How to boost online sales with streaming in 2021

Video sells.

Live streaming (or live commerce, live video shopping) is a new sales model that allows customers to buy a product during a video stream with the participation of a blogger influencer, celebrity, or expert.

In 2020, leading online stores proved that live streams allow them to not only satisfy customer needs with high-quality service, but also increase sales.

Live streaming is the main trend in e-commerce for 2021.

Here’s why.

Why the Wanghong economy has soared

In 2020, live streaming on e-commerce sites became the main driver of the Chinese market.

Sales of goods have skyrocketed thanks to Wanghong. The Wanghong are Chinese blogger influencers and social media content creators with a large fan following.

Home shopping for zoomers is incredibly successful. In China alone, the value of the live-stream shopping market is estimated at $60 billion.

How Taobao has increased sales during the pandemic

Taobao Live is a live streaming service integrated into the popular Taobao app.

Taobao Live also owes its success to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, the number of subscribers to the platform increased approximately 7 times compared to January.

During the Singles’ Day, live streams on Taobao Live brought in $2.5 billion.

How platforms and online stores implemented live streaming in 2020

• Amazon Live Creator, a mobile app and platform for sellers, influencers, and brands, launched.
• Facebook first tested Live Shopping in Thailand.
• Instagram improved IGTV.
• AliExpress Live first held live streams of the Xiaomi and L’Oréal brands.
• The Ozon online store launched Live.

What typicals buyers do before making a purchase

They watch video reviews:

• 90% of customers say product videos help them make purchasing decisions.
• 59% of people making decisions prefer watching videos rather than reading product descriptions or blog articles.

Factors that usually prevent a quick sale

The user abandons a purchase if they don’t find a quick solution to their problem and begin to doubt their choice.

According to the statistics, people who have had a fitting make purchases 7 times more often than customers who simply browse the assortment.

The most common reasons for abandoning a purchase are as follows:

• It is not clear how to order delivery and return the goods.
• A text chat does not demonstrate how to correctly perform actions in the online store.
• It is impossible to look at the product and evaluate it.
• Too wide a range of products confuses the buyer.

Why streaming helps sell online

Purchasing decisions are often made based on emotion rather than logic.

Video creates a lively, shopping-friendly atmosphere, encouraging the buyer to quickly take the necessary action: “buy” or “order”.

You can increase sales or improve service by supporting the buyer at every stage using online videos:

• product reviews;
• unboxing;
• fitting;
• influencers’ advice;
• additional presentations;
• training sessions.

Four advantages of integrated streaming over Instagram Stories and YouTube

How to integrate streaming into your online store or service

Integrating streaming ahead of competitors means gaining a strong competitive advantage at the very beginning of the next shopping revolution.

We have developed a universal streaming platform that easily integrates into any ecosystem and supports all functions important for online sales or consulting:

• Live streaming
• Streaming from a phone or using special equipment, by the seller alone or with the help of a dedicated operator
• Compatibility with any mobile and desktop platforms
• No additional applications required
• Support for adaptive Full HD video quality
• Support for live streaming to an audience of 1 to 1,000,000 concurrent viewers
• Guaranteed low live streaming latency of up to 4 seconds (instead of 30–50 seconds offered by other solutions)
• Starting a live stream in a few clicks
• 24/7 technical support

Thus, the streaming platform solves all the issues in terms of organizing live streams and infrastructure for delivering video content.

How it works

1. The seller has a special account where a video stream is configured and broadcast. The seller can use their professional equipment or a regular smartphone for recording.
2. The Gcore platform receives the video stream and transcodes it into several qualities.
3. Clients watch the live stream in HD or Full HD quality on PCs or smartphones anywhere and anytime, even with an unstable internet connection.

Sign up for streaming and help your online business

• Improve the shopping experience
• Increase sales conversion
• Increase the average purchase amount
• Attract new buyers
• Retain customers in your ecosystem
• Reduce the percentage of returns
• Improve image and increase brand credibility

Live streaming is the future of e-commerce that is already here.

Your store only needs goods and a seller—we will take care of the technical implementation and the high quality of your live streams.

Get started with a free consultation and a free test project.

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