As I have repeated on more than one occasion, the magic of streaming technologies bases its essence on only one thing: its ability to turn towards real-time interactivity.
Juan Pablo Morales*
Netflix's interactive series, the live sports broadcast of Star+, as well as the imminent arrival of playgrounds on streaming platforms are clear examples that this magic will increasingly be a constant in the offer of content services in the global market.
For their part, brands, large and small, have begun to integrate more visibly and as a sales tactic this technology or technology integrations, to point to Over The Top user experiences, highly monetizable, innovative and that allow establishing one-to-one relationships with audiences, consumers and customers.
According to the research company Coresight, in the United States the revenues of the Live Shopping market are estimated for 2026 at more than 60 billion dollars, 5 times more than what was registered in 2020.
But specifically, what is Live Shopping? And what are the elements that should preferably be involved in this type of strategy?
Within sales techniques and consumer behavior studies, disciplines studied for decades, the relationship between the seller and the potential buyer has always been the trigger for moments of truth. E-commerce has been turning sales strategies to focus on the challenge of digitizing the user experience, and facilitating it so much, that each digital moment of truth becomes an effective closure.
However, the areas of marketing must excel. Its complex function in a digital world, with its constant tasks such as maximizing the impact of communication, increasing sales and obtaining greater market share, has to incorporate new tactics of relationship with users, innovative ways of developing emotional values that, in addition, reverse the loss of customer loyalty. The time has come to return again from "e-mopathy" on behalf of e-commerce, to traditional empathy through Live Shopping.
Live Shopping emerges then, as the alternative of establishing a one-to-one relationship with potential customers, a direct way to motivate sales, through storytelling and narratives based on digital media, with great advantages over traditional e-commerce.
In short, a Live Shopping is an event broadcast live via streaming, where a brand teaches its community the benefits of one or several products, and thus, stimulates the purchase, integrating, through the same user experience, an e-commerce and payment platform that facilitates and automates the sale, above all, that stimulates and takes advantage of the interaction.
I have had the opportunity to see and work closely with many Live Shopping experiences and the following are the 4 most important and critical elements for the success of an experience of this nature.
Water. The Platform
It is the technological heart of a Live Shopping, and in its selection and preparation the success of the strategy is based.
A Live Shopping platform must have a functionality as adaptive as water in any channel, and must be oriented mainly to mobile devices, including integrations with e-commerce and social networks, so that the user can make -and share- their purchases easily and visually, from the video experience itself, without abandoning it at any time.
It must be social, that is, include interactive elements, at least text, images, stickers and reactions etc. that allow you to interact via chat between brands and customers, their referrals and their circles of friends with whom to share the experience.
The platform must be prepared to support and motivate conversations oriented simultaneously to awareness, engagement and closure, and in which guerrilla strategies can be involved, with pre-established community managers and scripts, which seek to influence purchase decisions, with tones of recommendations from friends.
Earth. Production
In addition to an impeccable audiovisual production and pre-produced with millimetric clarity in its technical requirements, lighting, planimetry etc., storytelling becomes the main axis. This is the tangible axis of all elements.
The case of Ikea in Spain, produced by a company very close to us, is an inspiring example for other brands in this regard. It is worth watching the on-demand recordings (fully functional in addition), of their Live Shopping events, to understand the importance and relevance of aspects such as: 1. the call for specific market niches in each event, 2. the appropriate selection of talent, vendors and influencers as hosts of the events, and 3. the meticulously articulated integration between production, the e-commerce platform, the management of the video player, the narrative of talent and interaction with users.
This is the axis that connects strategy with execution.
Air. The marketing strategy
Knowing the audience is the most important step to orient communication towards those messages that most effectively boost results and KPIs. Strategy must be breathed in every move.
Digital options, such as Live Shopping, offer the possibility of obtaining real-time data about the consumer. These statistics should become in the short term the information that defines the continuous outline of the marketing strategy.
The sense of urgency must be awakened in users with the management of discounts, promotions and availability of inventories etc., so that the purchase decision is driven effectively.
Fire: Sales techniques
Without a doubt, the most important aspect of Live Shopping. An unbeatable audiovisual deployment and a platform fully integrated to the needs of a sales process is useless if the influencer, the seller or the team of sellers are not selected and trained appropriately, in communication techniques, camera management, presentation, objection management and effective closing of sales.
Talent must be prepared for the closest thing to a television format that mixes telesales, branded content, a talent contest, a live newscast and a stand up comedy. All in one. This is only achieved with preparation, trials, professionalism and above all with knowledge of the product, its benefits, values and stories. The hotter, the better.
Getting Started
Before selecting the platform or contracting the production, study in detail its convening capacity and the sales and marketing strategy. An onboarding for experiences of this style, if done in a serious and professional way, is a decision that must be taken from the perspective of return on investment and a long-term strategy.
Look for influencers who can communicate and sell, understanding your brand, your values, benefits and products.
Above all, get advice from a professional production team, not only technically, but strategic, with whom you can design the right storytelling, with whom you can train to sell, through a camera and a microphone, but above all to engage in honest, long-term and transparent conversations with your customers.
*Juan Pablo Morales is the CEO of Nuevos Medios.
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