The changes in technology and e-commerce have transformed the way we shop, and with the growing competition, businesses need to find new and innovative ways to connect with their customers. That’s where live shopping apps and platforms come in.
In 2023, live shopping is expected to be one of the hottest trends in e-commerce, and with good reason. Live shopping apps and platforms offer a unique way for businesses to showcase their products, interact with customers, and boost sales.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the five best live shopping apps and platforms to help you choose the best one for your business.
What is a live shopping app?
A live shopping app is a platform that allows businesses to sell products in real time, using video and live streaming technology. These apps provide an interactive shopping experience where customers can ask questions, get advice, and see the products in action.
Live shopping apps are a great way to engage with customers and create a sense of urgency around your products. They are also an effective way to build trust and increase sales.
There are tons of live shopping apps out there and each of them provides their users with different features and opportunities. Some are focusing on one-to-one live shopping while others seek to target wider audiences with one-to-many live shopping.
What are the best live shopping apps?
There are many benefits of live streaming for businesses but you have to choose the right live shopping app for you. We have gathered the 5 best live shopping platforms to make the decision much easier for you. All of these platforms provide one-to-many live shopping so you reach as many people as possible.
The Sprii Platform
The Sprii platform is a comprehensive live shopping platform that offers a range of features to help businesses boost sales. With the Sprii app, you can go live on your own website and multiple social media channels simultaneously. It provides seamless integration with various e-commerce tools, including Shopify, Magento, PayPal, WooCommerce, and different shipping options.
Sprii is easy to use and offers a wide range of features such as live video streaming, real-time chat, static image selling, customized overlays, your own data dashboard, and much more.
This means you can customize your live shopping events to match your brand identity and with everything else being automated, you can focus on your customers by creating the best live shopping experience.
Pros
- Lets you go live on your website, Facebook, and Instagram at the same time
- Tons of features to increase sales and engagement
- Easy to set up and use
- Professional live support every day
- Your audience can purchase directly through the live stream
- Customizable to fit your brand identity
- Works with all e-commerce sites
Cons
- You need a Facebook account
- Can’t go live on TikTok… yet!
Our Opinion
Well, it’s no surprise that we think our live shopping app beats everyone else in the field. And we are truly confident that you will think the same! You can even request a quick trial that lets you try and see the product before you dive deeper into live selling.
We are ready to help you with setting everything up, so you are ready to showcase and sell products in just 30 minutes.
Facebook Live
Facebook Live is a live video streaming feature on Facebook that allows users and businesses to broadcast in real-time to their followers and friends. With Facebook being one of the largest social media platforms in the world, using the platform for live shopping is a great idea.
You can use Facebook Live to showcase the exact products you would like to sell on your live stream. This is a great solution if you already have a good social media presence. More followers mean more views and a higher potential to reach other interested people.
Pros
- High potential for a lot of viewers
- Almost all companies already have a FB page
- Live streaming on Facebook is easy
- Facebook Insight data to analyze performance
- Live chat
Cons
- 10,000 followers are needed
- Not much customization unless you use extra software
- Tough to generate traffic for your own website
Our opinion
Facebook Live is definitely one of the better live shopping platforms if you want to create an easy live shopping event for your customers. A large portion of the world is already on Facebook and many people are using Facebook almost daily, which means people often understand the shopping idea behind it much quicker.
Instagram Live
Instagram Live shopping is a live streaming feature on the super popular social media platform, Instagram. The platform is popular among businesses, influencers, and celebrities, and provides a unique opportunity to showcase products to a large and engaged audience.
Instagram Live is free to use, and businesses can use it to promote their products and build relationships with their followers.
You can schedule your live streams, upload tons of product pictures, and much more. You can even invite people along to help you co-host your live shopping events. It’s incredibly useful for businesses that want to build brand awareness and increase sales.
Pros
- More than 2 billion active users
- Funny filters and effects
- Live chat
- Import up to 30 product images to show
- Possible to invite co-hosts
Cons
- You need an Instagram business account
- Live events only stay on your account for 24 hours
Our opinion
Live shopping platforms like Facebook and Instagram are very similar. Instagram allows more customization which is amazing if you want to keep your brand identity throughout your live shopping event.
Instagram also lets you import up to 30 product images which are great for a live stream. A huge issue with live streaming on Instagram is that the live stream disappears after 24 hours. This means that potential customers that don’t catch your live shopping events won’t be able to watch them later on.
YouTube Live
YouTube Live is a feature of the popular video-sharing platform that allows content creators to live stream events, presentations, discussions, and even live shopping events in real time. This feature has become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly with the rise of online events, virtual conferences, and social shopping.
The live shopping feature works a bit differently on YouTube Live. You can create a store for your YouTube channel and promote your products that way. You can then tag these products or pin them to the chat for all the viewers to see.
Pros
- Live chat
- Cool features to increase engagement and sales
- Integrates your store
- 2.2 billion users worldwide
- Is optimized for mobile and desktop
Cons
- You need 1,000 subscribers
- Have to live in a country with the partnership program
- You have to manage transactions yourself
- Multi-streaming is not allowed
Our opinion
Another one of the most popular live shopping apps is YouTube Live. Because of the high amount of users, many businesses are looking to give this try too. This already makes sense if your business has a great YouTube following which makes it way easier for you to get more viewers.
Unfortunately, YouTube Live is lagging behind in features and integrations compared to many other solutions. The integration of your Shopify shop is great but you still have to manage all purchases without any help from the platform.
Amazon Live
Live shopping does not only exist on social media platforms but also on sites like Amazon. Amazon has thousands of sellers that want to showcase their products to the many viewers that every day are looking for new products on the world’s biggest e-commerce platform.
With this live shopping platform, you can go live whenever you want and show all your awesome products. You can make a live stream event that lasts up to 60 minutes which is great for live stream shopping.
What’s great about Amazon Live is that viewers can make direct purchases through the app and website which makes it even easier for you to create sales.
Pros
- Amazon attracts tons of viewers every day
- Great for bigger brands
- Perfect for companies that already have an Amazon store
- Earn extra affiliate commission for selling other products
Cons
- Amazon Live Creator App is only available for iPhones
- You need to be placed in the United States
- Doesn’t generate any traffic to your own website
Our opinion
If you are wondering which of the live shopping platforms you should use, Amazon Live could be the one for you. It’s a great place to sell products because of the huge product catalog and the many visitors Amazon receives every day.
It is also way easier if you already have an Amazon store ready to use. But if you are looking for a much wider reach that can help your own website traffic, you need to find another solution. Luckily, many other live shopping platforms can do that for you.
Tips for choosing the right live shopping platform
With so many options, it can be overwhelming for sellers to choose the right platform to showcase their products. And choosing the right one can have an effect on your numbers. So here are some tips to help you choose the best live shopping platform for your business:
1. Consider your target audience
Different live shopping platforms cater to different audiences. Consider your target audience and choose a platform that is most likely to reach them. You can even try different social platforms if you are not sure which ones are best for you.
2. Look at the platform’s features and integrations
Different platforms offer different features such as the ability to add products to the cart during the live stream, create your own brand identity, or the ability to showcase multiple products at once. Look at the platform’s features and choose one that aligns with your business goals.
If you are using Shopify, Quickpay, WooCommerce, or something totally different. Then make sure you find a live shopping platform that can integrate live shopping solutions like these so everything fits your business. It makes your life so much easier in the end.
3. Check the platform’s reach
Consider the platform’s reach and how many viewers it attracts. You want to choose a platform that has a large audience to increase the chances of reaching new customers. Finding a solution like Sprii that lets you go live on multiple live shopping platforms at once is a great way to increase sales and reach even more.
4. Look at the platform’s fees
Different platforms have different fee structures. Some charge a percentage of sales, while others charge a flat fee. Consider the platform’s fees and choose one that aligns with your budget.
5. Research the platform’s reputation
Do some research on the platform’s reputation, including reviews from other sellers. You want to choose a platform that is reliable and has a good reputation in the industry. All of the live shopping platforms you find on this list have a great reputation and are used by thousands of businesses.
Why live shopping platforms are important to you
One of the biggest benefits of live shopping platforms is their ability to provide an immersive and interactive shopping experience. By watching a live broadcast, consumers can see how a product looks, feels, and works in real-life situations. They can also ask questions and get immediate feedback from the host or other viewers, which can help them make more informed purchasing decisions.
Live shopping platforms also offer a sense of community and social connection that traditional online shopping lacks. This can lead to increased engagement and loyalty from consumers, as well as the potential for viral marketing and word-of-mouth promotion. Especially if you find the right times to go live on Facebook and Instagram.
All of these benefits are a clear reason why live shopping apps and platforms should be important to you. It’s both the present and the future of online shopping and companies are already experiencing amazing results with it.
Wrapping up
Live stream shopping and live video shopping apps are becoming more and more important for both sales and marketing. With software like Sprii, you can use the many features and integrations while also going live on your own website and multiple social channels at once. It’s a great way to skip all the problems and start efficiently selling.
You can also choose one of the other livestream shopping platforms to create your live event on. Just make sure you find the right platform for you before finding products, proper hosts, and everything else.
FAQ
Which platform is best for live shopping?
Sprii has a lot of features to increase sales, reach, and engagement. Besides that, the Sprii platform lets you integrate with almost any e-commerce tool and is super easy to use.
How to find a good live video shopping platform?
Take a look at our list right here and maybe do some extra research. We are sure that these 5 live shopping platforms can fulfill your wishes for live stream shopping.
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