You’ll be a digital marketer for as many years as I have.
Do you remember Google Glass?
What about all the articles in early 2021 claiming that Clubhouse was poised to dominate social media? It is safe to say that interest in the audio-only platform has declined a bit since then.
Live shopping is the next big thing in online commerce. It’s actually quite popular (although not yet in the West).
Live shopping is a huge phenomenon in China, if you have heard of it.
Alibaba’s 2020 livestreamed presales campaign to Singles’ Day – a popular Chinese shopping holiday – generated an astounding $7.5 billion in transaction value within the first 30 minutes.
A 2020 survey by AlixPartners found that 67% of Chinese consumers have purchased products via live streaming in the past year. This is a significant increase from the previous year. Younger consumers and those living in smaller cities are more likely to take up live shopping.
This trend is quickly becoming global.
According to McKinsey & Company, live-commerce-initiated sales could account for 20 percent of all e-commerce by 2026, while Coresight Research expects the US to live streaming market to be worth about $25 billion by 2023.
This is too good an opportunity to miss, so I collected seven live shopping examples to give you a headstart.
7 Inspirational Live Shopping Examples
What is Live Shopping?
1. Aldo
2. Nordstrom
3. CAIA Cosmetics
4. Quivr
5. Kiehl’s
6. Bloomingdale’s
7. KitKat
What is Live Shopping?
I will let you know what the past year of live shopping was like.
It can be argued that its roots can be traced back in part to the launch of QVC and Home Shopping Channel, both home shopping networks, in the late 1970s.
These free-to-air channels were first introduced in the USA before being expanded to many other markets.
Many times, celebrities would endorse products on the networks. These high-profile personalities would use the channels to pitch to a captive audience.
This is exactly how live shopping, also known as Livestream shopping, works today. It’s only different is that it has been digitalized via social media, websites, apps and other platforms.
This means that the buyer does not need to be confined to their couch to view the content and make a purchase. They can now buy online from any place with an internet connection.
It’s clear that live shopping is appealing to retailers. This all takes place in real time, which allows retailers to harness the real power of FOMO and answer viewers’ questions immediately.
Live shopping allows you to reach highly qualified customers. No illusions are made here. Everyone knows who they’re going into the sale to. McKinsey reports that brands are experiencing conversion rates of almost 30% from live-streamed events, which is up to ten times greater than traditional e-commerce channels.
This is enough hype. Let’s look at how live shopping is being used by brands to reach new audiences, drive sales and increase revenue.
1. Aldo
While “If you build them they will come” may work for baseball fields it doesn’t work well for live shopping.
People won’t show up to a Livestream event if they don’t have a good reason.
Aldo, a shoe and accessory giant, said that the “pretty great reason” for its first live shopping event was co-hosting with TikToker Nate Wyatt and Mimi Cuttrell.
Wyatt and Cuttrell shared fashion tips and displayed their favourite Aldo products. Streamers were also able to view the brand’s spring 2021 collection.
Aldo called the pilot a success. In the five days that followed, the website received over 17,000 page views. The average viewing time was more than 12 minutes. Engagement rates for the event were 308 percent.
2. Nordstrom
Nordstrom hopes to fill the gap between Chinese and American brands in live shopping.
It announced in March 2021 the launch of a dedicated live-shopping channel.
The channel has hosted numerous live shopping events with themes such as:
Special occasions, Fall fashion trends; Spring beauty trends
This means that Nordstrom will discuss the exact same topics on blogs and social media.
Nordstrom can bring these themes to life in live shopping. They can ask questions and gather feedback in real time, something that is impossible to do with a static piece of content like a blog post.
Customers can also shop the products featured on each live stream, as they are made. This is a much more interactive experience than just writing about a product in copy and linking to it.
3. CAIA Cosmetics
Live shopping is not for fun, as with all marketing channels. You’re doing this to make money.
It is important to determine if it is worth the effort to organize, promote, and conduct a live shopping event. Clear e-commerce metrics are necessary to measure success.
CAIA Cosmetics, a Swedish makeup brand, is not new to live shopping. It launched live streaming in October 2019 and clearly understands how important it is to measure performance.
Bianca Ingrosso, founder of CAIA, said that the average viewing time for live tutorials is 11 minutes. 60 percent of viewers “like” the content, while 17 percent interact with the live chat. According to Bambuser, a mobile streaming software company, the tutorials are viewed on average every 11 minutes.
It was even more impressive that the brand’s first live stream had a conversion rate five percent higher than its average website conversions.
Conversions are evidently the key here. CAIA can monitor the data to ensure that its live stream shopping strategy resonates with customers.
4. Quivr
Marketers don’t simply decide to “do social media”, they choose the platform that will give them the best chance of reaching their target audience and helping them achieve their marketing goals.
It’s no different with live shopping. There are many platforms that you can use, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. It is important to choose the one that suits your needs. Quivr, a coffee- and tea-maker, has done exactly that.
Ash Crawford, co-founder of Quivr, spoke for one hour about Quivr’s brand and products to a crowd of 50. He’s tried live streaming on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube before finally settling on Amazon Live.
Crawford spoke to CNBC and explained how Amazon’s highly-qualified audience gives it an advantage over other live shopping platforms. Whereas Instagram and TikTok are entertainment-focused platforms, people typically visit Amazon when they’re specifically looking to buy something, he said.
It seems that the decision is paying off. Crawford said, “It’s like clockwork. It’s guaranteed that if I go live and do a show on the web, sales will increase by about 150 percent for the next 24hrs.”
5. Kiehl’s
Everybody involved in event marketing knows that the success of an event depends on how well you promote it.
This is what I mean: If you are going to spend the time planning and executing a live shopping event it is essential that your audience knows all about it (and can’t WAIT to go).
This is how skin and hair care brand Kiehl’s does it. Live shopping was a great fit for the Ramadan campaign of the company, which sought to engage Malaysian customers by using the holiday tradition that visits loved ones’ homes.
The campaign’s centerpiece was an assortment of “open house” Instagram Live events with Kiehl’s beauty advisors.
The brand ran an extensive series of ads in the Instagram feed and Instagram Stories ahead of the livestreams to promote the “Virtual House” events.
In-feed ads in vibrant colors communicated the date/time of the live events in an appealing way to Ramadan observers as well as non-observers. They also promoted interactive elements like virtual quizzes on the Kiehl’s website.
It also used Instagram Stories ads for the promotion of the event, showcasing special offers like complimentary skin consultations or limited-edition travel sets.
It appears that its efforts have paid off. The campaign saw a seven-week return on ad spending of eightfold. Half of all new customers who signed up in the first half 2021 could be attributed to Kiehl’s campaign.
6. Bloomingdale’s
It could be that live shopping is still a novelty in Western countries, but it feels more like an actual event than a flash sale and sitewide discount.
This is something Bloomingdale’s has leaned heavily into. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the department store chain has hosted over 50 live shopping events and has taken the time build anticipation and excitement.
CNBC reports that viewers who registered in advance received cocktails and macaroons by mail during a Jimmy Choo livestream.
The 50 first people to purchase a Jimmy Choos pair during or immediately following the session were given a fashion sketch and everyone else who watched the session was entered in a raffle for a gift basket or gift card.
This is the lesson. Live shopping should be a key part of your marketing strategy. You need to work as hard as you would if you were hosting an actual in-store event.
7. KitKat
There is no marketing channel that exists in a vacuum.
You can’t pretend to be an innovator by doing live shopping before your competitors, but there has to be a reason. Livestream shopping is almost always a distraction if it doesn’t fit into your overall marketing strategy.
KitKat demonstrates how live shopping can be seamlessly integrated into a larger campaign.
KitKat Chocolatory Australia allows customers to make custom KitKat bars, and they can also discover strange and wonderful flavors. The brand developed a paid social media strategy that included a livestream shopping event.
To drive conversions in-store or online, polls, branded content and dynamic ads were used. The streamed event, hosted on Facebook Live, allowed shoppers to place orders using the “Comment to Messenger” feature. This automatically starts a Facebook Messenger conversation when someone comments on the livestream.
The campaign generated more than one-third of annual brand sales and also achieved a:
23-point increase in brand awareness among Australians between 35 and 44; 2.2X rise in intent to buy for KitKat Chocolatory; 3X increase in online sales via KitKat’s Australian website.
Conclusion
The growth of live shopping is not a mystery.
Although the technology behind it may be new, the idea of showcasing products in an engaging manner and making it easy for customers to purchase is as old as retail.
Livestream shopping is not a new channel. Instead, view it as an extension to your existing social media strategy and content strategy.
If you are still skeptical, here’s a thought: Would you decline the opportunity to pitch to a room of highly qualified customers knowing that only one third will purchase from you?
No. You’re just doing it if live shopping isn’t your thing.
Sleeknote’s first article, 7 Brilliant Live Shopping Examples From Real Brands, appeared first on Sleeknote.
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By: Emil Kristensen
Title: 7 Brilliant Live Shopping Examples from Real Brands
Sourced From: sleeknote.com/blog/live-shopping-examples
Published Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2022 09:37:31 +0000
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https://onlinemarketingagencies.net/8-seo-resolutions-for-the-new-year/
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