As online shopping gets more popular, live commerce has become the new focus of online shopping platforms. This approach broadens the scope of online shopping. Wondering if your store is suitable for live streaming? Learn the 8 benefits and drawbacks of live commerce today and get your store ready for the digital age!
Live commerce encompasses more than just the utilization of live broadcast channels for product promotion. VIMOS Live E-commerce Platform can also make online shopping more convenient for customers. It enables your salespeople to communicate with your consumers one-on-one and provide product recommendations. If you want to make your online store more competitive, live commerce could be the answer!
Advantages of Live Commerce
1. Remote control
One of the best things about live commerce is that you can manage your store remotely, including human resources. Through chatbot or one-on-one video functionalities in VIMOS, your consumers may check in with your salespeople and assess their services. The features mentioned allows you to better understand customer satisfaction with your store’s service. This will help you to assess your salespeople’s productivity and customer service attitude, allowing you to better manage your team.
Further reading: 5 Ways to Engage Customers Using Chatbot
Simultaneously, live commerce platforms like VIMOS can assist you in boosting sales. According to the 2020 poll, two-thirds of Chinese customers bought from live commerce last year. Moreover, Taobao’s live streaming platform has boosted China’s live commerce business by 280% in five years. The influence of live commerce on businesses is truly evident!
2. Humanized Live Shopping
Unlike traditional online shopping, your customers can conduct video calls and communicate with your salespeople during the new purchase process. This is accomplished through one-on-one interactions, allowing your customers to purchase online as if they were in a physical store. Customer’s contact with the online business is no longer limited to clicking “Add to Cart” and “Checkout” on the internet. Live commerce elevates customers’ online shopping experience by offering real-time support and introductions from salespeople. It assists you in improving consumer relationships, generating more return customers and purchases, and improving Customer Relationship Management (CRM). At the same time, instead of just selling products, your salespeople will become brand ambassadors. Your product sales are more personal now, making a lasting impact on your live viewers.
Furthermore, based on the real-time data supplied by the system, your salesperson will deduce the customer’s interests and related items. Such knowledge allows the salesperson to deliver personalized assistance to the consumer in a timely manner. VIMOS also has an address book feature that allows your team to keep track of orders in the future. You can also design more personalized “remarketing” campaigns to entice customers to buy from you again.
Further reading: Massively increase your purchase conversion rate with live video, the key to online shopping success!
3. “Omnichannel” Business
Live commerce can also assist you in achieving “Omnichannel Marketing” by integrating online and offline sales. Unify APP, official website, and retail service experiences, to encourage customers to consume across channels with diverse customers. Audiences can consume content across several platforms and devices, resulting in customer-friendly solutions and personalized marketing. VIMOS’ Omnichannel vision makes it simple to help customers understand and browse your store across several channels from a single platform. Salespeople can introduce the products with the viewers in greater depth during the one-on-one live video. Viewers can gain a better grasp of your products and brands, improving the effectiveness of product promotion. Customers can also discover products in additional stores. Integration of online and offline stores increases conversion rates for both parties, resulting in greater revenues for your store.
Further reading: Omnichannel – The New Direction of E-commerce Transformation
4. Meet customer needs
Compared with physical stores, the platform of live e-commerce is more flexible. Guests can contact the salesperson 24 hours a day and learn about the products at home. Customers are often hesitant to order online because they are concerned that the actual product will differ from the image or would be unsuitable. Some platforms offer virtual fitting rooms where customers may try before they buy from the comfort of their own homes. Consumers can try on garments based on their personal preferences in virtual fitting rooms, providing a diverse online shopping experience. Before a customer makes a purchase, they can interact with salespeople through one-on-one conversation to solve their questions. This allows them to choose products that are more appropriate for them, lowering the rate of returns.
According to UserHero data, consumer spending grew by 23% and repurchases soared by 85%, thanks to one-on-one interactions. Furthermore, in just a few months, Credo Beauty’s virtual event and service platform increased live shopping conversion rates by 21 times!
Salespeople may effortlessly share similar products with customers with just one click via live commerce, making product promotion more efficient. Viewers can quickly provide feedback on your items and services using the said platform. They can also share and exchange product thoughts with other viewers, turning the purchasing process into a conversation between customers and sellers. Additionally, based on visitor input, you may alter and improve your brand, making market research easier.
While live commerce offers various benefits and can assist your business in providing a better shopping experience, its drawbacks can have the opposite effect.
Drawbacks of Live Commerce
1. Technical Problems
The technology for live shopping is still in its early stages, and many platform functions need to be improved. Furthermore, the issue of live broadcast latency is of paramount importance. Many platforms may be unable to guarantee the quality and timeliness of live broadcasts, resulting in unclear product presentation. As a result, customers will most likely have a negative online shopping experience, and will be discouraged from acquiring products.
Although the chatbot feature allows customers to communicate with salespeople, technical issues may cause delays or cancellations. Salespeople may take longer to respond to customers’ questions, lengthening the process and potentially increasing the likelihood of cart abandonment.
2. Salespeople may be unable to communicate with consumers properly.
Human interaction is essential in live shopping. Below are some identified reasons why salespeople may be unable to communicate with consumers efficiently.
- Due to personal reasons, salespeople may be unable to respond to customers promptly after accepting their inquiry. The buyer abandons the purchase as a result of this occurrence.
- When international customers make inquiries, they may not be able to complete the transaction owing to linguistic problems.
- Businesses with less human resources, on the other hand, may struggle to keep up with online and offline updates. Products may not appear unified across all platforms due to the lack of time and personnel.
- When customers contact the store via different methods (website and mobile APP), the salesperson may receive conflicting messages. As a result, there is poor communication and the customer’s order cannot be processed.
3. Potential Risks of Customers
Even though many platforms offer live commerce, network security remains a hidden threat. Many customers may be concerned that online shopping platforms may not be able to protect their personal and financial information. Hackers are faking shopping websites, and customers are opting to buy through other methods.
Although the live shopping may display product qualities in real-time, there are still issues with product quality and deceptive promotion. The content of live commerce is critical to the rights and interests of customers. Platforms that offer live shopping are also in charge of enacting regulations to ensure that live broadcast sales are genuine.
4. Customers may or may not engage with live commerce.
While live commerce can help you extend your market, it may not always target the right people. If your target market is the elderly, your brand may not be appropriate for live shopping. Despite the fact that the Internet’s popularity has spread to all age groups, the proportion of persons over 65 who still use it is the lowest. As a result, accepting and adapting to new things is challenging. Each consumer class has its own interests. Before opting to go live with shopping, consider aspects like the number of users, user profiles, and spending power.
VIMOS can support you in overcoming the challenges of starting an online store!
VIMOS’ cutting-edge online shopping platform enables you to better manage your team and handle issues cannot be resolved instantly. The salesperson will respond to the customer’s inquiries in three steps, prioritizing the order of messages received. With steps such as “Unhandled”, “In progress” and “Completed”, the salesperson can deal with the customer’s information more systematically. You can invite more members of your team to join the conversation. This happens especially when a salesperson begins a conversation with a customer and is pushed to reach a conclusion.
Whereas the expense of starting an online store and establishing live commerce is expensive, VIMOS’ platform may make the process easier for you and give the foundation for doing so. You’re one step closer to better process implementation and exceptional customer service with only a few clicks!
Sign up for a VIMOS live and chat commerce platform trial now and experience growth like you’ve never had before!
