In one of our previous articles, we’ve already proven that livestream sales effectively improve the success of annual shopping periods featuring exclusive discounts like Joy Napok in Hungary. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that live shopping for the holiday season is a peak time for brands to rack up serious revenues. Why? Because consumers are willing to dedicate more time and money on purchasing products than in “regular” months of the year.

If we look back to history, we realise that merchants’ goals haven’t changed at all, but the tools they have at their disposal have – and it makes all the difference. Just think about it. Stores have always been eager to let buyers know they’re prepared for the holiday season. In the golden days, when word of mouth was the only marketing method, decorative shop windows enticed customers to buy. However, it only provided a temporary wow factor, as people passing quickly forgot the whole experience. 

Later on, newspaper ads, flyers and billboards offered a more efficient solution to capturing consumers’ attention and encouraging them to spend – however, aside from being costly, it was hard to measure which store visits could actually be attributed to these ads, or which ones were brought on by an attractive window display, referral from a friend, or brand loyalty. 

The widespread use of the internet provided an excellent hotbed for online advertisements that brands have come to rely on. With all the digital marketing skills that millennials and Gen Zs seem to be born with, they can be very easy to put up, but there are just too many of them that some people have become programmed to scroll over them.

Why did we deem it important to paint this whole picture? To show you the flaws of past sales strategies that made merchants lose buyers - and income - which should naturally rise during the holiday season. Fortunately, we have THE remedy to prevent any such fiascos and lift numbers to never-before-seen levels: Video shopping. Below, we’ll tell you why live shopping for the holiday season is your go-to strategy!

How Brands Benefit From Holiday Live Streaming

According to a 2021 shopping poll conducted by Creditcards.com, 62% of survey participants claimed they wish to engage only in online purchasing during peak seasons of the year. This trend will only increase over the years, so let’s build on it ahead of time! Holiday live streaming completely redefines well-known conventional online shopping methods with an interactive platform for real-time events. Its enjoyability and ‘shoppertainment’ factor are further supported by high-quality tech gadgets and aesthetic setups.

Let’s face it – vendors strive for profit maximisation, which becomes even more crucial during high-traffic times of the year. Video shopping helps to achieve this goal through the following means:

• Increased traffic: The option to start the session on your website and share it across unlimited social media channels drives multiple times more viewers to the stream.
• Brand awareness: More people watching your products or services means more visibility and opportunities to connect with your brand.
• Boosted engagement: The live chat feature allows viewers to ask all their questions about the product, which can dispel all doubts about the item and encourage immediate purchase. Not to mention seeing other viewers buying the same product, which can drive the FOMO mentality and drive sales.
• Customer loyalty: Live shopping for the holiday season should be outstandingly consumer-focused. Sessions that are attentive towards their audience, recorded using quality equipment, properly showcase products, and exploit the power of special offers are likely to make prospects into returning buyers.
• Conversions and sales: These terms come hand in hand, as they are directly proportional. A video shopping solution like Smuc provides you with all the means to create an easily manageable, transparent and quick shopping platform that considerably shortens the buyer’s journey. Something that’s extremely significant during busy periods of the year: The less steps there are to get to purchase, the higher the conversions and sales.
• Analytics: You can view real-time all the metrics that you need to keep getting better at live streaming: How many viewers do you have? Are your Facebook watchers more engaged than your website visitors? How many sales have come in?
• In-store atmosphere: A portion of consumers prefer brick-and-mortar stores specifically for their ambiance. Well, you can use audiovisual elements to create a festive vibe. Dress up the studio in matching décor and put on some soft ambient background music to set the tone for holiday live streaming.

What Are The Top Live Shopping Festive Events?

Video shopping as a live streaming methodology entered the spotlight only a couple of years ago and stole the show right away. Numerous brands have taken quick action to include themselves in the repertoire of the largest real-time sales events worldwide. Let’s see what these are:

• Black Friday in the US and Europe: Held over the last weekend of November, this annual occasion has attracted millions to physical stores, which due to the pandemic rather converted into an online consumer base. Based on BusinessInsider data, 2021 online Black Friday sales amounted to almost $9 billion in the US alone. Black Friday is also the catalyst for Christmas shopping sprees. So, it's any merchant's best chance to pull out the big guns: Invite popular public figures or influencers to host your upcoming streams, and provide free shipping with limited-time offers.
• China’s Singles Day: Live shopping for the holiday season would be dull without 11.11, which has emerged to be the largest online shopping festival in the world. According to Statista data, over 500 million people took part in last year’s virtual bargain-hunting, and spent approximately $139 billion. The beauty, automotive and tech industries proved to be the most successful fields, raking in insane revenues within 24 hours with the help of high-profile influencers.

Final Words

We hope we have shown you why live shopping can be the game changer in your e-comm toolbox this year. Give it a try and take advantage of this new marketing solution. Registration is free on Smuc - no fees to pay for your first live event(s), and you can stream right after sign-up. Check it out!