Shopify Livestream Shopping: The Key to Boosting Your Online Store’s Conversions

Platforms like Shopify are making it simpler for businesses to take their brand online and sell to a much wider audience. But despite the friction-free move to digital, the average conversion rate online tends to be a mere 2.1%

Online stores don’t go beyond an attractive product name, description, display of social proof, a media gallery of images, and sometimes videos to help the consumer make an informed purchase.

If you visit three online stores right now, you’ll realize how the overall eCommerce experience for consumers is still very two-dimensional. And after a point, it becomes monotonous.

So, what can brands do to improve their conversions? To start with, an immersive video experience is the right choice, followed by live shopping experiences.

Bring the superior engagement of Live Shopping to your Shopify website or Shopify app to drive sales effectively.

What is Livestream Shopping?

Livestream shopping allows customers to purchase products in real-time while watching a live video stream. The stream typically features a host who presents and demonstrates the products for sale, and customers can use a link or in-built shoppability feature to make a purchase while the stream is happening.

Contrary to typical online shopping journeys on a Shopify store, live video shopping offers consumers the ability to make purchases confidently by combining eCommerce with a live video experience.

Why Should You Explore Live Shopping for Your Shopify Store?

Studies have found that live stream shopping has increased by an average of 76% worldwide from the pre-pandemic times. The regions included in the study include Europe (86%), The Middle East (76%), and North America (68%).

The early movers have already seen a significant increase in their sales. Per a survey of 13,000 consumers and 4000 businesses, 63% of consumers prefer to shop via social media.

A critical thing that Shopify merchants need to note is that actual purchases do not happen on social media – it only accounts for a mere 4% of eCommerce sales. In comparison, 96% of online shopping purchases happen on websites and mobile apps.

Live Shopping enabled on your Shopify app/Shopify website can drive sales by combining the power of social commerce and live video.

1. Humanizes the brand

Live shopping became popular owing to how organic the content format is. In a live shopping event, the experience is similar to the interaction between a retail salesperson and a walk-in consumer.

You can read more about the popularity of live shopping events and their role in helping brands supercharge the buying experience in a fun and interactive way.

2. Livestream Shopping on Your Shopify App/Website Is Conversion-Oriented

Livestream shopping in silos is simply another social content format. While they hold the viewer’s attention for some time, the number of viewers to visitor rate is often low as it requires a user to visit the brand profile first and then click on the link provided (generally in the bio/caption).

As a result, the visitor-to-conversion rate further lowers owing to the number of steps between the consumer and the product.

3. Experiential Shopping

From Instagram Reels, TikTok, Snapchat, or even YouTube shorts, the vertical video formats are now a popular way to consume content across all demographics. Hosting live streams on your Shopify website allows you to converse with the audience through reactions and comments and allows consumers to consume content from their favorite brands in their preferred format.

Live commerce taps into the best of both worlds by bringing an engaging shopping experience onto your website, instantly engaging the visitors with what they’re the most familiar with.

Livestream Shopping – Status quo

From the likes of Nike and Kate Spade to new DTC companies, you can now see brands using live shopping to promote new products and collections, run collaborations with influencers or connect with their followers.

But when it comes to connecting live video to their Shopify store, brands still rely on the link in bio or stories in most cases.

TLDR; the disconnect between live streaming and the ability to generate sales during a live shopping event stops brands from tapping into their full sales potential.

But there’s a way out.

How Can You Go Live on Your Shopify Stores?

Firework is built to help online businesses integrate the power of eCommerce and live video shopping to create a cohesive and interactive shopping experience for their audience.

Firework’s Shopify app is easy to integrate and has robust solutions to help businesses implement live streaming on their website.

Using Firework, Shopify stores can easily encourage consumers to purchase without leaving the live shopping event. As they explore more about the products, they can easily tap on the items shown and add them to the cart to make a purchase.

Livestream shoppers can also complete checkout while still viewing the content that is playing real-time.

By removing the need to move from one platform to another, Firework has enabled businesses to reap more benefits out of live stream shopping.

Here’s how:

Ready to explore the power of Shopify live commerce? Learn more about the integration with Shopify here.

How Can You Use Live Shopping Events on Your Shopify Website?

If you thought live streams were meant only for making announcements or sharing product how-tos, think again. Brands can now be seen actively exploring live streams to create magical shopping experiences for their customers.

Here are some ways in which you can use Live stream shopping:

1. Welcome new shoppers

2. Launch new products/ collections

3. Share product tutorials

4. 1:1 interactions with store representatives

5. Build communities

6. Promote an ongoing/ upcoming sale

7. Showcase an online haul

8. Exclusive showcase for VIP customers

You can use live stream videos in many more ways, like showcasing product reviews, as a dynamic content format in emails, driving offline customers to your online store or vice versa, or showcasing an entire catalog.

For example: Wyze recently hosted a livestream for the Wye Cam OG Launch on their Shopify store. The session also had their Chief Product Officer and Co-founder participate in an AMA segment with the viewers.

 

Best Practices to Follow for Live Shopping Events

1. Define Your Target Audience

What may appeal to boomers, may not be up to the mark for the GenZ and vice versa may not feel as enticing. This is why before you even create a livestream strategy, take note of who you are addressing and their purchase patterns.

2. Determine What You Want to Offer

Next, don’t rely on going with the flow. Take note of which products can have the most positive impact when promoted through livestreams. Imagine being shown a plain notebook vs one that comes with free planners – the latter is obviously more interesting.

3. Leverage Storytelling

Whether you’re hosting the live yourself or collaborating with influencers, ensure you tap into storytelling. The more authentic, educational and natural a livestream feels, the less pushy it appears to the viewers – keeping them engaged for longer.

4. Market Your Livestream Well

With so much competition around, you want to ensure your Shopify livestream doesn’t go unnoticed. Create a pre-, during- and post-livestream promotion plan that leverages all your consumer touchpoints – social media, email, SMS, ads and more. Combine it with giveaways and exclusive offers to get more attendees!

5. Don’t Rush through It

Most social media live streams rush the audience through a checklist of things they want them to know. But a truly engaging experience is when you take your time and let things flow naturally, showcasing every little aspect of your product and addressing queries on the go. Remain flexible!

6. Work with Micro, Macro and Mega Influencers

While you may start with livestreams yourself, it’s a good idea to also tap into the audience of micro, macro and mega influencers. For example, if you’re launching a luxury product, livestreaming with a celebrity can get you more eyeballs. But on the other hand, if you’re promoting a BFCM haul, working with a micro influencer can get you more engagement.

7. Include a Call-To-Action

Make sure that you subtly nudge your livestream viewers towards taking an action during and after. Having a clear call to action ensures your audience knows what to do next and helps you make the most of the information you’ve just parted with.

The good thing is that when you use Firework, the products being showcased in the livestream, get displayed on the screen. This little feature acts as a more natural call-to-action that triggers impulse purchases from the viewers.

8. Embed Video on Shopify

Extend the runway of your livestream videos by embedding them on your Shopify store. You can showcase these videos on your homepage or product pages in a carousel as an interactive content format.

Supercharge Conversions on Shopify with Live Shopping

Live stream shopping is the next step to the big nod that social and conversational commerce has received worldwide.

It is an opportunity for eCommerce businesses to tap into prominent social behaviors and preferences by creating live interactions on their storefront.

Ready to build connected live shopping experiences for your target audience? It’s time to explore in-built shoppability and commerce integrations today.