ARTICLES
5
min read time
May 24, 2023

Why you should offer live shopping

Ever thought of incorporating live shopping into your sales strategy? To us, it's a no-brainer! You can read more about all the benefits right here.

Why you should offer live shopping
Table of Contents

Over the years, e-commerce has gained greater acceptance amongst customers in various industries. But the more digital everything becomes, the more we lack personal connection and personal sales.

But, the technological age has started to flourish, providing a new way of shopping online – live shopping.

With Facebook Live, it’s now possible to connect personal sales with e-commerce, and that has become an irreplaceable and effective sales tool for many stores.

As a store, you can now reach countless customers at once, where real-time interaction gives you a wealth of opportunities. The best part? It doesn’t require a lot of work from you. The atmosphere is fresh and personal, full of spontaneity and doesn’t involve lots of preparation. This makes it easy for you, as a store, to get started – and your customers will love it!

Live sales strengthen trust and brand identity

As already stated, online shopping is popular, but it can be perceived as a faceless, digital storefront, because the customer doesn’t have an opportunity to build up a personal relationship with the business.

Live sales, therefore, can be one way to get faces and presence back into the bigger picture, despite the platform still being online. Live shopping can offer both a personal relationship and a picture of the store, rather than just one of that all-too-familiar online shopping cart. Live sales enable your store to be more transparent and credible, which, in turn, allows you to personalise your brand and open up conversations about your products.

In addition to speaking to your audience during live sales, you also have a chance to let the customers communicate with you – which offer a great opportunity to learn more about your target audience and their needs.

Live sales are an opportunity for mutual dialogue, which means that your sales script can’t always be planned in-depth, or scripted before you go live. But, remember – live shopping is more relaxed, as spontaneous and personal interactions are the focus.

Engaging in this two-way interaction not only offers your customers a peek into the world of your store and brand, but also lets them become a valued part of it. This can cause a chain reaction where exciting things can start to happen!

Woman in Leather Shop

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Live sales make for committed customers

Let’s begin by bringing some data to the table about live sales:

– people watch live sales three times longer than normal videos

– live videos generate six times more interactions than other videos.

The reason live sales are so effective is partly due to the fact that comments and reactions in real-time allow customers to be a part of a stream instead of only being a spectator, meaning they can share their opinions about an item instantly. They can also ask questions along the way, and in return, get immediate answers.

This is a huge advantage – and one that strongly helps to build a solid relationship between the store and the consumer.

Additionally, if you demonstrate an engaging and entertaining personality during your live sales, your customers will certainly notice! So, you will probably be recommended to others, and shoppers might even share the live sale or invite their friends to join them immediately. And so the snowball effect begins – in no time at all, you will still be delivering with the same amount of personal effort, but be reaching far more customers in the process.

Give suggestions for styling and composition

By bringing together more items, you increase the chance of additional sales. Assemble the products that appear in your live sales as you would in your showroom: capture the viewer with one of your bestsellers and then show products that look similar or complement it.

Recap

Facebook Live has proven to be an effective way to strengthen your store’s brand identity, whereby you create relationships by entertaining and engaging the consumers.

It does not require much other than being yourself – human and imperfect!

So what are you waiting for? Forget preparation, just roll the camera while talking to your customers and show them what your store sells and stands for.

Girl shopping online

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The #1 Live Shopping master class is here
Unleash the power of Live Shopping with Sprii's 5-part bootcamp series!
Crush Black Friday with Live Shopping
Win the retail rush with this playbook packed with Live Shopping strategies
Whoa, Live shopping crushes E-commerce
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Sprii in Action

During a Live Shopping event, Sprii automatically replies to comments, creates orders for your customers, sends them a link to their basket, and handles payment and shipping.

5. Create hype & excitement during your events

The beauty of Live Shopping is that it can be used in so many ways. This is particularly valuable during Black Friday and Cyber Monday when businesses are looking to engage their viewers in as many ways as possible.

Here are 3 ways to create hype and get customers excited about your Black Friday events so you can achieve your revenue goals.

5. Create hype & excitement during your events

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, potential customers often experience an intense pressure to participate in the shopping frenzy, driven by the fear that they will miss out on the best deals and discounts if they don't join in.

Live Shopping enables viewers to make purchases instantly while watching the stream, which can be especially effective during Black Friday and Cyber Monday when time-limited deals are available. This instant purchasing capability can drive sales during Live Shopping events.

With Live Shopping, consumers get the personal assistance of an in-store shopping experience and the convenience of being able to shop from the comfort of their own sofa or favorite coffee shop.

Viewers can get information from the retailer in real-time by asking questions directly in the Live Shopping event.

During a live show, viewers can ask questions and get answers in real-time. Even better, they can interact with each other and share their experiences with your products.

AspectTraditional E-Commerce JourneyLive Shopping Journey
Marketing ApproachHigh ad spend and several channels to attract shoppers to webshopLeveraging existing social media followers
NavigationRequires navigating through a static webshop to find products.Requires nothing more than watching a live video to discover new products.
Product PresentationProducts are presented through static images. Products are presented in a live video by engaging hosts.
Customer ExperienceFeels like a business transaction.Feels like a personal connection.
Engagement and InteractionLimited to static product descriptions, images, and occasional customer reviewsOffers real-time interaction between hosts and viewers, allowing for immediate Q&A, live demonstrations, and personalized recommendations
Customer ExperienceCustomers independently navigate the webshop and make purchase decisions without help.Customers are guided through products, receive helpful information, and can ask questions as well as see what others are writing and asking.
Conversion RatesRelies on well-designed websites and optimized marketing funnels to convert visitors into buyers.Often achieves higher conversion rates due to the sense of urgency and interactive nature of live events.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)Higher CAC due to extensive marketing efforts across various channels.Typically lower CAC by leveraging social media followings and organic engagement during live events.
Return RatesHigher return rates due to customers not fully understanding the product before purchase.Lower return rates as live demonstrations provide a clearer understanding of the product, leading to more informed purchasing decisions.
Time to sellCan range from hours to weeks or even months. Often much quicker, ranging from minutes to hours.
Metric Traditional E-Commerce Live Shopping²
 Avg. Conversion Rate 2.5%³  Up to 60% (Sprii Data)
 Avg. View Time 54 seconds⁴ 20+ minutes (Sprii Data)
 Avg. Checkout Rate 45%⁵ 60% (Sprii Data)
 Avg. Return Rate 20-30%⁶ Under 10% (Sprii Data)
 Avg. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) +€50⁷ 0*
 Avg. Sales Cycle Hours, weeks, months Minutes