It’s not easy to keep an online store’s revenue growing at a steady pace. In recent years, the mega-trend of digital transformation has prompted numerous businesses to launch online stores. How do we break through in an e-commerce world that is becoming increasingly competitive? To better improve your online store conversion rate, learn how live shopping works today!
What is Live Shopping?
Live shopping is the use of video content by marketers to promote or offer products and services.
This marketing strategy allows e-commerce to highlight products and provide additional information about the items. This promotion has a good effect on clients’ purchasing intent, prompting them to check out straight away.
Including purchases in videos or clips can also help boost sales. Simply click a link to go directly to the product’s or retailer’s website, enabling the buying process to go faster!
Connecting salespeople with customers through one-on-one videos is one form of live shopping. Moreover, customers can communicate directly with salespeople through this platform. Salespeople can present detailed product descriptions to customers and even handle orders in real-time.
The Benefits of Live Shopping
Live Shopping provides your customers a more seamless transition from browsing to purchasing, encouraging them to buy quicker!
According to other brands, one-to-one video shopping has a conversion rate two times greater than a standard customer service chat. Video is without a doubt the first pick of salespeople and customers. It is not only simple to implement, but it can make it easier for consumers to digest product-related information.
Google also stated that video shopping influences more than 50% of purchase decisions made by customers.
Let’s take a look at how live shopping can positively impact your brand.
1. Improves customer experience
One-on-one video is the smoothest channel for customers and salespeople to converse when compared to other communication channels. It is also the strategy that delivers the most information in the least amount of time. When customers are more willing to listen to the salesperson’s explanations, the customer-brand connection improves naturally.
Including videos on your website or product page can help people stay longer on your website. Simultaneously, it can achieve the SEO effect, increasing the average visit time of the website. It also improves the search result ranking of the website or page.
Furthermore, live video shopping allows salespeople to thoroughly answer customers’ questions, increasing brand trust. In the future, this method will inevitably make them more reliant on your brand.
Further reading: Open the door to the world of B2B e-commerce – the winning strategy for personalizing your marketing.
2. Builds customer loyalty
It’s easier to keep your customers loyal to your brand if you’ve developed a positive relationship with them. Regular communication with customers can also strengthen the closeness between sellers and buyers, whether it’s a one-on-one or multi-person video. You can also host frequent live or video shopping events to help your business create a clientele. This allows customers and brand representatives to communicate more effectively! Long-term operation of social media platforms, as well as customer interaction and communication, can enhance the impact of live shopping. At the same time, it can increase brand awareness!
3. Increases conversion rates
Customers can shop as if they are at a physical store when using live shopping. According to Bitable, video content in email marketing can increase click-through rates by 300%. Simultaneously, it increases the probability of potential customers visiting the online store.
The feeling of scarcity of a product grows as the customer and the product become closer to each other. Customers often believe that they should purchase as quickly as possible while the item is still in stock. As the distance between consumers and products reduces, conversion occurs naturally.
Videos, in general, are more effective than other advertising formats at attracting potential customers’ attention. Research shows that videos can increase online store conversions by 80%. Maintaining your customers’ attention will increase your conversion opportunities.
How to get started with live shopping?
1. Market Research – Get to know your product and audience first
Market research is required whenever a new marketing strategy is introduced. Understand your target audience’s demands and select the most useful content and products from your offerings. At the same time, you should have a thorough awareness of your product’s features and market requirements. More importantly, select the most appropriate products for live shopping.
2. Promote your live shopping channel
To boost the audience’s interest in your business, let them know immediately that you will host a live shopping event or service. You can improve the promotion by using email, social media, and a small online event to boost the effect. Promotions must be carried out prior to the formal launch of the video shopping channel.
3. Engage with your audience
You should have a clear idea of the product and market demand after performing thorough market research and data collection. After that, you will be able to easily answer the audience’s inquiries. To answer your audience’s queries before you begin your video shopping, host a FAQ event on social media or another video streaming channel. Remember to check your social media notifications frequently and respond to your followers’ questions as soon as possible.
4. Make sure live shopping makes the buying experience easier
Keep in mind that the main goal of video shopping is to make the customer journey easier. When establishing video shopping services or functions, remember to select the proper platform or allocate sufficient resources. This ensures that the platform can handle high-definition videos and maintain consistent connections. No amount of promotion will assist if the platform cannot provide smooth video dialogue or live broadcast.
In addition to technical issues, customers must be able to purchase in the most convenient manner possible. Customers can quickly buy and continue to consume through this channel in the future by displaying “purchase” or other CTA buttons below the video.
Further reading: Which retail industry should make the transition to live commerce? Let Customers try the product can try before they make a purchase with live shopping.
Live Shopping Guide Trends
1. Youtube Shoppable Video
Google had begun testing the Shoppable Video feature on Youtube in early 2021. Users can make purchases immediately from the video! Creators can use or refer to products in their videos for direct purchase by users. Youtube will display a list of products if you click or clear the shopping bag symbol in the lower-left corner. Customers can also browse other products, making it possible for them to make purchases all on one platform.
This video strategy creates a new revenue model for YouTubers and businesses by improving product exposure and thereby increasing sales!
E-commerce businesses that upload promotional videos to Google Merchant Center can display a list of promoted items and services. They can even direct visitors to the website, resulting in increased traffic.
Results:
Aerie, a lingerie brand, was one of the first to make use of this function. In 2020, the brand used YouTube to promote brand loyalty while also increasing garment sales. Its ad efficacy increased by 25%, and its conversion rate grew by 9 times over the original ad strategy!
2. Add Youtube video advertising to What to watch next, the homepage, and other pages for a call-to-action campaign.
A call-to-action ad on YouTube is also showcasing the platform’s e-commerce-friendly features. Add video advertising to “See Next” on the main page, for example. As long as Google’s video partners are allowed to promote videos, brands may target the correct audience with video advertising based on user viewing habits.
Results:
Mos was the first to use this technology, resulting in a 30% increase in orders while cutting the cost of Youtube advertising to one-third of the original! Brands can also include questionnaires to gather information on potential customers, in order to establish a customer base and improve user-brand interaction.
3. Instagram Reels launches Beta test on shopping feature
Instagram’s Stories and Reels videos have been the most popular features among youthful users. Not only may e-commerce businesses employ these capabilities to improve customer connection. They can also add product listings and tags to make purchasing easier. Users can browse essential information about the merchandise and place an order directly by clicking on the marked product.
In recent years, e-commerce enterprises have frequently used Instagram’s live broadcast feature to promote products in real-time. You may also use live streaming to host flash promotions to enhance client engagement and orders in a jiffy!
4. Live video
Other e-commerce platforms, in addition to Instagram’s live broadcast feature, also support live video. Taobao’s e-commerce live broadcast event, for example, dispels consumer worries about the brand and boosts customer confidence. Taobao accomplishes this by presenting products in front of the audience. Many Taobao stores have seen an increase in orders as a result of quick contact.
VIMOS also provides a one-to-one live video feature that allows salespeople to solve customer issues one-on-one. One-on-one video chats can improve customer service and make the buying experience more personal. Customers can engage with salespeople via Chatbot or video from product knowledge to after-sales assistance, making the buying process smoother!
Further reading: Increase your conversion rate with live video! Allow offline salespeople to engage online customers.
Live shopping can directly affect viewers’ senses, raising product awareness, creating product usage scenarios, and increasing purchase intentions. Without a doubt, it is the most popular marketing and purchasing approach in recent years!
Want to boost your online store’s conversion rates? Targeting to increase consumer interest in your brand? Sign up for free to use the VIMOS live shopping platform and make your online store stand out!