From authentic brand messages to real connections: the evolution of commerce on social media (and websites)
What is Live Shopping?
Before we dive into the essentials, let’s explore Live shopping, also known as livestream shopping or video commerce. Live Shopping is a modern retail approach where products are showcased and sold through live-streamed events on digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, influencer profiles, and your own website. It’s a highly interactive format that allows viewers to watch product demonstrations, ask questions, and make purchases in real time. Think of it as a blend of home shopping networks, social media engagement, and e-commerce, all rolled into one and owned entirely by the brand.
This approach continues to gain traction because it bridges the gap between online convenience and the personal touch of in-store shopping. Customers can see products in action, get immediate answers, and experience a sense of urgency and community, all of which help build trust and drive conversions.
The 4 essentials to Live Shopping
Over the past decade, social media and digital marketing have changed dramatically. Polished brand campaigns, static ads, and one-way communication no longer have the same impact. Audiences today are more selective, more informed, and far more resistant to traditional advertising. They don’t want to be talked at; they want to be involved.
As a result, social commerce has evolved from simply placing products in feeds to creating real, human interactions around them. Consumers now expect authenticity, transparency, and value. They trust people more than logos, conversations more than commercials, and experiences more than sales messages. This shift has fundamentally changed how brands need to show up online.
Live Shopping sits at the center of this evolution, combining real-time video, direct interaction, and instant purchasing into one seamless experience. It meets modern consumer expectations by moving beyond scripted promotions and into genuine engagement, where products are demonstrated authentically, questions are answered live, and trust is built in the moment.
But launching a successful Live Shopping event is about more than simply hitting “go live.” It requires creating an engaging, conversion-driven experience that blends entertainment, information, and immediacy. When done right, Live Shopping becomes more than a sales channel, it becomes a dynamic space where brands showcase products, connect with their audience in real time, and build lasting customer relationships.
Success in Live Shopping hinges on four core essentials. Let’s explore what it takes to master Live Shopping and turn video commerce into a scalable growth channel.
Essential 1: Getting people to watch your Live Shopping event
The best Live Shopping event in the world won't yield results if nobody tunes in. Attracting an audience is the crucial first step. We've developed proven strategies and tools to help you maximize your reach across various platforms.
Pre-event promotion is key
Success begins before you even go live. Strategic promotion builds anticipation and ensures your audience knows when and where to find you.
Leverage social media: Announce your Live Shopping event on all your social channels – Facebook, Instagram, website, and more. Use engaging visuals and compelling calls to action.
Email marketing: Send out dedicated emails to your subscriber list, highlighting the products and offers that will be featured.
Website banners and pop-ups: Drive traffic from your own website by featuring prominent announcements.
Influencer collaborations: Partner with relevant influencers to amplify your message and tap into their audience.
Multi-streaming for maximum exposure
Don't limit your Live Shopping event to a single platform. Consider using a Live Shopping platform that allows you to simultaneously livestream your shows across multiple channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and your own website. This vastly expands your potential viewership and makes it easier for your customers to find you wherever they prefer to engage. For example, Jysk went on Facebook and Instagram and captivated +51.000 people with their Live Shopping show:
Utilizing established playbooks, guides, and courses
Live Shopping is already established and growing, so it's important to take inspiration from the brands and retailers already doing it.
These resources are designed to help you craft effective promotional campaigns that capture attention and drive viewers to your Live Shopping events, ensuring you maximize your investment in video commerce.
If you’re completely new to Live Shopping, here’s a quick Crash Course to get you up to speed:
Essential 2: Giving them a reason to watch and buy
Once you’ve attracted viewers, you need to give them compelling reasons to stay and, more importantly, to buy. This involves strategic planning, compelling content, and irresistible offers during your Live Shopping shows.
Showcasing products dynamically
Live Shopping is all about demonstrating value. Your products should be the stars of the show. Live Shopping gives you a chance to create content that:
- Demonstrates usage: Show products in action. For fashion brands, this might be a live try-on session. For home goods, it could be a cooking demonstration with kitchen gadgets.
- Highlight features and benefits: Explain why your products stand out and how they solve customer problems.
- Builds anticipation: Introduce new products, exclusive launches, or limited editions during your Live Shopping event to create excitement.
Exclusive offers and incentives
One of the most effective ways to drive immediate conversions during a Live Shopping event is through exclusive offers – or live deals only.
Consider the following:
- Limited-time discounts: Create urgency by offering special prices only available during the live show.
- Bundles: Package complementary products together at an attractive price.
- Giveaways and contests: Engage your audience with opportunities to win. This not only increases viewership but also fosters a sense of community.
- Early access: Offer viewers first dibs on new arrivals.
Expert hosts and authentic storytelling
The personality of your host can make or break your Live Shopping event. Choose passionate, knowledgeable individuals who can connect with your audience. It can be an influencer that matches your core demographic or an in-house employee who knows that product well. Most times, having two hosts can create a more dynamic live show, but one Live Shopping host is more than enough.
Authentic storytelling around your brand and products creates a more personal and trustworthy experience.
Do I need an expert team to run Live Shopping events?
Short answer: no. You don’t need a full production crew or seasoned TV hosts to succeed with Live Shopping. Many of the best-performing Live Shopping events are run by small, lean teams, sometimes even a single host. What matters most is product knowledge, confidence, and the ability to engage with viewers in real time. An in-house employee who knows the products and brand story often performs just as well (or better) than a professional presenter, because they come across as more authentic and trustworthy.
As you scale, you can gradually add roles like a chat moderator, producer, or co-host to improve flow and engagement, but it’s perfectly fine to start simple. Live Shopping rewards authenticity over perfection, and you can build expertise by doing, testing, and improving with every event.
Essential 3: Keeping viewers engaged during your Live Shopping event
Engagement is the heartbeat of a successful Live Shopping show. Keeping viewers captivated means they’ll stay longer, learn more, and be more likely to make a purchase.
Real-time interaction and Q&A
The interactive nature of Live Shopping is its greatest strength. Encourage viewers to comment and ask questions during the live show.
A dedicated moderator can help manage the chat, ensuring all questions are addressed promptly, either by the host verbally or by the moderator in the chat. This direct interaction builds trust and allows you to overcome potential buying hurdles in real-time.
Polls and quizzes
Incorporate interactive elements like polls and quizzes to involve your audience directly. Ask for opinions on products, preferences, or even future content. This makes viewers feel heard and valued, fostering a stronger connection with your brand.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses
Offer your audience exclusive behind-the-scenes content or sneak peeks. This creates a sense of intimacy and makes your Live Shopping event feel special. It’s an effective way to showcase your brand’s personality and build a loyal following.
Seamless purchasing experience
The easier it is for viewers to buy, the higher your conversion rate will be.
You can go live directly on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Shop – but the purchasing experience directly on those platforms is not seamless, and you’ll lose a lot of retail value. Going live natively on these platforms will also leave you with a heavy after-show workload, as you’ll have to manually keep track of orders from the comments.
By using a Live Shopping platform, you not only minimize the operational burden, but the livestreams are designed for seamless purchasing, allowing customers to add items to their cart and complete transactions instantly without leaving the live show. This frictionless process is crucial for converting engaged viewers into satisfied customers.
Kattnakken, for instance, increased their basket size by 265% with Live Shopping, demonstrating the power of a streamlined purchasing process during live events.
Essential 4: Reusing content everywhere and maximizing long-term value
A Live Shopping event shouldn't be a one-time affair. The content you create in real time has immense value beyond the initial broadcast. Maximizing its longevity is a smart strategy for continued reach, loyalty, and revenue.
Repurpose your Live Shopping content
The recording of your Live Shopping event is a valuable asset. Don't let it sit idle. You can reuse your content in a lot of different ways:
- On-demand shopping: Make the full recording available on your website or social media channels for those who missed the live event. This extends the sales window and allows customers to shop at their convenience.
- Highlight reels: Edit down the most engaging segments or product demonstrations into shorter clips perfect for social media posts, stories, and ads.
- Product videos: Extract specific product showcases to use on individual product pages, enhancing your standard e-commerce listings.
- Educational content: Turn Q&A segments into helpful blog posts or FAQs.
Post-show analysis for continuous improvement
Learning from each Live Shopping event is crucial for ongoing success.
It’s therefore important to follow up after the show to identify areas for growth. Identify your key metrics and how they perform, like Average Order Value (AOV) and top-selling products. This data-driven approach helps you refine your strategy for future Live Shopping endeavors, continuously improving your results.
Live Shopping isn't just about immediate sales; it's also a powerful tool for building customer loyalty. By consistently providing engaging, informative, and interactive content, you foster a community around your brand. This leads to repeat purchases, increased customer lifetime value, and valuable word-of-mouth marketing.
Live Shopping is performing well, and the market is accelerating
Live Shopping is already delivering meaningful commercial impact, and forecasts point to continued growth. While market sizing varies depending on what’s included (gross merchandise value vs. platform/software revenues), the direction is clear: Live Shopping is moving from “nice to try” to a core part of modern commerce.
In the US, livestream ecommerce sales were forecast to grow nearly 50% in 2025 to $14.64 billion, alongside a 21.5% year-over-year increase in buyers, indicating broader adoption beyond early shoppers.
Globally, Live Shopping’s momentum is closely tied to the wider rise of social commerce. Deloitte projected that social commerce would surpass $1 trillion globally (already by 2023), highlighting how quickly shopping behavior is shifting into social and video-led environments.
Forecasts for the next phase of growth vary, but many point to a steep upward curve. One industry outlook expects live commerce outside China to grow from roughly $60–70 billion (2023) to around $2 trillion by 2030.
Taken together, these indicators suggest that Live Shopping will continue to rise across categories and markets. For brands, the opportunity is not only short-term performance, but building capability in a format that’s increasingly shaping how consumers discover products, build trust, and buy.
Bringing it all together
Live Shopping is no longer an experimental channel; it’s a proven way to combine storytelling, interaction, and commerce into one powerful experience. But success doesn’t come from going live alone. It comes from thoughtful promotion, engaging content, real-time interaction, seamless purchasing, and smart reuse of the content you create.
When these essentials work together, Live Shopping becomes more than a sales tactic. It turns into a scalable video commerce strategy that drives higher engagement, stronger customer relationships, and long-term value across channels.
Whether you’re just getting started, just following up on what will be prevalent in the future or looking to refine your existing approach, focusing on these core principles will help you create Live Shopping experiences that audiences want to watch, and shop from, again and again.
If you want to explore Live Shopping for your business or brand - you can watch a demo to see how a Live Shopping Platform could work for you:
