A Deep Dive into the Live Selling Phenomenon

live stream selling

Live selling is everywhere, taking the sales and marketing by storm for retail businesses big and small. Don’t let your brand get left behind. Flux Panda’s live selling platform allows you to stream on multiple social media platforms--at the same time! It provides an integrated e-commerce platform where you can sell your products, keep track of your inventory, and deliver your customers’ orders.

To better understand the big picture, we’ve put together a comprehensive list on what live selling is, how it started, what you can get out of it, and more. So gear up and let’s plunge into the world of live selling.

What is Live Selling?

Live selling is a practice wherein sellers and retailers show patrons and potential customers their products, how they work, how much it costs, and other details in an avenue where customers can order and arrange for the product to be delivered to their doorsteps.

Brief History of Live Selling
Heading

can opener live selling
1977

Can openers started it all. Bob Circosta sold can openers for $9.95 each on-air to solve a financial quandary with an advertiser.

Home Shopping Club live elling
1982

Home Shopping Club first aired. The precursor to the giant that is HSN. It was first aired on local cable channels Vision Cable and Group W Cable.

HSN live selling
1986

Home Shopping Network (HSN) pioneered the televised, direct-to-consumer sales-pitch technique.

HSN alibaba live selling
1999

Home Shopping Network’s website and online marketplace Alibaba launched.

justin.tv livestream twitch
2006

Justin.tv was founded. In 2011, it became Twitch, a live streaming platform.

YouTube Google livestream
2013

Google rolled out an update to YouTube, allowing content creators to use the platform for live streaming their video.

periscope livestreaming
2015

Twitter introduced Periscope after acquiring it pre-public launch.

Facebook livestreaming
2015

Facebook launched a live streaming feature called Facebook Watch to compete with Periscope and Meerkat.

alibaba taobao live selling
2018

Alibaba launched Alibaba Live or Taobao Live to allow online retailers to sell through live streaming.

amazon live selling
2019

Amazon added live stream shopping for top brands through Amazon Live.

covid live selling
2020

COVID-19 hit and brands turned to live streaming to sell products by copying the trend from China.COVID-19 hit and brands turned to live streaming to sell products by copying the trend from China.

facebook live shopping
2021

Facebook rolled out Live Shopping features to enable select brands to live sell every Friday.

Live Stream Selling Key Figures

Live selling has long been growing since its early inception on late-night TV. With everything that’s going on, online live selling grew exponentially like wildfire. Here are some notable numbers about live streaming:

$11.47 billion

QVC’s revenue generated in 2020, largely attributed to the pandemic. It is the company’s biggest growth in recent years, representing a $2.7 billion rise from 2017.

¥1.2 trillion

China’s projected sales revenue by the end of 2021 as live commerce continues to explode.

9.3 billion hours

Total number of hours of live videos on Twitch, making it the biggest live streaming platform today.

$70 billion

The worth of the live streaming market to date. It has grown by 130% since 2016.

99%

Growth of live streaming grew in just a year—from 1.9 billion hours watched to a whopping 3.4 billion from April 2019-2020.

80%

Consumers who prefer to watch live videos over reading blogs.

82%

Attributed internet traffic to live streaming in 2020.

6x

Engagement rate of Facebook Live as compared to pre-recorded videos.

As these numbers show, live streaming is a must-use strategy to help you achieve your goals. Live streaming truly is highly impactful and has great potential, which brings us to our next section …

Why Live Selling Works

For a selling practice to survive generations and successfully evolve with time, only proves that it is an effective tool in business. Online live selling proves to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to sales and marketing—but why does it work? We narrowed it down to six reasons:

live selling accessibility icon

Accessibility

Technology is often a wonderful thing. Start or participate in online live selling with just a few taps on your mobile phone. As long as you have internet access and an ecommerce app of your choice, you can join the craze.

live selling convenience icon

Convenience

Live selling eliminates the hassle for sellers and buyers alike. Having a standalone store is no longer a must when you’re selling online. Going outside and facing the elements of the outside world can be avoided as a consumer too.

live selling entertainment icon

Entertainment

We watch things for the entertainment it brings, and the same goes with online selling. Most of the more engaging sellers are fun to watch. Some can even come up with engaging and fun strategies when going live.

live selling relatability icon

Relatability

With live selling you see the product in use, real time. No hiding behind cuts, commercials, or actors—online selling presents a more genuine presentation of their products.

live selling community icon

Community

Live sales events don’t limit the interactions between buyers and sellers but extend to everyone watching. A livestreaming ecommerce platform provides a space where people can meet from anywhere around the globe. It also becomes an avenue for testimonials and tips that can translate into sales.

live selling competition icon

Competition

In any community, friendly competition is healthy. This is prevalent in an online live selling session. There is a sense of urgency that exists when live selling occurs because a customer is “up against” other customers watching. There is also the excitement and sense of completion when you are able to get your desired item beating other miners.

Live Selling Advantages for Brands

When it comes to big brands, all the advantages of live video selling mentioned above also apply, but live online sales bring yet a couple more advantages to the table.

Reaching more people and localizing brands with live selling

Reaching more people and localizing brands

Depending on the medium that big brands use, they can open their products to a wider audience and basically to anybody that has a smartphone.
Partnering with influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) creates a local connection that can increase the chances of higher sales.

offer exclusivity with live selling

Exclusivity

On the other hand, they can also create exclusivity especially for brands who have developed 1-on-1 live selling and tours to their store. They can also send private invitations to their target audience.
Even during the pre-pandemic era, part of famed brands’ marketing strategy is to create elite groups. Through live selling online, the convenience of connecting to fanciful and fashionable people worldwide is just made easier. The only difference now is that fashion icons would have to dress up at home.

Recapture lost market with live selling

Recapture lost market

Having to close up physical stores was quite a blow for retailers. Patrons who frequent these brands have a high chance of switching and ultimately forgetting them. Through live streaming, companies are again able to reach their audience without them having to leave the safety of their homes.

live selling to introduce new product

New channel to introduce products

Instead of spending a lot to set up fashion shows or event activations, some brands opt to launch their latest collections on live streams. It saves them cost-wise and gains them substantial profits. The power of live streaming is evident as even those who are doing live events simultaneously stream online.

Live Selling Advantages for eCommerce

Marketplaces like Lazada, a subsidiary of Alibaba, and its direct competitor in Southeast Asia have realized the power of integrating live streaming to the entire eCommerce experience and so did independent brands who have their own eCommerce sites.

There’s just so much to gain from integrating live selling into your eCommerce business. We’ve listed a few below:

live selling online catalogue

Online Catalogue

Buyers can explore other products that won't be presented by the seller. If a buyer asks about a product not readily available during the stream, the merchant can point them towards the category page.

live selling lead gen

Lead Generation Potential

The checkout process happens on the same backend of the eCommerce store, which means sellers own the data of transactions. They can then use the data for merchandising, sales, and marketing decisions while helping customers feel more confident about data security.

live selling data ownership

Data Ownership

The checkout process happens on the same backend of the eCommerce store, which means sellers own the data of transactions. They can then use the data for merchandising, sales, and marketing decisions while helping customers feel more confident about data security.

live selling no limits

Limitless

Merchants have fewer limitations on what they can show, how they want to present their products, or how long they want the live to run.

live selling video availability

Video Availability

Videos can be immediately published on the same site, so buyers who did not catch the live stream can still watch it later, especially since live online selling can be organized based on themes or seasons.

live selling buyer confidence

Buyer Confidence

Buyers can verify details of the product they are buying or the brand/site selling the product by checking other pages.

live selling potential

Budget Friendly

By just having a solid internet connection and a clear enough camera phone, you can live sell on any platform already. You can put a bigger chunk of the budget on product development and shipping.

These days, you just can’t do without even trying your hand at live selling. There are several channels to showcase and sell your products such as Amazon Live, Taobao, Facebook and IG live—or opt for a tool that allows you to stream on all of them all at the same time while maintaining your inventory in check.

Best Practices for Live Selling

Should you want to try if live selling will work for you, here are some important points to remember to make your stream as close to perfect as possible:

live selling preparation

Go “on air” prepared

Do your research! Check the competition and make sure you’re as engaging as you can be. Prepare your hardware too! You’ll be relying a great deal on technology, so make sure to check your internet connection (and have a backup just in case), recording device, audio, lighting, and video paraphernalia.

live selling creativity

Get creative

Let the shots run for at least 3 seconds at points where you want consumers to interact with the video. Give them the time to engage with the hotspot.

livestream selling flow

Plan the flow of your live stream

It would be good to have a script or some form of structure you’ll follow as you go live. As you create your script, consider the sequence of products you want to upsell or cross-sell, or you can bundle together for more revenue. During down times, you can refer to your script to mention availability of the items to create a sense of urgency and scarcity.

live selling human emotions

Capitalize on human emotions

Try to be as natural as possible. Entertain your audience like how you would entertain visitors inside your home. Talk to them, ask questions, and make shout outs to build rapport with your audience.

live selling customer service

Go all out on customer service

Some live streaming ecommerce platforms already have customer service included if you sell on their sites, but if you are doing this on your own, it is better to have dedicated individuals who will handle all customer concerns. Some of the tasks this team should handle include any order concerns, sending a thank-you message for the purchase, giving shipping updates, handling returns (if any), and informing customers of your next live session.

live selling viewership

Maximize viewership

Find where your audience is and stream on those platforms at the same time. Promote your live stream ahead of time through social media posts and stories, and incentivize viewers who share the stream with their friends.

live selling personality

Assign the right personality

Having the right speaker can spell the difference in your live selling. Choose someone personable who can quickly adapt and improvise while having deep knowledge about the products.

Try Live Selling with Flux Panda Today

Instant gratification for buyers plays an important role in live selling. Building a community within this virtual world—especially when we can’t go out as much as we did pre-pandemic—is at the heart of live streaming. Plus, the financial gain is a huge pull that should encourage you to get into live selling. But with tons of live selling platforms, channels and services out there today, it can get a little confusing. Luckily, Flux Panda’s platform simplifies your streams with easy-to-use features, which are must-haves in ecommerce live selling.

Try Live Selling with Flux Panda Today

Get closer to your fans and drive more sales with special, timed or limited offers.