What’s the Story?

This report is part of our Innovator Profile series, which focuses on emerging technologies that are disrupting traditional retail and fueling innovation across the retail value chain. In this report, we profile buywith, a tech company that helps brands, retailers and content creators to create a “shop with me” user experience through livestreaming. Coresight Research collaborated with Buywith to offer insights into its service capabilities and offerings.

Why It Matters

Livestream shopping is set to continue growing rapidly, with the US livestream e-commerce market set to reach $11 billion in 2023 and $35 billion in 2024, Coresight Research estimates. Retailers and brands will increasingly turn to live shopping channels to engage consumers online. The solution offered by Buywith helps brands, retailers and content creators to host live virtual shopping events at scale, with no app, integration or equipment needed. The company claims that its offering is unique in using a website as the background to the session—taking thousands of viewers on a highly engaging shoppable journey on an e-commerce site, combined with video and chat. Moreover, to date, Buywith is the only company in the US livestream shopping space that has developed its own patent-pending technology: the “shop with me“ user experience.

Buywith: In Detail

  Headquarters Tel Aviv, Israel Funding Stage Pre-seed Management Team Adi Ronen Almagor—CEO and Co-Founder Eyal Sinai—CTO and Co-Founder What Problem Is the Company Solving? Buywith has identified that viewers often lose track of item information presented by the host during a livestream session, creating friction in the purchase journey. The company has responded with its “shop with me” user experience solution, whereby viewers can browse the website alongside the host and see the creator’s screen to keep on top of the products discussed. This feature also brings followers closer to the creator, enabling broadcasters to appear to be shopping alongside their viewers. In addition, the company enables collaboration between brands/retailers and the influencers or content creators representing them, allowing them to view engagement and purchasing analytics while the livestream is being broadcasted. Competitive Advantage Unlike other solution providers in the live shopping space, Buywith enables retailers to build their own live event page without any code integration. The onboarding procedure is therefore faster than many competitors, according to the company; it only takes one week. To launch a live shopping event, brands and retailers can simply initiate a session directly from a smartphone, with no dedicated app required for end-users. Online shoppers can join the real-time session by clicking the link shared. Processes such as registration by the end-user are automated to reduce friction. Strategy for the Post-Pandemic Market  Buywith has benefited from the growth in livestream shopping over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic and believes that the trend is here to stay. Coresight Research’s 2021 survey on social commerce found that more than half of US consumers aged over 18 are familiar with the concept of livestream shopping, and we expect awareness to continue growing. The company states that its clients use Buywith to maintain their virtual relationships with the audience and will continue to do so once the pandemic eases. In addition, the company’s offering helps clients to gain new traffic and stay relevant with millennial and Gen Z consumers that increasingly engage with video content. Upcoming Developments Buywith has been working with the biggest fashion brands across the US, Europe and Middle East. So far in 2021, the company has launched features including multi-host video, AI (artificial intelligence) chat moderation and a marketplace of content creators. Next, Buywith will be launching more interactive features to entertain end-users and enhance content creation capabilities for hosts.

What We Think

We expect to see more retailers look to grow their digital engagement strategically and deepen their connections with shoppers through livestreaming. The Buywith business model is well positioned to capitalize on pandemic-led changes in consumer shopping behavior, including the shift to online and resulting increased demand for digital engagement.