Well, as the name implies, it’s a live stream, and for most of us it probably looks a lot like an infomercial or home shopping channel. It features a pitchman of some sort, be they a celebrity, influencer, brand advocate, or even just an enthusiastic product user, talking about their chosen product and interacting with their viewers. The seller can run demonstrations, model, or otherwise show-off their goods, their audience can ask direct questions and ultimately make an immediate purchase decision, and then complete the transaction within the live stream. That’s pretty much it.
The fact that it is live and interactive plays a large role in it. The seller and the viewer can converse, in near real-time and in a virtual face-to-face environment. It creates a true connection between the buyer and the seller, even if they are thousands of miles apart, in different states, countries, or even continents. The viewer can see the products being used and ask questions about the product - they are no longer reliant on a flat, one-dimensional webpage or brochure to make a purchasing decision. This live and highly interactive experience restores a two-way interaction between the buyer and the seller; it reestablishes an “in-store” aspect to online shopping that has been missing. And when celebrities and influencers are added to the mix, it forms an even more powerful connection — the celebrity can directly engage with fans, and in turn, the fans develop a more personal connection with the celebrity, and are very likely to buy a product so they can “be just like their idol”.
Well, we believe that we’ll see huge growth in live shopping, and likely many new and innovative campaigns and shows featuring product placements and sales opportunities coming soon to a device near you. However, we also see a broadening of live stream shopping to other sectors.
The same things that make live shopping so successful and appealing in the online shopping environment can also apply to anybody who engages with an audience using live video. Think of it more as a conversational commerce opportunity than a simple shopping experience. Just Imagine:
This conversational commerce is a game-changer technology for anyone who uses live content to interact with fans, and finally offers a truly unique approach to monetization that has been missing with live content.
At Stage TEN, we’ve been cooking up a new way to make a transaction into an interaction. Learn more about it here.