.

‍ADVERTISING: don't forget that live shopping is a virtual event. Thus, it is crucial to communicate all information regarding the time, the platform, the host, and the product efficiently! Publicity is key!

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Now that you know everything about live shopping, what are you waiting for!