Live Stream Shopping Platform Development
The live stream shopping market in the United States is experiencing a significant surge, projected to generate $32 billion in sales this year - and it’s an already-established $647 billion market in China. This burgeoning trend has captured the attention of prominent players and startups alike, reshaping the retail landscape.
Established companies like QVC's Qurate with its Sune app, Walmart, and Amazon have expanded their live shopping offerings, harnessing celebrity power and innovative live stream shopping platforms to engage audiences. For instance, Amazon's use of celebrities like Kevin Hart to promote Amazon Live during Prime Day highlights this strategic shift. Meanwhile, Shein's Shein Live, launched in 2016, has seen exponential growth in viewership, showcasing the platform's expanding influence. Similarly, Studio's collaboration with alice+olivia involved integrating our proprietary LIVE streaming SDK into their website to facilitate personalized video on demand sessions and live streaming shopping events.
As major tech giants and retailers strive to establish themselves in the dynamic live streaming eCommerce space, startups like Whatnot and Ntwrk are leveraging their close customer communities to set new benchmarks for live streaming shopping in the U.S. And, the investor confidence is palpable - over $380 million has been invested in live streaming eCommerce in the U.S. last year, a dramatic increase from the $36 million in 2020. This evolving market landscape presents a fertile ground for innovation and growth in live stream shopping app development.
The Evolution of eCommerce
Ecommerce has undergone a transformative journey, evolving through distinct phases that reflect changing consumer needs and technological advancements. At the outset, the transactional era was marked by the rise of the internet and smartphones. This was a time that centered on value for money, and eCommerce was focused on the functional aspects like secure payment methods, product information, and the satisfaction of completing a transaction.
As the technology drivers advanced, eCommerce entered the communal stage, fueled by the rise of messaging apps and social networks. The essence of this phase was the creation of communities, enhancing the sense of belonging among consumers. The transactional experience shifted towards one that offered trusted mediation and facilitated partaking in a broader conversation, emphasizing transparency and governance.
Now, we're witnessing the experiential phase of eCommerce, where live stream shopping is becoming a pivotal force. This phase is characterized by immersive experiences in which consumers indulge in storytelling. They crave feeling connected to the mission behind products and value the rich, personalized engagement that brands can offer. Live stream shopping platforms tap into this experiential demand by providing real-time interactions and bringing unprecedented choice and control over the multi-faceted consumer journey. A live streaming shopping app amplifies the shopping experience, allowing consumers to feel like they're part of the story behind the products and engaging authentically with the brand.
Studio's live stream shopping app development services are at the heart of this evolution, offering businesses the tools to captivate and engage audiences like never before. Our work can help provide you with an on-demand, community-driven, and experiential shopping journey that resonates with the modern consumer's desire for connection and immediacy.
Driving Value through Live Streaming Shopping
Live streaming eCommerce is revolutionizing the retail landscape by offering two distinct advantages:
Higher Conversion Rates
A live commerce platform captivates audiences with an entertaining and immersive shopping experience that encourages extended engagement. It efficiently compresses the customer's journey from initial awareness to final purchase, often incorporating exclusive offers and time-sensitive promotions that inspire immediate action. Retailers leveraging live streaming shopping apps have observed dramatic increases in conversion rates, with some achieving a nearly 30% conversion rate - a significant leap compared to traditional eCommerce figures
Brand Reinforcement and Market Distinction
A well-executed live streaming shopping strategy not only elevates brand recognition but also carves out a unique market niche, drawing additional web traffic. It solidifies a brand's image among its current consumer base while simultaneously appealing to younger demographics, who favor cutting-edge shopping methods and experiential engagements. Businesses utilizing this innovative format report gaining a more significant portion of the youth market, with some experiencing up to a 20% increase in younger audience share.
Keep these Five Emotional Touchpoints In Mind
In live streaming shopping, engaging customers emotionally is key; here are five touchpoints to make every session resonate deeply and memorably:
Tell Stories and Educate
Utilize storytelling to connect with viewers emotionally and impart valuable product knowledge that enriches their shopping experience.
Focus on Video-First
Prioritize a video-centric approach to showcase products vividly and create a lively, engaging atmosphere akin to in-store experiences.
Don’t Force Decision-Making
Encourage organic purchasing decisions by creating a relaxed environment that allows customers to shop at their own pace without pressure.
Be Authentic
Foster trust and loyalty by ensuring that your live stream shopping sessions are genuine, transparent, and reflective of your brand's values.
Recommend the Trends
Stay ahead of the curve by highlighting the latest trends and curating products that resonate with the current market inclinations and consumer interests.
Focus on What Motivates Shoppers to Find your Live Shopping Angle
Understanding shopper motivations is critical in crafting an engaging live shopping experience. By tapping into these desires, brands can fine-tune their live streaming eCommerce strategies to meet and exceed consumer expectations.
Convenience (Easy for me):
A live streaming shopping app offers the convenience consumers seek, simplifying routine purchases like the weekly grocery haul with ease and efficiency.
Improvement (Better for me):
It's a platform for consumers to discover and transition to superior alternatives that elevate their everyday routines, such as finding an advanced laundry detergent for better cleaning.
Validation (Confirm for me):
This is particularly crucial for high-involvement products, where consumers look to live shopping to affirm their choices, like choosing the latest mobile phone upgrade.
Recommendation (Advise me):
A live streaming shopping platform becomes a source of trusted advice, guiding consumers through uncertainties in their purchase decisions, such as picking trendy sneakers based on the latest styles.
Indulgence (Spoil me):
It creates moments of self-care, allowing consumers to indulge in luxuries, such as the excitement of a new lipstick shade from a beloved brand.
Inspiration (Inspire me):
A live commerce platform is a gateway for consumers to explore and be inspired by new experiences, finding fresh fashion looks or uncovering brands that introduce novel styles
Leading Product Categories in Live Commerce
The live streaming shopping landscape has been particularly dynamic in the realm of personal goods over the last year. Here's a snapshot of the top five categories that have seen the most purchases through live commerce platforms in the United States:
Clothing
Reigning at the top, clothing purchases lead with 43% of live commerce sales, underscoring fashion's dominance in online shopping trends.
Skin Care
With a focus on personal wellness, skin care follows closely at 32%, highlighting the consumer shift towards self-care and beauty routines.
Fashion Accessories
Accessories, including jewelry and handbags, capture 31% of the market, showing how complementary items enhance the live shopping experience.
Body Care
Tied with fashion accessories, body care products also account for 31% of purchases, indicating a robust interest in comprehensive personal care.
Hair Care
Completing the top five, hair care products hold a significant portion of live stream shopping platform sales at 30%, showcasing the importance of hair products in consumers' daily regimens.
Age Diversity in Live Streaming Shopping
Young Adults/Gen Z (18-24):
This age group, often seen as trendsetters, accounts for a significant 22% of live commerce shoppers, showcasing their keen interest in this interactive platform.
Millennials (25-34):
Holding a commanding presence, millennials make up 28% of the live streaming shopping demographic, affirming their influence and purchasing power within the digital marketplace.
Gen X (35-44):
Demonstrating that live commerce transcends generational tech boundaries, 25% of shoppers belong to this cohort.
Baby Boomers (45-60):
With 25% participation, this demographic’s substantial representation dispels any myths that live streaming shopping is solely the domain of younger consumers and highlights its widespread appeal.
Where Are You in Your Live Commerce Platform Journey?
Navigating the live streaming shopping landscape can vary widely depending on where you stand in the journey of integrating a live commerce platform into your retail strategy. Here’s a roadmap to gauge your progress:
Beginner: First experiments on 3rd party channels
Your brand may be taking initial steps towards live streaming shopping app development, hosting sporadic live streams showcasing a handful of products, primarily through social media or e-commerce marketplaces. At this stage, content creation is typically outsourced to influencers or agencies, with a focus on monitoring basic KPIs like views, conversion rates, and top-selling products.
Intermediate: Making live commerce a pillar of your strategy
As you evolve, live commerce becomes central to your marketing efforts, with a structured schedule of varied live events aimed at different audiences. This phase often includes bringing live streaming in-house to your own platforms, deploying real-time analytics for performance tracking, and establishing a dedicated team for content development. All of these initiatives are to ensure a cohesive live streaming shopping strategy.
Advanced: Scaling to an innovative data-driven live commerce business
In the advanced stage, your brand is likely broadcasting numerous live streams across multiple channels, leveraging data analytics and machine learning to refine the experience in real time. Here, technological advancements such as AR and VR are integrated into your live stream shopping platform to elevate the immersive quality of streams. You even have a specialized live commerce department with a network of trusted influencers within your comprehensive live streaming eCommerce ecosystem.
Enabling Tools for Live Streaming Shopping App Development
Technology
Choosing the optimal technology platform is crucial for hosting live commerce streams and delivering eCommerce functionality efficiently. While some brands start with third-party channels like Instagram or Facebook that offer integrated streaming and eCommerce services, others with a deeper understanding of live streaming shopping can opt for platforms that allow for more tailored experiences. For those seeking a specialized approach, Studio's proprietary Live platform revolutionizes this space by offering a simple, code-efficient integration. With just six lines of code, Live enables brands to captivate their community, enhance conversion rates, and drive sales through shoppable, interactive videos. The live stream shopping platform boasts an intuitive content management system for effortless video organization, ensuring that customers can engage with content live or on-demand, with the added benefit of integrating directly into a brand's online store. Live exemplifies a powerful engagement and sales tool, as evidenced by viewers spending an average of 13 minutes at live shopping events, a 25% conversion rate to purchase, and generating 4x more revenue per minute compared to traditional online stores.
Tracking and Analytics
Effective tracking is as vital in live streaming eCommerce as it is in traditional eCommerce, where comprehending the impact of each event is critical to refining strategies. A flexible operational model is essential to leverage data swiftly, such as following up with viewers post-event to nurture interest or stimulate purchases with targeted incentives. Precision in monitoring customer behavior can be achieved with tools like one-off coupon codes. This level of adaptability in a live streaming shopping app is underpinned by a robust content library, clear marketing strategies, and a commitment to continuous optimization.
Marketing
Marketing is the driving force behind the success of live commerce events and requires sufficient investment to flourish. An omnichannel marketing strategy is key, encompassing notifications across newsletters, emails, websites, apps, and social media to alert and inform potential viewers. Understanding the nuances of the chosen live commerce platform and the browsing habits of the target audience enables the placement of strategic ads and the use of features, such as countdown clocks, to create anticipation and maximize viewership.
Next Steps for Retailers Interested in Live Streaming eCommerce
For retailers in Europe and the United States looking to capitalize on live streaming shopping, the path forward is to anchor their websites or apps as premier destinations for live commerce. This strategic focus can amplify audience engagement, enhance live stream efficacy, and foster customer loyalty. By hosting live events on proprietary live commerce platforms, retailers gain access to a wealth of data and insights, allowing them to fine-tune consumer experiences, tailor the customer journey, and foster product and marketing innovations.
To maximize participation, retailers should ensure that live streaming shopping events are scheduled at convenient times and determine the most engaging duration for their content. The goal is to create an irresistible draw for the audience, then capture their attention with content that's both entertaining and educational. Future trends point towards the rise of micro- and nano-influencers, who, with their smaller but highly engaged followings, can forge stronger connections with audiences at a fraction of the cost compared to their mega-influencer counterparts.
As live streaming eCommerce broadens its horizons, we're likely to see its principles applied across various industries, including healthcare and B2B sectors. Also, the integration of innovative technologies like AR and VR will render the live streaming shopping experience increasingly immersive, allowing consumers to explore products in-depth. Advancements like these indicate a future where virtual interactions mimic the personal touch of in-store conversations
As retailers navigate these developments, partnering with a live streaming shopping app development expert like Studio can be pivotal. With a keen understanding of live commerce dynamics and cutting-edge technology, Studio is the ideal partner to guide retailers through the evolving landscape of live streaming shopping.
Relevant Experience
QVC
We helped video commerce behemoth, QVC, with the strategy, design and development of a new app-based brand to grow their Gen Z customer base. We launched this platform within 4 months.
Alice & Olivia
When women’s apparel brand alice + olivia sought out an eCommerce app development company to help them launch a new live video shopping experience, our team built an app that resulted in an average of 25% of live video event attendees making purchases by the end of the events.
Live
For years, countless retailers have struggled to build video solutions from scratch. LIVE is a better, faster way to customize and deploy video infrastructure on your own platform. With just six lines of code, LIVE allows retailers to engage their communities, increase conversion rates, and drive incremental sales with beautiful, shoppable, interactive video. An average of 25% of live shopping event viewers make a purchase during the event via the LIVE platform.
