Live Shopping : The New Retail Trend

Make your customers feel privileged by offering them live shopping sessions. Help them make their choice among all your products by giving them professional advice on colors, materials, prices, availability... Whether for fashion, retail or furniture, live video shopping is a great way to improve the conversion rate and increase the basket size!

Debuting in China around 2016 through Alibaba's Taobao app, the practice of live shopping exploded in 2020, when the whole world was in lockdown. Indeed, during this difficult period, brands had to redouble their efforts and creativity to offer concepts that would push their customers to consume remotely. Thus, live shopping on social networks or directly via e-commerce sites has appeared abundantly, from the biggest brands as well as the smallest ones. It represents today a very popular sales channel and companies report conversion rates are up to 10x higher than conventional ecommerce.

‍

What is live shopping?

Live shopping consists of presenting items via video conference while giving viewers the opportunity to purchase them in real-time. It can be performed in several ways; either by a brand representative showing the items directly in front of the camera, or by filming a virtual fashion show where the articles are worn by models. Viewers can interact with the hosts and ask questions while the product references appear live on their screens and can be directly added to their shopping cart. Very easy to organize, live shopping is suitable for all types of industries.

However, considering the fact that it provides a more detailed look at items, live shopping is especially effective for luxury goods. In fact, luxury products have an average of a 70% conversion rate when showcased during a live shopping event.

Live shopping has many benefits, but according to BDMI, 78% of brands use it to build deeper connections with their customers.

‍

Communication at the heart of the strategy

Compared to traditional online shopping, live shopping allows customers to ask questions, to see what the product looks like on someone, to have as much information as an in-store purchase and most importantly to interact with a brand advisor.

Live shopping is designed to recreate the in-store experience while enjoying the convenience of remote shopping. It has a much more human side that many people prefer and find lacking in traditional online shopping.

For a successful live shopping show, it is necessary to create an emotion; this can be done through entertainment, humor, spontaneity... The most important thing is that the customer feels authenticity in the process as well as the human side, they must feel privileged and have the impression that the Sales Assistant is talking directly to them.

‍

Live shopping by appointment

For retailers, offering live shopping by appointment is a great advantage. First of all, for a question of organization and logistics, but more importantly, it boosts the engagement of their audience. By making an appointment to attend a live shopping event, customers can receive reminders and be sure not to miss the event.

When done well, live shopping is a real success and can generate a conversion rate of 15 to 35%, which is not to be neglected! Moreover, it allows brands to create a bond with their community and build a certain loyalty.

Many retailers around the world use Booxi, integrated with a live shopping tool, to allow their customers to book appointments and sign up for live shopping sessions. Appointment scheduling software made for retailers, Booxi makes managing online bookings as easy as possible. Simply integrate the Booking Widget on your website and you can start booking live shopping sessions the same day!

‍

In conclusion

Today, live shopping is one of the most popular sales methods and it continues to be used despite the lifting of health measures. With such results, brands keep investing in this channel that allows them to diversify and respond to consumer demands.

Thus, live shopping is an excellent way for brands to extend the customer experience through the digital world outside of physical retail locations.