Brands Social
Social Commerce and Live Shopping: The Future of Online Retail
Do you implement and live shopping?
If you work in ecommerce, you should include both of these experiences in your strategy to get and retain customers by offering them the most engaging time shopping on your website and socials.听
Commerce has evolved from physical stores to websites and now to social media and live shopping, which is where influencers check out products that live users can ask questions about and make purchases online. Live shopping has the interactive advantages of in-person shopping with the convenience of online purchases.听
This article explores the impact of social live shopping, its benefits, and its challenges. By the end, you will understand why these trends are so influential and get some inspiration on how to use them to sell more products online in an interactive way.听
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is using social media to sell products. The platforms currently leading the charge are TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook Shops.
Social media has the technology to offer commerce capabilities like product tags and integrated checkout to make the experience of buying products on social media safe, seamless, and secure.听听
This method of selling bypasses websites to sell to consumers directly in a more interactive, engaging way than ever before possible, increasing sales and revenue.听
The Rise of Live Shopping Experiences
Social media users love entertainment, and they love shopping. Combine the two, and you have a winning combination that users will keep returning to.听
The videos don鈥檛 have to be long, scripted, or complicated. Dubai chocolate became an overnight sensation from two influencers who did a simple video showing how much they enjoyed it. Soon after, it was in all the shops globally.听
Live shopping events create a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and real-time interactions. They make shoppers feel part of a community, sharing the excitement of discovering and purchasing products together.
Benefits for Businesses and Consumers
There are several benefits of using live shopping as part of a in e-commerce. Let鈥檚 split these benefits into how they help businesses and how they offer an advantage to consumers.听
Benefits for Businesses
Live shopping helps stores sell more because people get excited and buy fast, because it shows off products in a cool way, and builds trust. Businesses can answer questions quickly and connect with shoppers, making them want to come back.
Benefits for Consumers
Live shopping events are fun and exciting. They let people see products in action and ask questions right away, and people can shop with friends and other fans. It feels more real and helps them decide faster.
Customer Feedback, Live Shopping, and Social Commerce
Customer feedback is crucial to the success of any shopping and social commerce business. Reviews and testimonials let new customers know that they can trust a new brand, which is especially critical in a time when many reviews are fake and trust is harder to earn than ever. Real reviews build credibility and social proof during live shopping events, driving sales and loyalty.听
Many brands are turning to resources like the to find and showcase the most impactful, genuine customer feedback to drive confidence in their brand and sales.听
Challenges and Best Practices
Like anything that鈥檚 worth doing in any field of business, live shopping on social media has challenges you need to be aware of and overcome or avoid using best practices to optimize how you use it.听
The main challenges are:
- Technical issues: All it takes is a low battery on a smartphone or bad lighting to destroy an important live shopping event.听
- High engagement: When engagement soars beyond expected numbers, it can cause problems.听
- Negative comments: The internet is free of censorship, so negative comments can derail the pleasant experience of a live shopping event and damage brand image.听
The most common best practices include:
-
- Choosing the right platform: Choose the best platform for the product you are promoting.
- Preparing engaging content: Ensure content is suitable for the age and interests of the audience. 听
- Building a team to monitor chats and responses: You need the right people to manage calls and chats from users.听
In the age of instant feedback and reviews that can sway public opinion, it鈥檚 essential to garner positive reviews and showcase the right ones and deal with negative reviews, and address problems fast. This is part of a continuous improvement approach to build trust and get the largest audiences for your live shopping events.听
Conclusion
Social commerce and live shopping are a powerful combination if you use them effectively.听
It can connect brands with the consumers who will love their products and buy them via live shopping events.听
Be aware of challenges like high engagement, technical issues, and negative comments by following best practices. The most common best practices are choosing the right platform, preparing engaging content, and building a team to deal with chat responses.听Explore these next-era tools and leverage customer feedback to create authentic and engaging experiences.
