16th January, 2024
Live streaming has been one of the greatest developments in the internet age, and the industry has boomed over the last six years. Since Facebook brought live streaming to the masses in 2017, the market size has already exceeded $40 billion. There are various applications for live streaming, with live eCommerce recently emerging as a game-changer for online shopping. However, adoption of this new way of selling products has been slow. There’s a strong chance, though, that it could catch on in countries like Nigeria in the next few years.
Caption: A video explaining what live eCommerce is.
What is Live eCommerce?
The whole concept of live streaming is that it allows people to experience things in real-time from wherever they are. Before Facebook introduced it for social functions and news, online casinos had been using it for years to provide players with a unique gambling experience. Now, live casino is one of the most popular ways to play. Players are faced with a vast amount of choice, from table games like Lucky Ball Roulette Live and Emperor Baccarat, to original live options like Treasure Island and Mega Fire Blaze Lucky Ball Live.
These games work well because players feel like they are at the center of the action, watching it unfold in real-time. The use of a real-world dealer helps them to gain trust in the games as well and adds another level of legitimacy. Just as they would in a real-world casino, players have the chance to use the chat function to talk to other players and sometimes the dealer as well. This interactivity makes it feel like more of a multiplayer experience rather than a solo activity.
The early pioneers of live eCommerce clearly saw the potential of this live streaming in the shopping arena. With online shoppers having so many different companies and platforms to choose from, a feature that helps to foster trust between customers, businesses, and products seems like a winning formula.
Live eCommerce involves influencers streaming content about the products that they want to sell. Customers can log on and watch them explain how these products work in real-time. Then, if they have any questions about them, they can type in the chat and have them answered. There’s usually the option to make purchases in real-time as well, with users being able to easily click links within the live stream to place an order.
There are clearly numerous advantages to this form of shopping. For one, it provides a more immersive shopping experience, like having direct engagement with a salesperson in a physical retail outlet. Instead of ordering products from an invisible person that you never interact with, live eCommerce allows you to see the seller first and decide whether you trust that person or not.
Live eCommerce in Asia
Live eCommerce was expected to be one of the greatest applications of live streaming technology when it first emerged. Various news channels reported on the popularity of the idea in Eastern markets, and expected it to spread to the West as well.
It started to gain popularity in 2017, with numerous Asian eCommerce sites among the first to implement it. China pioneered the concept on well-known platforms in the country including Taobao and JD.com. It harked back to the television shopping channels of old, which would feature a range of products with people demonstrating how they were used. Shoppers were able to phone in to make purchases, and would sometimes be able to snag deals as well.
Caption: Live eCommerce is said to be the future of shopping in China.
China’s introduction of live eCommerce took this idea and made it even better for the internet age. When watching shopping channels, consumers were forced to sit through a lot of products that didn’t interest them. Now, though, on eCommerce sites, they can tune in to a range of live streams, and find the products that are most suited to them.
There’s no doubt that live eCommerce has been a massive hit in Asia. However, it has been much slower to take off in the West. Amazon Live, Instagram, and Facebook have all tried to introduce their own versions of live eCommerce to varying success. Perhaps it could be a cultural difference, in that people in countries like China are more used to consuming shopping-related content than they are in the USA.
Could Still Have an Impact in Countries Like Nigeria
Even though live eCommerce hasn’t been as much of a hit in the West as in the East, there’s still a chance that it could have a big impact in countries like Nigeria. According to research into how Nigerians spend time online, social media is one of the top activities. That means that people are used to seeing influencers on their social media platforms and that they may be open to watching videos of people selling products.
Despite the internet now reaching over 84 million users in the country, there are still a vast number of people without it. Indeed, in 2023, the internet penetration rate stood at just over 55 percent. That highlights how many online businesses are still in their infancy in the country, and this includes eCommerce. While some online shopping sites are starting to take off, the infrastructure isn’t quite ready yet for these companies to have a huge impact.
The internet is expected to spread rapidly throughout the country in the next few years. When it does, it will most likely mirror the West with the rise of eCommerce. With most Nigerians accessing the internet from mobile devices, they may be more open to the concept of live eCommerce.
Live eCommerce may not have become the massive hit that many people expected, but there’s still plenty of time for that to happen. It’s hugely popular in China and other Asian nations and may end up being a popular shopping option in Nigeria as well.