In China, e-commerce is undergoing yet another transformation - the combination of live streaming and shopping has penetrated to both mega and lower-tier cities. With smartphone adoption steadily increasing, customers turn to their favorite streaming app to look for hot deals and discover new brands from "influencers" that they trust.
While live streaming has gained so much popularity in Asia, it hasn't got much traction in the US. Recently Amazon Global stated that the Amazon Live function will be launched on the entire site, making it a major competitor against Facebook Live, in this emerging sector.
Amazon or Facebook wasn't the first. For example, Eight TV launched in August 2017, where users can record a 1-minute short video, including but not limited to the evaluation of various products. All short videos will provide a product shopping link of an online retailer, and viewers can directly purchase products, and Eight TV opens up Amazon's product database.
Another example is Dote, which is also a mobile shopping app that recommends products through videos, helping to plan and sell products from retailers such as Sephora, Victoria's Secret, and Urban Outfitters.
Scattered mobile shopping products or brands that tried to carry out video delivery have not been able to set off the live delivery boom of online shopping in the United States. However, until last year, Internet giants such as Facebook, Amazon, and YouTube entered the game and increased their sales of live broadcasts.
Will Amazon change the game? With the live streaming function, sellers can directly interact with consumers, and consumers can complete a one-click purchase by clicking on the carousel next to the video. Amazon said that brands are influencing consumers' shopping behaviors and decisions, while live broadcast and the following functions are natural touchpoints that connect sellers and consumers for deeper interaction. With the help of the live streaming, sellers can more easily interact with consumers, thereby further empowering their own brand promotion.
1. Amazon live broadcast and Alibaba/Taobao comparison
Taobao Live has created a new form of product display in the field of e-commerce. High-quality anchors, fan interaction, and high frequency of live broadcasts have become the key to Taobao's leading the development of e-commerce live broadcasts. In contrast, Amazon, which launched the live broadcast function not long ago, has not broken away from the traditional model of product evaluation. When watching Amazon live broadcast, it is like watching a Youtube blogger you don’t know makes product reviews. (This kind of live broadcast) lacks social influence, and at the same time, ignores the user's sense of participation and their willingness to establish interactive relationships. On the way to e-commerce live broadcast, there are still many places to learn from Taobao.
2. TikTok - a disruptor with opportunities
TikTok's overseas version of Douyin was the fourth most downloaded non-gaming app in the world last year. This year it has risen to third place in the world, second only to WhatsApp and Messenger, and ahead of Facebook (fourth) and Instagram (fifth). TikTok has been downloaded more than 1.5 billion times in the App Store and Google Play. Like YouTube, the core of TikTok is videos that people share. The more interesting the video, the more it resonates with the audience. Unlike YouTube, TikTok videos are usually short and shot in a vertical format. The core of influencer marketing is storytelling. You need to give influencers enough flexibility to tell their fans your brand story in a more authentic way.
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