03 mar What is Live Selling: Everything you Need to Know
Social media has not just transformed the way retailers market their brands, but it has also changed the way people buy and sell products. As many businesses are turning to social media to sell their products, competition is starting to get more tough. That is why some businesses are starting to think of new and unique ways of selling their products to make them stand out from their competitors. Live Selling is one great example of this.
Live Selling is one of the new revolutionary ways of selling that has been taking over the entire e-commerce landscape by storm. Even the statistics can’t deny it.
According to Coresight, live shopping has generated $60 billion in global sales in 2019. In the United States, experts estimated that livestream shopping market will reach over 11 billion dollars by the end of 2021 and $25 billion by 2023. By 2024, the e-commerce revenue created from live selling was expected to increase threefold, reaching 35 billion dollars.
In China, where live selling first started growing, it has been estimated that the Chinese live eCommerce market will reach $305 billion USD. This is 384% growth compared to 2019.
With all of these numbers, it is no surprise that many businesses are starting to implement live selling in their social commerce strategy.
What is Live Selling and How does it work?
Live Selling shopping is the product of combining live streaming, a feature that can be found on a majority of social media platforms, with e-commerce. Through live selling, retailers can interact with their customers. They will be able to assist them with their inquiries about their products without having the need to be in the same place. It also gives viewers the ability to purchase products directly from the live stream.
If you know how a home shopping network works, the idea behind live selling is kind of the same with it. Someone will present the product and you can purchase it during the broadcast. However, unlike in home shopping, where you can only watch the selling through the television, with live selling, you can watch it anywhere and on any device. Also, customers don’t need to call you to purchase your product. They can interact with you and other customers directly through the comment section.
During live selling, sellers can offer promos and giveaways to their viewers within a certain period of time. This can make live selling more effective because the sense of urgency is emphasized due to scarcity or limited availability.
When did Live Selling start?
The concept of Live Selling first began in China back in 2016 by a social retail platform called Taobao. They mixed live streaming with e-commerce which allowed the audience to make a purchase while watching their live stream. This made Taobao the leading shopping platform in the country. In 2020, Taobao sold $7.5 billion worth of merchandise in just the first 30 minutes of their presale for Singles’ Day. This has become the world’s largest online shopping event.
The success of live selling in China is no surprise since they have the highest number of online shoppers in the world. In fact, in 2020 the number of live streaming consumers in China has already reached 526 million.
In the U.S, big brands are also starting to adopt this new trend to their marketing strategy. Social Media platform like Facebook and Instagram has started integrating live selling options in their platform.
In 2019, one of the leading retail companies, Amazon, has introduced Amazon Live. It is a live streaming service that allows sellers to promote their products by hosting their own live streams for customers on Amazon. This is very timely since just a few weeks after that, the Covid-19 pandemic stroke. Many customers have turned to online shopping to buy the products that they need.
Live selling has truly changed the game when it comes to selling, but what is it about Live Sales that made it popular with sellers and consumers?
Live Selling creates a sense of urgency
Unlike shopping through e-commerce websites, where your customers have a lot of time to think through about purchasing a product, live selling gives them limited time to really think through about their purchase decision. This gives them a sense of urgency, which motivates them to act immediately if they wish to purchase your product before it sold out or to receive it for the best price.
Low Quantity can trigger FOMO
While urgency gives your customers limited time for window shopping that leads to faster conversions, having low quantity will drive up demand. It is because scarce goods are perceived as rare and more desirable. When the demand for your product is greater than its available quantity, it will trigger FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to your customers that will lead them to impulse buying.
Competition between customers
Customers who shop through live sales see other customers as competition. Since there is a limit on the quantity and time to avail the product, they race with other audiences on who will be able to get the product. Competition makes customers highly emotional buyers, who will do everything to get what they feel belongs to them.
Competition can also influence other people to make a purchase. This effect is called “social proof”. When they see other people’s comments about buying the product, it influences their purchasing decisions. This will also give them the feeling of also wanting the product.
Final thoughts
We have seen how live selling has transformed the way retailers run their business and how it can dramatically increase their revenue without large investments. This is why businesses of all sizes have already been incorporating live selling into their e-commerce strategy.
It is something businesses think is worth the risk. Seeing how much it has grown all throughout the past couple of years and how much it is expected to grow in the next couple of years.
It is also not just businesses that are turning to live selling. More and more consumers are starting to use live streams as a new form of shopping channel that can give them a more personal and convenient way of shopping.
So, start strategizing and give it a try today. You will not know how well it works or how much money you can make until you try.
Live selling isn’t the only way you can reach and sell to your customers on Facebook. With Live Butler, you can sell through all types of content so you can always keep customers’ newsfeeds fresh & interesting. This way you won’t just reach more customers but will also make other people aware of your brand.
Live Butler is an all-in-one social commerce solution designed to automate your live selling. From accepting orders, updating inventory to sending invoices, Live Butler will do it for you.
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