Older generations in particular still remember classic teleshopping, which once made its way from production studio to TV sets: specialized salesmen, more or less serious, did their best to convince viewers of the existence of supposedly revolutionary new products. TV shopping never really got lost – it evolved into todays’ selling through social media platforms.

What many people don’t know: TV shopping never really got lost. It simply escaped most people’s perception – and underwent decisive changes behind the scenes. So much so that today’s live shopping will be one of the key e-commerce trends in 2023 and years to come.

What’s changed? Whereas there used to be permanent advertising programs on free TV, today – unsurprisingly – it’s influencers and experts who set the tone on social media. Products from a wide range of categories (health and beauty products, sports equipment, food and drinks, etc.) can be presented live and interactively to a large number of people. And in a serious way.

What is social commerce and live shopping?

Let’s start with live shopping: it’s basically a kind of live sales show on social media, in which influencers or experts present and test products. One of the main advantages of live shopping is that viewers can not only immediately add products to their virtual shopping baskets, but also participate directly in the discussion. In other words: during the presentation, it’s possible to ask questions or express certain wishes, such as a special feature review (usually via a chat function).

Liveshopping is an increasingly important sector of what is known as social commerce, i.e. the direct sale of products via social media. Both aspects have long been a huge theme in China, which now seems to be spreading slowly but surely to the West: while global sales of social commerce were still below $500 billion in 2021, they are set to reach around $1.2 trillion by 2025, and thus almost triple. By then, its share of the total e-commerce market should reach no less than 17%. Paticularly, this raise is to be shown in the coupon usage sector, as predicted by promo-codes.se

Many consumers who make a purchase decision based on a product presentation via a social media influencer then look for additional discounts – for example, a Samsung rabattkod to get a better deal on consumer electronics used by their favorite online celebrity.

Significant benefits of liveshopping for sellers too

The benefits of social commerce and live shopping are obvious, at least from the point of view of one group of technology-savvy customers. Speaking of: Logically, this group includes mainly, but not exclusively, the younger generations:

As the study shows, “social media buyers” are largely made up of younger generations. More specifically, around 62% belong to generations Y and Z, i.e. the birth years 1981 to 1996 and 1997 to 2012. On the other hand, almost 40% are from the “older generation” (Generation X and the “baby boomers”).

But from the point of view of online retailers, there is also enormous potential for the future. Some of the biggest benefits of live shopping and social commerce include:

• An additional and, for many, entirely new sales channel

• Close customer contact and customer loyalty

• Opportunity for direct interaction (asking questions, showing features)

• Higher conversion rates and lower marketing costs

• Lower return rates thanks to improved product presentation

• Valuable new customer information

How to successfully launch social commerce as an online retailer?

The good news is that social commerce and live shopping don’t require much to start with: In fact, all you need is an entrepreneurial account on channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or TikTok and a competent person to present products and interact with viewers. Of course, the right equipment and infrastructure should not be lacking so that products can be presented and sold properly.

Incidentally, the “salesperson” doesn’t necessarily have to be a (well-known) influencer. Admittedly, this can have a positive effect on potential customers and their confidence, but it’s certainly not a must. It’s often more important to present your own products in the right light, without deviating from the truth or appearing lacking in credibility. Key word: authenticity!