Emerging trends in eCommerce are all pointing to livestreaming

When talking about the big trends emerging in the eCommerce scene, Ankit Porwal, general manager eCommerce, CDP, SAPMENA Zone for L'Oréal told the audience at Retail Reset that livestreaming has become extremely important and is going to become “the future of eCommerce”. 

Live stream, what is the big deal about it? And why has it simply exploded into the scene?

In order to answer this question, one must firstly look at the emerging trends in the world of eCommerce. The way Porwal sees it, the first big trend to take note of is the convergence of shopping and entertainment. eCommerce today no longer stands as a vertical on its own. Often the platform banks on the power of social, gaming, and livestreaming, to better reach its audiences. 

Singaporean online game developer and publisher Garena for one is activating games on the platform which helps the company keep consumers engaged and among others. Garena is owned by SEA Group which is the parent company of commonly used eCommerce marketplace Shopee. 

Digitally native brands are also on the rise, explained Powel. These are brands that are totally digital in nature and have the best understanding of the digital space. Usually owned by celebrities and influencers, these brands are driven through only advocacy and word of mouth. One such example would be Kylie Cosmetics, founded by American socialite, Kylie Jenner. In 2019, she sold 51% of Kylie Cosmetics for US$600 million to American beauty company, Coty. Kylie Jenner reportedly has an estimated net worth of US$700 million. 

In addition, these influencer brands are also getting a lot of startup attention and money to invest and build in these brands, he explained. Jamie Laing, reality television grew to be a self-made entrepreneur with his company, Candy Kittens. Offering tasty and quality products, Candy Kittens produces sweets that are vegan and gluten-free. In 2019, the company reportedly secured a multi-million-pound investment from a German firm, Katjes International. 

According to Porwal, 40% of the consumers switch between channels, said Statista. As a result, brands need to be ready to entice the consumer in every channel or media. This is when livestreaming comes into play. Take, for example, China, where most of the innovation for eCommerce is happening. Powel shared that over the past five years, livestreaming in China had a 4% contribution in 2019, but today, the number stands at 14%. He added that this growth came on the back of tech and innovation which supported livestreaming and enhanced the seamlessness of the customer journey.

Now while all of this was happening in China, players like Sharpie and Lazada in South Asia have started activating livestreaming on platforms as well. Triggered by the pandemic, livestreaming has resulted in the rise of shopper-tainment which enables consumers to purchase products immediately while being entertained. Emphasising that he is seeing a massive GMV growth, Porwal said that "almost 
307% growth is what we are seeing in overall livestreaming across platforms, this is the total category data." There was also an average order growth of 116%. 

“We are looking at some 14 million daily views and 17,000 daily live streams. That is massive,” he said, explaining that through livestreaming, brands are not only trying to sell their products but are also brands trying to create awareness and engagement for themselves.

The three pillars of livestreaming

Clearly, the power of livestreaming is indisputable. But how do you get your strategy right to make live-streaming work for you?

Well, first and foremost, you have to have the traffic. Porwal emphasises the importance of building traffic, through platforms such as social media to drum up awareness. A brand could have planned livestreaming, but if the consumer is not aware of it, the efforts will not pay off. 

The second pillar is content. “Content quality and right duration is critical. Based on the livestreaming objective, we have to decide what kind of script is the right script, who should be the key opinion leader and how to keep the consumer engaged”, he said. Timing is crucial to the execution.

The third pillar is all about creating exclusivity. Porwal explained that to lure in consumers, and create a unique experience that will keep them coming back for more, brands must be generous enough to really have exclusive promos or gifts with purchase - which should only be utilised during their livestreaming execution. If the promotions are easily replicated, or exclusive products are made available on shelves of retail, the lure will be lost.  Powel also added that brands must create a sense of urgency, which would drive the purchase of the product. 

So why do consumers love livestreaming so much?

While it is clear that the consumers now love livestreaming, researchers accumulated and analysed the data and came to the conclusion why. It was because livestreaming is making the entire experience of eCommerce from 2D to 3D. The method is regarded to be more engaging and participative. Consumers are able to interact with other shoppers or with key opinion leaders who are talking about a specific product. 

“I think the younger consumers today are also more discerning. They want a direct relationship and connection with the branch or the cables rather than one-way classic advertisement where the brand tells what they are about. Rather than that, they want a conversation. And this can happen very well on live streams,” said Porwal.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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