In Asia, especially in China, live shopping has already established itself in the world of online retail. Now more and more German retailers are discovering the trend.
At first glance, it looks like tele-shopping 2.0: In so-called live shopping, retailers present their products in front of the camera, inform customers about their properties and encourage them to buy. In contrast to traditional teleshopping, however, live shopping is not broadcast on television. Instead, retailers use company websites, apps or social platforms.
Interested customers can not only watch the streams, but also exchange ideas with the hosts of the shows via a live chat, ask questions and order the articles presented in the streams directly to their home. The offer is limited in time, the products are often limited or available at special prices.
The idea behind the concept: With live shopping, the advantages of online shopping should be combined with those of stationary retail, creating a kind of sales show. “Live shopping simulates customers visiting a local shop and interacting with a salesperson. At the same time, however, they are shopping from home and can conveniently make their purchases online,” explains Lars Hofacker, head of the E-Commerce research department at the EHI Retail institutes.
China as a live stream pioneer
In China, the business of shopping via live stream is booming. The Alibaba Group is considered a trendsetter, having already used the live stream concept with the so-called “Taobao Live” in 2016. On a single day, Singles Day, the stream generated billions in sales, according to the management consultancy McKinsey.
Accordingly, shopping via live stream has established itself as a fixed format in China and will reach around 750 million users in 2022. If the trend catches on at a global level like in China, according to McKinsey, live shopping could account for up to 20 percent of all e-commerce in 2026.
Opportunities for the German market
Companies in Germany have now also discovered the concept of live shopping. The perfumery chain Douglas is one of the first movers, it launched its live shopping channel for the European market in March 2020. The largest German online shop Otto has been using live streams since 2021. “The shows start at 7 p.m. and then run for about 45 minutes,” says Sandra Barnstedt, Senior Campaign Manager.
The company currently broadcasts every two to three weeks. Instead of using external platforms, Otto relies on the company’s own website and app. A strategy that not only makes the company more cost-independent of the big social media platforms, but also, according to the expert Hofacker, also relies on direct contact with customers. According to Otto, it reaches up to 60,000 live viewers per stream.
development potential in e-commerce
Experts consider it logical that German companies are also increasingly investing in live shopping. “Customers have a relatively high need for information. What can the product do? How does it work? Conventional online shops can only meet these needs to a limited extent,” says Hofacker.
This is exactly where live shopping comes in: “Live interaction with the customer makes it easier to close information gaps.” In addition, live shopping enables retailers to bond more closely with their customers. “In e-commerce, this has always been a particular challenge,” says Hofacker.
Short-term trend or future?
While in China billions in sales are already being generated with live shopping, Germany is still in its infancy in comparison. Larger shops that are already established in e-commerce are increasingly relying on live stream offers. However, the concept of live shopping can represent a financial hurdle, especially for smaller providers. “Companies with an affinity for social media can experiment with live shopping at low cost, but for professional operation there is a higher investment requirement. It depends on the individual case,” says Hofacker.
In addition, according to a survey by management consultants Simon-Kucher & Partners, only eight percent of Germans have had live shopping experience. It is not yet foreseeable that live shopping in Germany will be as successful as in China. According to experts, there is definitely potential for growth.