How To Choose A Live Commerce Platform For Your Business?

Flexibility is the word that best describes the future of commerce. So what do live commerce platforms have to do with any of this?

The answer is simple: live commerce platforms and flexibility go hand-in-hand. The market acts unreliably with the competition among companies increasing significantly amid growing users’ demands and expectations. The fight for customer attention gets more challenging, leaving companies no room for mistakes. To survive and prosper in such a shifting commercial environment, businesses must always remain one step ahead of the game, sparkling with professionalism and agility by catching up with appearing eCommerce and retail trends.

How do you connect with users in the digital era? By following current trends in marketing and sales. It is no secret that eCommerce has become a major sales channel for companies worldwide. While conventional online shopping models prevail, innovative selling channels rapidly conquer the market, increasing conversions and web traffic.

Live stream shopping is the new wave of e-commerce evolution that offers a juicy blend of entertainment, on-the-spot purchases, and accelerated digital sales.

What Is Live Commerce?

Let’s start with some definitions and facts.

Live commerce is the commercial process of selling and purchasing goods over the internet while live streaming. First introduced in 2016, it has taken China’s market by storm during the pandemic, generating $300 billion in 2021 with a record $151 billion gross merchandise value during Singles’ Day alone. Impressive, right? But wait, there’s more!

According to iResearch, Chinese sales will reach $423 billion in 2022. Although the Asia-Pacific region remains the most involved in live stream shopping, the global market is catching up rapidly. By 2024, the live e-commerce revenue in the United States is expected to increase threefold, reaching $35 billion.

So, what’s the big deal about it? Let’s check what experts think.

During a 2020 survey among marketing experts, the top reason for using live stream marketing was “achieving deeper interaction with the audience,” named by 78% of respondents. 66% of respondents mentioned “making videos more accessible,” and 59% highlighted “adding a human element to digital marketing” as the main benefit of live commerce.

These statements of reason sum up the very core of the live video commerce model:

Direct user interaction: you can build a stronger personal connection between your business and customers by letting them ask questions on chat and enjoy immediate answers.
Real-time value: you can increase sales by showing the product in detail and pushing customers to unhesitating purchases.
Close-to-real but digital shopping experience: you let customers enjoy the comfort of their homes empowered by live stream shopping options.
Brand loyalty: streams raise brand awareness and customer loyalty through candid real-time interactions with the audience.
Accurate marketing results: it is easy to track how efficient your streams are and adjust them following users’ responses.

Live commerce suits all business models. The only difference is in the way companies use this selling channel as business buyers and retail consumers don’t share the same purchasing needs.

How to Use Live Commerce for Your Business?

E-commerce live streaming is shaping the development curve of online shopping.

Given the rapid success of live e-commerce, businesses worldwide are eager to join the streaming race. Walmart, Nordstrom, Amazon, Macy’s, Sephora, and the world’s largest enterprises have placed their bets on video stream shopping and don’t seem to regret their decision. The attractions of this shopping model go beyond multifunctionality or sweeping user reach. It is an innovative one-size-fits-all approach that, if leveraged appropriately, brings value to any business, no matter its features, nature, and commercial goals.

So the key question is not how to use live commerce for your business but how can your business benefit from live stream commerce? There are several ways to go about a streaming platform. You need to determine your business goals and only then proceed to choose a platform that meets your needs.

How to Choose The Best Live Commerce Platform?

Partnering with a suitable live commerce platform is like finding the right key to unlock your goal. The challenge here is that keys come in all shapes and sizes, so how do you know which one will make the set? Trying out one key after another is hardly a time and budget-efficient strategy.

First, you need to understand that no platform is perfect; every business is unique, with its specific needs requiring more than one solution to be addressed properly. But considering your company’s peculiarities is the right way to choose a broadcasting platform that works best for your business model and goals.

That said, there are several important features to review when searching for that one and only live commerce platform: follow your heart but listen to your brain first.

Usage

The solution must be simple and secure. A good streaming platform is easy-in-use, allowing on-point eCommerce experiences without much effort. Simple is the keyword here.

Analytics

You must have access to track and evaluate the important metrics for your business growth. A good platform collects data based on your streams, such as conversion rates, average order value, and other built-in analytics.

Payments

For the broadcast to succeed and increase sales, customers must be able to use handy check-out options that look reliable to them. A tip here? Besides popular payment options, it is advantageous to add local payment gateways if operating internationally.

Extras

It is the little details that make the base of a successful interaction. Custom branding, built-in video features, and other extras that will make your streams stand out among the competition are worth paying attention to. You want to stand out from the competition, not get lost in the crowd.

Support

A reliable streaming service operates 24/7. You must be able to reach out to customer support anytime in the case of emergency or urgent questions. Test the platform to see whether it offers ongoing support by a competent manager. Chatting with a bot can be fun, but you don’t want bots to take care of your business.

What Is Be.Live Shopping Solution?

Be.Live offers quality live shopping solutions for brands, retailers, and digital communities. We have been providing customers with professional streaming services since 2016, reaching 700M+ viewers worldwide. The goal is simple: enabling your business to drive more sales and connect with customers with the help of our outstanding yet very simple live shopping solution.

In a variety of streaming platforms out there, Be.Live stands out for multiple reasons. A stable and secure experience is a must. Plus, a wide range of attractive benefits that turn us into your reliable live eCommerce partner. Our solution is hard to resist; just look at its key features listed below.

Cloud-Based

The platform is cloud-based. You can avoid software-associated mess and unnecessary downloads. It doesn’t get any simpler or safer than that.

Instant In-Stream Sales

Live eCommerce is all about sales. We double your sales with a list of featured products at the bottom of the screen and clickable product cards placed directly in the stream.

Drive customers to buy items on-the-spot while presenting them in a live broadcast. A list of items will be shown at the bottom in a separate section. Plus, a clickable in-stream card will include a product picture and price and an additional description on the other side (customers can flip cards to see more and use the “Add to Cart” option for instant purchases). Unlike other live commerce platforms, our solution features your products twice to ensure customers won’t ignore them.

AI-Driven Comment Assistant

Video live stream provides an in-built chat to see users’ reactions and address their questions, concerns, and requests. Don’t want any spam or negativity on your show? An exclusive AI-Driven Comment Assistant will automatically display positive comments and questions, letting the host pay full attention to product presentation and project good vibes only.

Wide Choice of Extra Features

Need more to satisfy your boldest ideas? Invite up to four guests to host the show, pre-record it, pre-set your studio with all needed assets before going live, and use other features to ensure your streams’ simple and fast success with our solution.

High-Quality

Live streaming is a technology-delivered process, and we use cutting-edge advancements to ensure your streams always look on fleek. No matter how many viewers join your live, you can be sure that the show’s quality is always high.

Custom Branding

In the end, it all comes to customization. After all, you want your shows to sync with your business representation and feel right.

Using our solution, you can promote and sell products through a stream channel that represents your brand’s signature style. Customize the background, add the company’s logo and agenda, and make other adjustments. Creating a unique customer shopping experience that resonates with your business identity has never been easier.

How to Use Be.Live as a Live Commerce Platform for Business?

Dare to drive more sales and increase your customer base? Storytelling sells, and Be.Live is a go-to live commerce solution to ensure the target audience hears your story. Invite customers to see a detailed presentation of your featured products and enable them to buy presented items in real-time.

Spoiler: you’ll love working with us! Here’s how it works:

Schedule your stream and choose the host.
Promote the event, choose the format, arrange logistics.
Customize your stream by using special branding features.
Go live discussing products with the audience. Have fun!
Highlight featured in the stream products so that viewers can immediately purchase targeted items with the “Add to Cart” option.
Engage with users through a built-in live chat, answer questions, address specific requests.
Use AI-Driven Comment Assistant to accentuate positive comments and questions.
Fuel your audience’s interest by running crawlers and other on-screen updates about hot deals, limited offers, and other juicy promotions.
Access the data to see how your show performed and develop evidence-based adjustments to improve upcoming streams.
Repurpose the best parts of your live shopping event with our handy Video Editor tool.

Finally: increase web traffic, brand awareness, and customer conversion! By joining forces with a tried-and-true live streaming platform, your chances of hosting successful live streams double along with your sale rates. Just kick back and relax.

Best Live Shopping Apps

Be.Live doesn’t seem to fit your streaming needs? We are sad to part ways with you but still eager to help. Here are a few honourable mentions of binge-worthy shopping platforms:

Livescale
Shopshare
ShopShops
NTWRK
Hero
Bambuser

Live Commerce FAQ

What is a live commerce platform?

It is a software solution that enables purchasing and selling activities in the live video stream. It is a bridge that connects sellers with consumers resulting in real-time product demonstration and immediate check-out options.

What is the biggest e-commerce platform?

The world’s largest e-commerce company by gross merchandise value is Alibaba (>$768 billion).

Is live shopping the future of eCommerce?

Definitely!

We believe in numbers. And numbers prove live shopping to be the future of eCommerce. This selling method only gains popularity, engaging more customers to join live streams and encouraging more companies to host live shows. Change in live stream purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 76% usage growth. You can find detailed statistics and facts about live commerce here.