Retailers have used videos to introduce and sell products, and attract customers for a long time, but live video broadcasts are a relatively new and innovative way to directly connect and generate excitement. Live-streamed shopping makes the online shopping experience more authentic and allows your audience to engage with you in real-time.

Today, customers are regularly using social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to browse and purchase items, and live selling and social commerce are more powerful than ever. In fact, according to Insider Intelligence, US retail social commerce sales are expected to reach up to $79.64 billion by 2025.

Social commerce is the promotion and selling of consumer goods and services on social media platforms using Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitch and Twitter to engage and influence the community to hopefully complete a sale. And while Facebook and Instagram have been incredibly popular and successful the past few years with their shoppable posts, live-selling options are taking the retail industry by storm.

Live selling involves hosting live video streams on social media, third party networks or your own live selling platform. The goal is to introduce products to the viewers, demonstrate how they work, interact and engage, answer questions, and allow them to buy the products in real time using tags and links to your site. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s a great way to reach shoppers who are located all over the world.

It’s even beneficial if a retailer chooses to use their own live selling platform to sell products because they don’t need a huge media presence to get started. And while social media and dedicated live selling platforms grant them immediate access to a larger audience, if a business uses their own channel, they can emphasize branding, capture data, and use the live stream for a different reason later down the line.

Benefits of Live Selling

While the benefits are endless, these are the five reasons we think you’ll benefit from live selling.

• Build relationships: Whether you respond to comments, answer questions or demonstrate the product, it’s good to interact with your customers and add a human touch to the shopping process. It helps build trust.

• Show off stock: You can include different products, brands, sizes, shapes, colors, materials, and price points, and demonstrate the items too. And you can create sales and deals that are exclusive to live shopping customers only.

• Buy in real time: Shoppers want instant gratification and live selling is the perfect opportunity to give them what they want and fulfill these desires.

• It’s sustainable: According to Retail Touchpoints research, live selling returns are reduced by up to 40% when compared to traditional online shopping options.

• Engage With Customers: You’ll build a loyal customer base and brand loyalty using regular communication to connect and engage with customers over live commerce.

• It’s affordable & accessible: Live streaming is not only accessible, but it’s practically free to live stream via social media. Even the more professional live streaming apps are affordable and easy to use.

• It’s authentic: Add the human factor and it just seems more real. People prefer to have products and services sold to the in real time and not via ads or a chatbot.

Top 5 Ways Live Selling Can Catapult Your Sales

An increase in sales is the end goal of retail game, and here are five ways you can use live selling to send your numbers through the roof.

• Creates a sense of urgency: Want your customer to take action immediately? Live events make them want to get involved right away because they’ll get to see the products in real time and won’t want to let a good thing get away. With this sense of urgency, there’s a much better chance they’ll make an impulse purchase which means more money for your business. You should include livestream-only promo codes, countdowns, giveaways, and steals and deals.

• Increases your website traffic and conversions: While it’s not guaranteed that those who watch your live stream will make a purchase, you’ll definitely enjoy a boost in website traffic and on your social media accounts too. This means you’ll not only gain more followers, but they may turn into customers and many more sales in the future too. Once you set up your business for livestream selling, it’ll be easier to upscale your business and reach more people too. Plus, if you co-host with a popular influencer or another store, it’ll help strengthen relationships with clients and also potentially bring in new customers from co-hosts.

• Gives you access to customer data and insights: With live selling, you’ll also get access to customer insights, data and their email address too. You’ll be able to see your viewers during a live stream event, which includes their demographics which helps learn about their gender, age, location and more, and you’ll get data from current customers too. Armed with this information, you can create more targeted ads. You can also gain data from existing customers. After the live stream you can then follow up and request feedback on your products and services to better understand what they want, their shopping habits, and what they’d like to see in the future.

• Creates a community: Everyone wants to feel like they belong and they’re part of a bigger community and with live selling, it’s easier to achieve. With live shopping, you are creating a community of like-minded shoppers who can also interact with each other. If you create a closeknit and engaged community, you’ll bond with your customers and build stronger relationships with your target audience.

• Moves stale inventory: By incorporating a few pieces that may have been sitting on the shelf longer than usual adding the products to the live stream will help get those items in front of the eyes of the ideal customer who can then take them off your hands. What’s better than moving stagnant inventory?