Ormsson Reached 52% New Customers With Their First Live Shopping Show
Ormsson, one of Iceland’s leading home appliance and electronics retailers, just launched their very first Live Shopping show to connect with a new generation of customers.
By combining strong offers, engaging hosts, and a completely new format for the Icelandic market, the show didn’t just create attention, it delivered immediate commercial impact.
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3,7M
in their first Live Shopping Show
52%
new viewers in their first Live Show
16 Min
average watch time
The Retail Revolution
With more than 100 years in the market, Ormsson had built a strong and trusted brand. But reaching younger audiences had become a real challenge for them.
“As an established company we tend to target an older demographic. With Live Shopping, as a new shopping experience, we saw an opportunity to target younger customers.” explains Guðmundur R. Einarsson, Marketing Manager at Ormsson.
They discovered that traditional eCommerce and social media were effective for promotion, but not for interaction with their customers. The team wanted to do more than just push offers, they wanted to create a new kind of experience that could engage customers in real time.
At the same time, they saw an opportunity to be among the first in Iceland to bring Live Shopping to market and differentiate themselves from competitors.
“It reminded me of telemarketing, which used to be huge in Iceland. But this felt like a new experience, and we wanted to be first" explains Guðmundur R. Einarsson.
Moving beyond one-way communication
Before Live Shopping, Ormsson’s digital presence was largely built around traditional eCommerce and promotional content. Communication was one-directional — the brand spoke, and customers either responded by buying or they didn’t.
What was missing was interaction. There was no real dialogue, no immediate feedback, and no way to recreate the in-store experience online. Customers couldn’t ask questions in the moment, see products demonstrated in a real-life setting, or get the reassurance they would normally receive from speaking to a salesperson in-store.
This made it harder to build confidence and connection — especially with new and younger audiences who expect more engaging and interactive shopping experiences.
Ormsson saw Live Shopping as a way of changing that. By combining product presentation, entertainment, and real-time engagement in one format, they could create a more dynamic and human experience — one that brings them closer to how customers actually want to shop today.
A first show built to learn
With no prior experience in live or video selling, Ormsson approached their first show with a simple mindset: Let get started, learn as we go along, and improve with each show.
Planning their first live show took just three weeks. The team focused on getting the essentials right rather than overcomplicating the process and they had help from a production company that would take care of all the technical setup.
To ensure a strong execution, they brought in professional presenters to host the show, to help create a confident and engaging experience from the start.
The show was streamed on Facebook and Instagram, supported by a mix of social promotion, influencer activity, and even traditional channels like radio and newspapers, helping them reach a broad audience quickly.
Products were carefully selected to match the format. Ormsson focused on items with strong stock availability and added attractive discounts to drive urgency, while also introducing new products to keep the show interesting and engaging. This combined with gamification elements created a strong show that keep viewers watching.
The Retail Revolution
What started as a test of the format quickly turned into an all-round success.
Within just one hour of their first show, Ormsson delivered strong revenue results with over 3.7M ISK in revenue, exceeding expectations for a first-time event.
“I didn’t think anybody would buy products during this one hour,” Guðmundur admits. “So we were really happy about that.”
And even though Ormsson and Guðmundur were happy about the revenue results, they were the happiest about the viewers. Because the initial goal with Live Shopping was to unlock a new target demographic and with more than 52% of the viewers completely new they did just that.
In total, the show reached over 4,000 people, with more than 8,000 views and a peak of 409 concurrent viewers during the live broadcast. Engagement was equally strong, with thousands of comments and viewers staying active throughout the show and an average watch time of 16 minutes.
From first show to future growth
What made the show work was not just that Ormsson went live. It was that they gave customers a reason to take part.
Instead of watching another product promotion, viewers became part of the experience. They asked questions, commented, reacted, joined competitions, and interacted directly with the hosts while the products were being presented.
“Now we’re interacting with the clients,” Guðmundur says. “They’re talking to us, saying thank you — and with Live Shopping, that happened on a much larger scale than usual.”
For Ormsson, that shift mattered. Live Shopping turned a one-way sales message into a two-way conversation, creating a closer connection between the brand and its customers. And the impact is already reaching beyond the first show.
Following the success of their first Live Shopping event, Ormsson is planning future shows, exploring additional channels such as their website, and using their first broadcast as a foundation to build a repeatable format. The brands they represent have also started showing interest in being part of future events.
“They want to be part of the next show,” Guðmundur explains. “It’s a new way for them to promote products.”
What started as a first test is now becoming something bigger: a new way to connect with customers, create value for brand partners, and build Live Shopping into a new commercial channel.
Takeaways other retailers can use
The top three takeaways that people can take from Ormsson’s first live show is:
- Use Live Shopping to reach beyond your existing audience
Ormsson proved that Live Shopping can attract new customers, not just activate loyal followers. With 52% new viewers, the format became a growth channel from the first show. - Design for interaction, not just promotion
The strongest shift came from real-time participation. Give viewers reasons to comment, ask questions, join competitions, and interact with hosts while they watch. - Turn the first show into a repeatable commercial format
Start with products that are easy to demonstrate, strong offers, and enough stock to convert demand. Then use the learnings to build future shows, partner activations, and a scalable Live Shopping channel
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