DIpil Das
Livestreaming Latest, July 2021
Live shopping has taken off during the pandemic and continues to pick up steam each month. The Coresight Research Livestreaming Latest series provides regular updates on the variety of approaches that are emerging around the world, across different retail sectors. We present recent market developments and discuss three trends we have seen in the livestreaming space recently. We also offer examples of notable livestreaming events.Recent Market Developments
- On June 1, 2021, Ritzi, a new live shopping platform, was launched in Germany. It allows individual users to create their own sales channel through live video interactions with viewers on the app. The platform opened with channels fromselected beauty and fashion brands as well as concept stores to present its features. During the two-week soft launch the platform did not charge any commission—usually 15%.
- On June 1, 2021, US-based anonymous mortgage marketplace Bundle closed a $600,000 seed round, led by CFV Ventures, Charlotte Angel Fund, Allied Venture Partners and Superangel.Fund, to develop the platform’s features, including a live shopping model to connect prospective homebuyers to lenders anonymously and in real time.
- On June 9, 2021, US video-streaming network Shopflix debuted a live shopping platform serving as a “retail partner and content creator” for brands. The platform creates content on behalf of brands using its team of in-house writers and hosts, and provides a direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales channel offering strong margins and a low acquisition cost.
- On June 10, 2021, the interactive live event platform Looped raised $7.7 million in a seed-funding round to expand its features. Since its launch, Looped has seen more than 300,000 people purchase virtual tickets to watch events led by some 1,000 creators, according to the company.
- On June 10, 2021, US collectible sports cards marketplace Loupe received venture capital investment of $12 million in Series A funding, led by Forerunner Ventures, to expand its team and features. Loupe allows its members to buy and sell while viewing multiple streams simultaneously.
- On June 11, 2021, live shopping platform Shopshops raised $15 million in Series B funding from LightShed Ventures, Acrew Capital and existing investors including Forerunner Ventures. The company will use the investment to expand into the US market and continue serving overseas shoppers in China.
- On June 17, 2021, Hero, a virtual shopping technology provider, introduced its “Stories” feature, enabling Shopify stores to chat and videocall with shoppers, and create shoppable, short-form videos.
- On June 17, 2021, the social media-powered shopping app Shop LIT Live launched a streamlined customer purchasing journey which integrates every step of the process: Everything from product discovery to checkout is native within the app, minimizing friction and increasing sales conversion.
- On June 18, 2021, JD held its Grand Promotion for 6.18, China’s largest mid-year shopping festival. JD has been in partnership with short video platform Kuaishou since May 2020, meaning livestream shoppers can purchase products from JD.com on Kuaishou. As live shopping becomes a major focus for JD.com, it hosted 300,000 livestreams, with 31 brands reporting more than RMB 100 million ($14 million) in sales from JD livestream channels.
- On June 18, 2021, Alibaba’s Tmall, Pinduoduo and Suning each collaborated with a major satellite TV network to broadcast gala shows with livestream shopping features promoting their sales during the 6.18 shopping festival. According to Alibaba, livestreaming sessions during the 6.18 shopping festival were up more than 120% year over year.
- On June 21, 2021, NTWRK, a live shopping app for limited edition products, appointed Jason Brown, previously Vice President of Marketing at Foot Locker Inc,. as its first Chief Marketing Officer. He plans to forge more exclusive partnerships with famous brands and creators to inspire and empower youth culture.
- On June 30, 2021, Firework, a B2B short-video platform headquartered in Silicon Valley, launched a livestream e-commerce solution that allows brands to sell products through live shoppable videos on their own websites. Brands can thus initiate their own livestreaming events without relying on external social media platforms and retain value from the traffic coming to their website.
Three Trends We’ve Seen Recently
1. Multichannel Flexibility Expands Brands’ Reach From a brand’s own website to its social media channels, multichannel streaming will amplify the impact of brands and retailers’ livestreams, enabling them to capture more audiences on third-party platforms and attract them to proprietary sites for conversion.- On June 15–17, 2021, L’Oréal Canada held its first virtual beauty festival, hosted by Canadian influencer Liz Trinnear. Featuring L’Oréal Canada brands like It Cosmetics, Valentino Beauty, YSL Beauty, Kiehl’s and Atelier Cologne, the three-day event covered topics on skincare, fragrance and makeup.
Trinnear hosting the makeup live shopping session with Urban Decay specialist Meagan Shiskos on Facebook Live. Source: L’Oréal Canada [/caption]
- On June 23, 2021, French department store Printemps held its first livestream shopping experience on Printemps.com and its Instagram and Facebook channels. The “En Mode Printemps” live session was shot from its Boulevard Haussmann flagship store and presented a selection of fashion, beauty and lifestyle pieces in a lighthearted, entertaining manner, redirecting the audience to the retailer’s website to purchase the pieces. The 20-minute session also featured a chat function which allowed participants to interact directly with the personal shopper in real time.
Printemps’ live shopping session on Printemps.com (left) and Instagram (right) Source: Company website [/caption] 2. Educating and Inspiring Viewers To Build Customer Loyalty Although offering deals always gains traction, educational and inspirational livestreams are also performing well. By employing experts sharing authentic knowledge in the livestreams, brands and retailers can sell products that customers normally need to try for themselves in-store.
- On June 23, 2021, the second-hand luxury goods site Luxury Promise launched the first of its live shopping sessions, hosted by its CEO, Sabrina Sadiq. The livestreams have an educational component, offering insights into luxury goods: In fact, its team of hosts are brand experts, authenticators and sellers. During the live session, Sadiq offered brand stories, product maintenance advice, luxury investment knowledge and fashion styling tips to the live shopping audience.
Sadiq (right) in Luxury Promise’s first live shopping show Source: Company website [/caption]
- German amusement park and fruit farm Karl’s has been organizing livestreams throughout early 2021 and reaching up to 10,000 viewers every day, with 70,000 virtual guests per week according to the company. The platform is a pioneer in terms of the reach and variety of its programs. The livestreams have an emphasis on entertainment and cover a wide range of themes, while at the same time offering the opportunity to shop directly from the stream.
Owner Robert Dahl hosting a live show. Source: Company website [/caption] 3. Regular Live Shopping Schedules Nurture Viewership Habits Retailers are aligning their livestream output with a regular, predictable schedule in order to increase consumer engagement. Brands and retailers thus aim to become an ongoing part of their customers’ lives instead of merely an online shop used for a one-time purchase.
- On June 8, 2021, Japanese e-commerce leader Rakuten launched livestreaming services with full shopping features in France, having achieved great results in live shopping in Asia in recent years. In partnership with French live shopping platform Quidol, the new livestreams focus on high-tech products. Rakuten offers weekly live shopping sessions lasting 45–60 minutes and dedicated to specific customer demands such as high-tech categories and refurbished products. The pilot livestream showcased products from Club R Everywhere, a membership program with more than 1,300 partner brands (including Nike, Booking and Asos).
Rakuten and Quidol’s pilot live shopping session Source: Rakuten.fr [/caption]
- French cosmetics and beauty brand Yves Rocher has presented weekly live shopping sessions since May. Customers can access live shows through a link on its website, where daily show schedules can be automatically added to viewers’ personal calendars. Once the show starts, the products showcased are visible on a tab on the screen. A chat box enables customers to ask questions in real time, while browsing products and making purchases.
Yves Rocher runs a schedule of weekly livestreams covering specific skincare topics on its website. Source: Company website [/caption]
Other Notable Livestreaming Events
- On June 3, 2021, French luxury fashion brand LANVIN invited New York City fashion influencer Olivia Palermo to host a live shopping session on the brand’s website. Palermo shared her favorite outfits from LANVIN’s summer 2021 collection and had two models wear the items to present the whole look.
Palermo choosing her favorite items from LANVIN’s summer 2021 collection Source: Company website [/caption]
- On June 11, 2021, beauty entrepreneur Yris Palmer hosted her first livestream event on Bright, a new live video platform focused on education. The live video conversations allow viewers interact directly with creators, business leaders, celebrities and key influencers. Only paying ticket holders can be part of the live video comment feature and have the chance to be brought on screen to talk with the host directly.
- On June 14, 2021, Verishop, a Los Angeles-based e-commerce marketplace that aggregates DTC and independent brands, rolled out a new multi-streaming function on its mobile app. Products links appear on the screen as the presenter showcases the items. Viewers can complete the purchase without interrupting the livestream. Viewers can also access the full list of featured items at any time during or after the livestream.
Users can view upcoming live events and purchase products in the current livestream Source: Company website [/caption]
- On June 14, 2021, the US and Swedish clothing brand GANT broadcast a shoppable livestream hosted by its in-house associates, who showcased its spring and summer 2021 collection and answered questions from viewers.
GANT’s shoppable livestream Source: Company website [/caption]
- On June 16, 2021, beauty and fashion brand Carolina Herrera ran its second live shopping event, hosted by Spanish fashion blogger Alexandra Pereira, also known as Lovely Pepa. While she shared her favorite Carolina Herrera items, viewers were able to ask for makeup tips and interact with her through the live chat.
Pereira presenting her favorite picks from Carolina Herrera accessories. Source: Company website [/caption]
- On June 21, 2021, Ralph Lauren announced a new partnership with G2 Esports, one of the world’s largest entertainment and esports brands. Ralph Lauren will be the fashion outfitter of the G2 team and launch a series of global campaigns, events and digital activations on platforms including TikTok and Twitch to promote the collaboration.
- On June 22, 2021, Chinese electronic car manufacturer Aiways Automobiles organized its first live shopping session with its financial partner Cofidis. Hosted by automotive journalist Clémence De Bernis and the store associates, the livestream allowed viewers to book a trial window to test the vehicle and discover the various financing offers offered by Cofidis.
De Bernis hosting Aiways’ first livestream Source: Company website [/caption]
- On June 23, 2021, Walmart in partnership with Gap launched their new home goods brand, Gap Home, with a Shop-Along livestream event on its website and Facebook page. Customers were able to buy select pieces during the livestream, ahead of the full collection’s launch on Walmart.com. The livestream was hosted by TV personality and fashion designer Whitney Port, and also featured conversation with Gap’s Head of Home Products Anouar Alami and interior designer Dabito.
Walmart’s Gap Shop-Along event Source: Walmart [/caption]
- On June 24, 2021, NTWRK, a live shopping app for limited edition products, unveiled three new shopping and entertainment shows: “Unhinged,” “Soled Out” and “Meltdown.” The weekly shows further the company’s aim of deepening audience engagement through unique and current experiences.
What We Think
In the Asian market, there is a diverse range of different live shopping platforms. However, Western customers are not yet as accustomed to live shopping as their Asian counterparts. As livestreaming expands in Western markets, the space will diversify as different niches are filled—meaning the original livestreaming model that worked so well for fashion and beauty retailers will have to be adapted. Implications for Brands and Retailers- By bringing the eyes of social followers to a brand’s proprietary live shopping page, bridging the gap between social media and brands’ e-commerce platforms and turning passive followers into active shoppers, brands and retailers will reap the greatest benefit from social media and live shopping initiatives.
- Establishing a regular livestreaming schedule can further embed consumers’ new live shopping habits, their loyalty to a brand, and their sense of community.
- Sharing inspirational content and product knowledge via livestreams allows brands and retailers to emphasize their commitment to online consumers and make them feel not just involved but valued.
- As brands seek to maximize their reach across different social media channels and e-commerce platforms, technology vendors will see demand for enhanced live video infrastructures to support stable multichannel streaming.