Why Live Commerce Succeeds Over Scrolls
and Swipes

And why is live commerce so popular and growing so exponentially? Because live stream shopping is just so much! 42% of US shoppers and 38% Europeans find it entertaining, followed by both territories finding it a better space to score deals (35% US, 30% Europe). While Coresight Research suggests 45% of US consumers in 2023 are on livestream shopping to find a good deal, a ballooning plethora still are on it to watch something new, just pass time, or discover new products. Entertainment, along with education, is clearly the key here.

Why do people watch livestreams in 2023?

Another reason for the growth of live commerce is the opportunity to go off platform in Europe and the USA, where Meta has discontinued its live-shopping features, and other social-media or live commerce platforms do not have apt functionality. This means that brands and retailers can make their website the destination for live shopping. This is where buywith comes in, with the ability to host 1-to-1 and 1-to-many live stream sessions with a brand and a creator, directly on the e-commerce platform. This enables much higher engagement on site versus online shopping, which has shown a 11X reduction in return rate, 70% higher average order value (AOV) and 10X sales conversion rates.

While it is obvious that Gen Z is a higher demographic in terms of being on social platforms and actively engaging on it, it is actually millennials and Gen X that comprises the largest shopper demographic that contributes to the growth of live commerce. The hypothesis here is that this is so because the older generations have a higher disposable income, but also because they are not watching live streams for entertainment, unlike their younger counterparts. Another hypothesis is that the millennial parents of Gen Z are the ones making purchase decisions, but the consideration part of the funnel (vetting and abandoning products) is still in the hands of Gen Z. 

They are mostly buying fashion and beauty/personal care products across the board, with electronics coming in more to the popularity. As the market matures and live commerce continues to grow, there is likely going to be a shift in what is most watched (home goods, as it turns out) versus what is most purchased (apparel still at the top of this list).

7 years after it first appeared, live commerce is here to stay and its growth potential is still untapped. It is, after all, projected to be a $31 billion industry by the end of 2023, 3 times the size of 2021. That points to live commerce’s growth potential as an important element of the next wave of e-commerce, and making it part of the overall marketing strategy, as opposed to a one off idea or initiative.

Overall, the era of QVC style shopping is definitely here to stay, and it is about time that we graduated from casual flicks of TikToks and swiping left and right on Instagram, and embraced the growth of live commerce both as brands or marketers, as well as end consumers simply looking to shop!