Brands looking to be at the intersection of shopping and entertainment are eyeing the opportunities of social ecommerce
TikTok is testing an in-app shoppable livestream experience for its community, with Walmart the first to trial its new seamless shoppable solution. TikTok users will be able to shop for items featured in the livestream without leaving the TikTok platform.
“Walmart, like many brands, is finding creative, innovative ways to tap into opportunities on TikTok to connect with and entertain their community,” TikTok Global Business Solutions, A/NZ, GM, Brett Armstrong, explained to CMO.
“Walmart is a prominent advertiser and has chosen TikTok as a trusted advertising platform and they are one of many advertisers who we have tapped to test our various ad products and features."
TikTok is striving to be a more creative, connected platform, and part of that is building an ecommerce ecosystem with advertising solutions. “While we push to impactfully deliver value to our partners and advertisers, we're excited to build on our existing ad products to meet their demands and further enhance the TikTok experience,” he said.
Armstrong’s advice to marketers looking for the best way to approach something like livestreams on TikTok is simple. “Brands that have had success on TikTok have found a way to show their creativity and have authentically connected with audiences,” he said.
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As with other forms of marketing, a cross-platform approach is also important. “Instagram is a great platform for live streaming, and in select markets these streams can also be made shoppable. However, brands need to take into account that only a small percentage of their potential customers are following them on social platforms and on top of this available to watch a livestream in a specific time window,” said Gross.
To maximise the value of this new format, parallel to social platforms, brands need to also provide this functionality on their own ecommerce site. Gross said there are several benefits to this: The potential audience that can be attracted to the live event is broader, brands are able to run private events to select customers only, shoppers experiencing the livestream on your ecommerce site are more likely to convert as they are already in the shopping mindset, and checkout is enabled directly within the platform across all markets the brand operates in.
“And the livestream can have longevity by being kept on the ecommerce site as a recorded shoppable video experience for those who missed the actual livestream,” she said. “Live streaming is a great way to fill the content gaps brands would have traditionally had between seasonal campaigns. Live streaming should be approached as a 'always-on' supplement to other digital marketing activity."
Despite this, Behari advised brands against relying on livestreaming as a regular part of their marketing push, instead recommending it remains an exclusive event to build anticipation and excitement as a special event.
“A livestream typically results in increased demand. While they sell a lot more at a given time, brands also need to make sure delivery and fulfilment can be met promptly. If they don’t have the inventory on-hand to meet customer demand, they risk harming customer loyalty and viewers on succeeding events,” Behari said.
People tuning into the livestream can easily watch and get questions about the product answered in real time and then add it to their cart and purchase the products they viewed, all without leaving the app. This extra level of customer engagement online will help brands succeed and drive more loyal customers who might even end up spending more during these live events, experts agreed.
“One of the best ways retailers can use ecommerce livestreaming to supplement their digital strategy is to incorporate it into their own proprietary mobile app. This provides another great touchpoint for retailers to gather data and insights into customers’ preferences while also creating a seamless digital experience for shoppers,” Behari added.
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