In This Article
Retail and shopping trends spread across social media every day, especially with brands promoting their products online on Live stream: an on-the-spot, real-time audio and video streaming technology that users can join through any channel in any part of the globe, which led to the emergence of a related concept in India: Live Commerce.
Live Commerce is a method of E-commerce that uses live streaming on digital platforms to promote brands and their products and services, connecting with their customers directly.
For example, in 2020, KitKat hosted a livestream shopping event on Facebook Live, promoting its personalised KitKat bars by having the audience comment on the stream, which redirected them to Facebook Messenger to place their order.
Similar to global brands, brands in India have also adopted Live Commerce as a tool to promote their goods. Let's look at some of these, the origin of their link to livestreaming, and their future.
How Global Brands Embrace Live Commerce
The advent of Live Commerce had its first stop in China, on Singles’ Day, 2014, when products were being broadcast on live video as an experiment by Chinese E-commerce and retail company Alibaba, which became such a success that Alibaba launched its live marketplace, Taobao Live, in 2016.
Taobao’s success rate was such that other companies like TikTok and Kwai also opted for live streaming, which also proved to be a thriving decision (by 2021, TikTok teamed up with Shopify to allow users to shop directly from TikTok videos).
After seeing China’s profits, brands globally began to adopt Live Commerce, making it a permanent part of their marketing strategy:
-
Amazon has an influencer program that brings content from social media influencers through live streams about different products on Amazon.
-
Tommy Hilfiger hosted live streams in Europe and North America, which led them to sell about 1300 items in just two minutes.
-
Aldo held a live stream with influencers like Nate Wyatt, who reviewed their favorite products from the brand and allowed customers to view their spring collection simultaneously, which attracted 17,000 views.
-
Other brands provided customers with rewards through their live stream, like Jimmy Choo, who sent cocktails and macaroons to viewers who signed up for the live stream in advance, a personalized sketch to those who bought pair of Jimmy Choos after the live stream, and gift baskets to those who watched till the end.
The Surge of Live Commerce in India
With the growth of Live Commerce all over the world, Indian brands too decided to invest in livestreams to test how well it flourishes amongst the consumer base. Consumers across the country welcomed Live Commerce as it better catered to their taste as Millennials or Gen Z who prefer to research well about the product and then buy it rather than being impulsive, and streams provided them with a live proof of the products of their liking.
Brands in India took to Live Streaming through a blend of entertainment and shopping, which made live commerce not just trendy but also part of India’s shopping culture:
-
P.N. Rao, a Bangalore-based clothing brand, did a livestream to reach its customers during the COVID-19 lockdown to ensure sales amid the pandemic. They provided video consultations with representatives and virtual tours of the store, which boosted sales by 37% in comparison to the previous month.
-
Instapizza, a startup in Delhi, faced concerns raised by clients during lockdown about hygiene and adherence to COVID-19 guidelines. To ensure this, it introduced its livestream platform “Crustflix”, which gave a behind-the-scenes view of the kitchen while food was being prepared to showcase its support of hygiene and safety of its clients.
-
Nykaa, a Mumbai-based personal care E-commerce brand, introduced “Nykaa Stream”, which gave its customers a live shopping experience where they can not just buy products but also get beauty hacks, giveaways, and add products to their cart while watching the stream.
-
Myntra, another fashion and retail E-commerce company based in Bangalore, chosen by customers nationwide for their fashion needs, also has a livestream platform called “M-Live” that allows them to add products to their cart, ask questions, and provide feedback, all during the stream.
Other brands in India, like Meesho, BulBul, etc are also inculcating the application of Livestream shopping platforms to boost sales and improve marketing strategies of their brands.
Is Live Commerce the Future of Indian Retail?
While India has accepted Live Commerce as an alternative to shopping online, the concept is still in progress and is going to need more work, but at the same time has immense potential of boosting online retail and E-commerce in the country enough to lead the way for others.
More than any other nation, Indian consumers know the value of a personalised experience, to gain which, Live commerce is the way to go. With the growth of technology and competition of online shopping brands in the Indian market, a concept like Live Commerce is sure to flourish, and its implications are more likely to enhance the existing e-commerce picture.
As live commerce continues to evolve, brands also need to ensure that the momentum created during a livestream does not disappear once the broadcast ends. Product pages, livestream highlights, and related content must remain discoverable to audiences searching for them later. This is where Seventh Triangle supports brands with strategies like Search Engine Optimization, helping e-commerce businesses optimise their storefronts, product pages, and content so the interest generated through live streams can translate into sustained organic traffic and long-term conversions.
With products being streamed across channels to consumers and them purchasing and reviewing simultaneously, Live Commerce will become the future of Indian Retail.
