Live shopping is where content creation and e-commerce business models intersect. For the first time, live stream shopping offers online retailers a chance to create an exciting event that customers around the world can attend simultaneously. Think of it like the QVC of the ‘90s, but with more opportunities to engage (and without the telephone ordering process).
Livestream shopping is so effective that QVC now uses it as a primary programming and selling tool.
With interactive live streaming, viewers can communicate with their favorite brand in real time, shop directly from the video stream, offer feedback, and have fun while doing it. Retailers can create more meaningful and loyal customer connections, stand out from the crowd, and generate more revenue with interactive live shopping.
What is Live Shopping?
Live shopping is a way to create a real-time immersive and interactive shopping experience online. It’s like television mixed with social media, but with two-way communication tools that let the end-user shop directly from the video stream.
For retailers, the benefits and use cases for live shopping are tangible.
Benefits for Retailers
If you’re on the fence about whether livestream shopping will benefit you and your business, here are some points to consider:
- Unlimited audience potential.
One of the great things about e-commerce is that your customer’s physical location becomes less relevant. Live shopping offers you a way to create an immersive connection with your audience that matches the energy of an in-person event, without the capacity or proximity limitations. - Distraction-free engagement.
In 2022, distractions are constant. While watching a TV show, 95% of us have our phones in hand. It’s almost impossible to keep viewers’ attention for any length of time. With interactive livestream shopping, you can grab and hold attention with ease. It’s not a simple video – it’s an immersive and interactive show. One that the audience plays an active role in. An engaged audience is far less likely to pick up another device and distract themselves. - Impulse sales.
Done well, shoppable live video is an incredible opportunity to make a lot of sales in a short amount of time. Audiences watching live will feel the pressure to purchase as the clock ticks in front of them. - Low cost.
Live shopping is a relatively inexpensive marketing tactic. You just need the right platform – one that can bring your visions to life without breaking the bank.
Here are some of the best shoppable live video software tools in 2022:
Livery
The Interactive Video Cloud is proudly brought to you by Livery, so we had to include ourselves on this list. Livery, founded in 2019, offers everything you need to get from idea to shoppable live stream.
Livery Pros:
- Customizable player so you can keep your streams on brand.
- A wide range of interaction widgets to craft your viewer’s experience, including chat, Q&A, shopping, trivia, polls, ratings, reactions, and more.
- In-stream shopping so the customer doesn’t have to leave the video to shop.
- 100% ownership over your content and data.
- Content control gives you commercial-purpose rights to advertise and showcase your products.
- Access control that lets you keep your stream exclusive and invite-only, or make it public.
- Transparent and affordable pricing based on what you actually use.
- Scalability that lets you reach audiences of any size in any location without compromising quality.
- Ultra-low latency streaming (which is a fancy way of saying that your audience will watch and engage in as close to real time as possible without video lag or buffering time).
- Video synchronization ensures that regardless of the viewer’s individual device or internet connection, they get the same experience as everyone else.
Livery Cons:
- You’ll have to drive your own traffic to the event.
- It’s a broadcasting (one-to-many) platform that isn’t designed for one-on-one experiences.
Bambuser
Next on our list is Bambuser. Bambuser offers everything you need to create simple shoppable livestreams through its platform.
Bambuser Pros:
- Ownership over your content and data.
- In-stream shopping so the customer doesn’t have to leave the video to shop.
- Offers one-to-many and one-to-one broadcasting options.
- Scalability that lets you reach audiences of any size in any location without compromising quality.
- Option to host the stream for you through the Bambuser app.
Bambuser Cons:
- You’ll have to drive your own traffic to the live shopping event.
- The player is not customizable.
- Limited interaction options.
- Pricing is not transparent (you have to contact their sales department for a quote).
Streams.live
Streams.live is another live shopping platform option that makes it easy to get from idea to shoppable livestream. Here’s what you should know about Streams.live:
Streams.live Pros:
- Ownership over your content and data.
- Multicast lets you broadcast your stream on multiple platforms at once.
- In-stream shopping so the customer doesn’t have to leave the video to shop.
- Scalability that lets you reach audiences of any size in any location without compromising quality.
- Option to host the stream for you through the Streams.live app.
- A free tier that lets you stream to a small audience for free.
Streams.live Cons:
- You’ll have to drive your own traffic to the event.
- It’s a broadcasting (one-to-many) platform that isn’t designed for one-on-one experiences.
- The player is not customizable.
- Limited interaction options.
- Pricing is not transparent if you have a large business/use case.
Facebook Live
Facebook Live is probably the platform you’ll be most familiar with. Here’s what you should know about Facebook Live for livestream shopping:
Facebook Live Pros:
- Compatible with your existing Facebook Shop.
- Notifies your existing audience on the platform that you’ve gone live.
- Hosts the stream for you.
- Free to use.
Facebook Live Cons:
- The player is not customizable.
- The process for going live and embedding shoppable elements is not user-friendly.
- Limited interaction options.
- Meta retains rights over your live shopping content and data.
- Facebook displays its own ads on and around your content.
- Harder to get audiences to your website from the stream.
- Cannot embed the interactive video on your website (it will show as a video without the interactive elements).
- High payment processing fees for purchases made through Facebook.
Instagram Live
Instagram Live is essentially the same as Facebook Live. Both are owned and operated by Meta (the parent company for both subsidiaries) Here’s what you should know about Instagram Live for livestream shopping:
Instagram Live Pros:
- Compatible with your existing Facebook Shop (both Instagram and Facebook use Facebook’s shopping library).
- Notifies your existing audience on the platform that you’ve gone live.
- Hosts the stream for you.
- Free to use.
Instagram Live Cons:
- The player is not customizable.
- The process for going live and embedding shoppable elements is not user-friendly.
- Limited interaction options.
- Meta retains rights over your live shopping content and data.
- Instagram displays its own ads on and around your content.
- Harder to get audiences to your website from the stream.
- Cannot embed the interactive video on your website (it will show as a video without the interactive elements).
- High payment processing fees for purchases made through Instagram.
Closing Thoughts: Live Shopping Platforms
Choosing the live shopping platform that is best for you is not a simple task. We’ve provided a range of options and comparable criteria to evaluate, but the best thing you can do is look at your needs for streaming (evaluate your audience, product catalog, branding needs, data needs, budget, etc.). From there, you’ll have a much clearer picture of which platform is right for you.
To reiterate, our list of the best 5 shoppable live video software tools in 2022 include:
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