How businesses are using Livestreaming across industries
In July 2021, McKinsey’s eye-opening article about the growth of livestream commerce reported that companies are seeing conversion rates of close to 30%, which is ten times higher than conventional ecommerce.
Livestreaming technology does the work for you: it attracts younger or more digitally savvy audiences, holds customer interest for longer, and reduces the customer decision journey from browsing to purchase. As livestream goes mainstream, let’s take a look at how this versatile new technology lends itself so well to so many different industries.
Livestreaming in the fashion and apparel industry
Apparel owns the largest slice of the livestream ecommerce pie, with almost 36% of all livestreams coming from fashion brands.
The fashion industry works best with formats like Haul videos (influencers showcasing their shopping choices), live fashion shows, in-store tours, and content on styling advice.
Example 1: Boosted by their success in China, Tommy Hilfiger added Europe and North America to their livestream targets. The experiment paid off as the brand reached 14 million viewers and sold 1300 hoodies in two minutes, just from one show.
Example 2: One of Swirl’s own clients, P N Rao, a luxury menswear brand in Bangalore used livestreaming to cater to premium customers during the COVID-19 lockdown, generating over 5000 leads and a 37% jump in month-on-month sales through video consultations, virtual store tours, and custom styling advice. See the case study here.
Example 3: But livestreaming is not just for designer brands. Walmart used TikTok for a livestream fashion event, reaching more people than expected and increasing their TikTok follower base by 25% with just one event.
Not convinced about moving to an online commerce model? Read our blog on bridging the gap between offline and online through livestreaming.
Livestreaming in the beauty and skincare industry
The skincare and beauty industry follows closely and is growing fast. Luxury beauty brands like Estee Lauder and Shiseido offer regular livestreams on their own platforms, while brands like Sephora capitalize on their social media followers by using events like Facebook Live Shopping Fridays to create buzz.
For the beauty industry, the most popular formats are tutorials, unboxing videos, and influencers doing a GRWM (Get Ready With Me) live demo.
Example 1: Douglas Cosmetics, Germany’s beauty store department with almost 2500 stores, offers several livestream events every week. It reports a 40% conversion rate from its tutorials, demos, and unboxing videos.
Example 2: Clinique brand ambassador and Game of Thrones A-lister, Emilia Clarke hosted a GRWM livestream to explain her morning skincare routine and participated in subsequent livestreams to discuss skincare with experts.
Example 3: In 2020, Swirl collaborated with Greenberry Organics, a homegrown beauty brand focused on providing natural beauty and skincare products. The brand launched their new collection through livestreaming, boosting customer interactions and increasing Add-to-Cart by 30%. See the case study here.
Read our in-depth article about livestream commerce in the beauty industry.
Livestreaming in the food industry
The Korean trend of mukbang – recording videos while eating and talking to viewers – has turned into a far more profitable commercial trend in recent years. The increased consumption of food-related videos like recipe tutorials and home chefs during the lockdown indicates that people love this type of content, but brands are hopping on to the bandwagon too.
The most popular form of content for food brands are cooking shows and behind-the-scenes shoots in kitchens. Some brands also choose more innovative content such as livestream wine tasting, showing customers the origins of the ingredients, and on-location shoots of wait staff and more.
Example 1: In Singapore, 70% of online purchases are food-related, with bubble tea, seafood, and other meats being most popular. Local grocery stores offer livestream videos for customers to choose and buy fresh produce without even needing to go into the store.
Example 2: In Canada, the newly launched Foodiez.live offers a new source of income to professionals who can create their own livestreams. Chefs, sommeliers, bartenders and others in the business use the platform to connect with viewers and offer expert tutorials. They run live demos, Q&A sessions, bartending advice, and more.
Example 3: Instapizza in Delhi, a cloud kitchen start-up for homegrown pizza, was clocking an annual revenue of INR 12 CR in 2019. In 2020, as a response to concerns about COVID-19 restrictions and takeaway food, the brand began Crustflix by Instapizza, a behind-the-scenes livestream of the kitchen to showcase the hygiene precautions taken by chefs. Projections for FY21 are estimated at INR 18 CR.
The food industry is notoriously hard to build trust in, but livestreaming can inspire more confidence in your customers. Here’s how.
Livestream ecommerce in the health and fitness industry
The fitness industry has undergone a revolution of sorts in the last few decades. With the rise of Youtube workout videos, workout apps, and tracking devices or smart watches, the way we work in 2021 is very different from the way we did in 1991. While gyms are now offering online classes and livestream memberships for customers to work out at home, there are some brands that are doing even more.
Popular formats for livestreaming in the health and fitness space include unboxing of fitness equipment, review videos, Q&A sessions, and workout videos.
Example 1: Many fitness influencers use livestreaming to do workouts with their viewers, as well as linking to related items like yoga mats, sports shoes, fitness gear, nutrition supplements, and water bottles.
Example 2: When Adidas launched their ZX Flux shoe in China, they livestreamed a graffiti artist working on a mural, taking requests from viewers to change the design and integrate new elements into it during the livestream.
Example 3: Amazon offers a round-the-clock livestream with different influencers and hosts for each category. Their fitness channel shares a livestream workout by Katie Austin, in which related products like yoga mats, weights, totes, bottles and other fitness products are linked.
If you’re thinking about moving to or adding a livestream model to your business, there are some things you should know about livestreaming. Find out more.
Livestreaming for home and garden
During the multiple lockdowns across the world, all of us spent more time at home. With our houses functioning as office, school and gym, home improvement shopping has increased as everyone upgrades or tries to maximize their space. Livestream shopping for furniture and home décor may make it easier on a customer who is attempting to do the job of interior designer or architect, and may have questions.
The most popular formats for livestreams in this category are demos, Q&A sessions, expert consultations, and tutorials.
Example 1: NTWRK, a video shopping platform founded in 2018 has recently launched Open House. This livestream festival allows viewers to participate in all day shopping across categories. The home furniture category featured stylish and rare items from edgy décor brands to attract customers and increase viewership.
Example 2: Swedish interior design company, Svenskt Tenn is over 100 years old. In 2020, for the first time, it offered a digital tour of the store at Christmas, instead of the traditional store opening. Viewers were able to interact with the staff online, as well as get inspiration for new ways to arrange Christmas tables, decorate the Christmas tree, or wrap gifts.
Example 3: Blomsterlandet is a Swedish gardening store with a wide range of garden products and plants. During the lockdown, they were able to cater to plant parents through livestream, offering Q&A with experts, online shopping with pick-ups from outside the store, and care tips for home gardens.
With the move of traditional businesses into the online space, it’s time for all brands to consider future-proofing their business. Read our deep dive into the future of live commerce.
Livestream for real estate and property brands
Property agents have started using livestreaming to showcase homes and offices to potential clients, offering a great way to save time and money for both agent and client. Many agents are able to do 4-5 livestreams a day, and often upload recorded versions on their website or on social media for clients coming in later.
The most popular format for livestream content for real estate is walkarounds, virtual open house sessions, Q&A sessions, and more.
Example 1: During the lockdown, Bright MLS, a Washington company for listing homes online, used livestreaming to create virtual tours for clients looking for properties. The agents were able to answer queries and reach customers who were unable to come in person for the viewing.
Example 2: In China, livestreaming helped Poly Real Estate to sell 102 apartments in an hour, and went on to sell a total of 1000 properties that day. A housing expo created over 120,000 livestreams in a month.
Example 3: It’s not exactly real estate, but hotels are using livestreaming to capture audiences longing for an escape. Travel+Leisure curated a list of hotels around the world that are livestreaming views of their gorgeous location to anyone interested.
The stakes are high in the real estate and property market, but its not just early adopters moving to livestreaming. Read our report on how livestreaming is disrupting the way business works.
Livestreaming in the automobile industry
The automotive industry has a busy calendar of glitzy new launches and auto expos every year. With COVID-19 affecting all events in 2020 and ’21, sellers have had to look for other options. Livestreaming offers a chance to reach more customers than possible through an in-person event, and almost all auto brands have seen higher numbers and better conversions through livestream sessions.
Example 1: In 2020, the Geneva Car Show, a luxury auto event, was called off due to coronavirus concerns, but went ahead to carry out a virtual Geneva Car Show. Brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW participated in the event.
Example 2: In China, livestreaming is used by luxury auto brands like BMW and Audi to stream events and sell cars. China Automobile Dealers Association reported 7000 sessions in one day, across platforms like Taobao Live.
Example 3: In August 2021 in India, the Ola Electric Scooter was launched on livestream. Bookings for the scooter began well ahead of the launch, with the curiosity and demand of potential customers creating over 1 lakh orders within 24 hours.
According to this article in The Business Standard, India’s live commerce industry will hit a GMV of $4-5 billion in just three short years while the US will hit $25 billion. By 2025, we can expect to see countries globally following China’s footsteps, scoring mega growth across industries using Livestreaming. What can you do now to ensure that you ride the wave in 2025? If you’re considering Live Video Shopping, you should read our Ultimate Guide to Live Commerce before making any decisions.
SWIRL is a full funnel live commerce solution that helps marketers attract, engage and convert more customers. Enable your website or app with the power of shoppable content to increase AOV, boost conversions and retain customers. If you’re looking for a live commerce solution and want to discuss options, get in touch.