This article was originally published on July 2020 and updated with new content on May 2021.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce live stream has seen a huge boom in popularity as many businesses have had to move online. While China may have been at the forefront of this e-commerce live streaming trend, e-commerce businesses in Singapore and Southeast Asia have also been joining the live streaming trend to boost their sales revenue.
Read on to find out more about how your e-commerce business can benefit from hosting your own e-commerce live stream.
Table of Contents
E-commerce Live Stream Segments
Audience Engagement
Most live streaming platforms allow your audiences to leave comments in real-time through the comments section. This presents an opportunity for the host to engage with the audiences by addressing their questions and concerns during the live stream itself. Audience engagement is crucial as it is the first step to gaining a deeper connection with your potential buyers.
Live Stream Sales
During the e-commerce live stream, the host usually dives into more details about the product that they are selling. They provide a comprehensive product demonstration and review for their audiences to entice them to make the purchase. Viewers enjoy this form of three-dimensional product demonstrations as it makes them feel like they are also trying out the product. This serves as an interesting switch from the usual few images and descriptions that consumers are used to. E-commerce live sellers also make most of their products exclusive to their live stream session to draw more customers in.
Live Stream Auctions
Auctions are also a common segment amongst e-commerce live streams. An auction is a bidding event where individuals put a price on an item they are interested in. The exciting part begins when someone else has their eyes on the prize too and will make an attempt to outbid you. The individual with the highest bid within the time limit gets to go home with the prize.
Vivid Snaps Livestreaming Studio
Every good e-commerce live stream requires a good camera set-up. For the most part, your mobile phones can get the job done, but it falls short of making your stream look professional. The viewers need to be able to see the hosts of the livestream clearly and communicate with them real-time experiencing as little delay as possible.
This is why at Vivid Snaps, we have recently repurposed our storage-area to become a studio, ready for your next livestreaming event. With a backdrop that measures 5 meters wide, we can comfortably fit 3 people into the frame (while maintaining safe-distancing measures).
We offer complimentary greenscreen studio usage for our clients who engage with our professional live streaming services. With the greenscreen, the hosts can be put into a background of your choosing (e.g. logo and graphics of the company).
With the space our studio offers, movement shots are possible with a half-body framing, which is great if the livestream requires the host to walk around to showcase different products in the studio. Our professional equipment and staff will ensure that the host and viewers are able to communicate seamlessly throughout your livestream.
If you would like to enquire about our complimentary green screen live streaming studio, drop us a message via the message box at the side of the page and we will get back to you.
Live Stream Platforms for E-commerce
Online Shopping Platforms
Online shopping platforms such as Shopee (for mobile only) and Lazada allow sellers to conduct live streams for their business. Shopavision is also Singapore’s first live stream shopping application.
These platforms were designed for shoppers and hence have special features for the e-commerce live streams.
When viewing a live stream on Shopee, there is a shopping bag icon on the bottom left. The shopper will be directed to a catalogue of the items that will be featured in the live stream when they click on the icon. This gives shoppers a peek into what products to expect discounts for.
Shopee’s Brand Festival Live Stream Held Via Shopavision. Screenshots taken from Shopavision.
Shoppers can buy what they see on screen in real-time. They can view the catalogue during the live stream itself to browse the products.
The Shopavision app also has a mini-player view which allows viewers to stay connected to the live stream while they are making a purchase of an item and processing the checkout. The live stream video is minimised automatically when the viewers click on the catalogue button on the lower-left corner of the screen.
Shopee also gives out Shopee coins during the live stream session. They market their Shopee coin giveaways as a while stocks last item for the fastest fingers first. Doing so keeps viewers excited to stay till the end of the live stream to catch the next Shopee coin giveaway.
Live Streaming to Support Local Businesses
While live streaming is a golden opportunity for e-commerce businesses to tap into and engage with their audiences during this period of social distancing, it does come at a cost. Some smaller businesses might not be able to dedicate their time and manpower to ride on this e-commerce live stream trend.
As part of their cause to create unique broadcasting opportunities for local brands, e-commerce live stream platform The Market Society (The M Society) started a Facebook live selling series with Mafia Queen Cynthia Koh to help local businesses expand their brand awareness and reach.
Their first-ever series, The Best Food Deals with Mafia Queen Cynthia Koh, was a Christmas live stream session held in partnership with 4 local businesses– M.Y. Pie – Shepherd’s Pie, Gim Poh Food, Ah Ma’s Ngoh Hiang and Mema Bakery. These businesses gave The M Society audiences festive deals for the upcoming Christmas season so that audiences could secure their gifts for the holidays.
With The M Society’s exclusive online community, these 4 businesses were able to reach out to a whopping 17K viewers and 489 comments within the 2 hour live sales. Their expertise in planning engaging live selling content that helps to drive brand awareness and sales conversions guarantees that your local business will reap immediate benefits when you partner with them for their live selling events.
If you would like to be featured on their Facebook live selling, you can find them on The M Society Facebook page and The M Society Instagram page.
Driving Sales and Conversions With Your Live Stream
If you are ready to go professional with your e-commerce live stream, you need a professional order capturing software that can help to ease your buyer’s purchasing process. This provides a better buying experience for your customers who will be more likely to follow through and purchase your products during the live stream.
You can provide a unique code for your viewers to type into the chat. Once the system captures the code, it will generate a message to the person’s Facebook which comes with a link directing them to a payment page. This way, your users will be able to instantly purchase your product while watching your e-commerce live stream in a matter of a few clicks.
As a business owner, order capturing software also provides several user-friendly features that eases your keeping track of your orders from start to end:
- Direct connection into your Facebook account, which allows for a hassle free set up.
- Automated tracking for your inventory, orders and payments.
- Instant prompt for buyers to follow through and make payment by sending out the check-out link once the special code has been captured.
Order capturing software has integrated payment functions into their system. This saves you time as the system will track the payment and alert you when the item has been paid and is ready to be delivered. You no longer have to manually check for payment from the clients.
You will also have the opportunity to use your regular Facebook posts to generate direct sales leads as well. Upmesh can also capture comments on these non-live stream posts, allowing customers to purchase your products 24/7.
E-commerce Live Stream Examples
Videre IG Live
Videre had a live stream via Instagram whereby they invited Mandy Wee to share a yoga class. The live stream was then re-uploaded on Videre’s IGTV for replay.
Like Videre, many businesses are making use of platforms like Facebook and Instagram to hold social media live streams.
At the end of the class, viewers were able to receive voucher codes for their purchase. These voucher codes were added into the live stream as a graphic overlay. Graphic overlays like these can be designed to suit the needs of your e-commerce live stream. If needed, our in-house graphic designer will be able to help you customise the graphics that you need.
Suntec Shopping Festival
In June 2020, Suntec City held a virtual Shopping Festival via a live stream through their Suntec+ application.
We liked that Suntec City was actively making use of their comments function to complement the hosts’ live selling. During the live stream, Suntec City gave discount codes, giveaways and addressed the audience’s questions in real-time while the hosts were selling the products. They also gave a teaser on the upcoming products the hosts would bring out later in the live stream.
Harvey Norman (Hardly Normal Show)
The Hardly Normal Show, run by Harvey Norman, came to an end after its fifth episode. This came after weekly e-commerce live stream sessions which gave audiences massive discounts across all items.
Viewers who liked and shared the e-commerce live stream video stood a chance to win a lucky prize from Harvey Norman. The live stream has since gathered 29 thousand views and 93 shares on Facebook. If you are hosting your e-commerce live stream via a social media platform, we recommend that you encourage your viewers to share the live stream. This helps to increase your brand reach and awareness.
Like Videre, Harvey Norman made use of graphic overlays in their live stream. The main graphics used were the tags on the screen to show the price of the item they were selling. They also had their logo on the top right-hand corner to reinforce their branding.
COURTS (Cooking Show)
COURTS has hosted a cooking show with Chef Mel Dean on their Facebook page. Chef Mel Dean did a cooking demonstration using their Philips air fryer and cooker. There was also a giveaway for a $500 COURTS voucher for their live stream viewers.
This live stream demonstrated to viewers how they could make full use of the air fryer and the multi-cooker. By demonstrating how easy and versatile the product was, viewers could imagine themselves cooking up scrumptious dishes in a matter of minutes. This is a strong and enticing factor that can draw viewers into purchasing these products.
Additionally, this live stream also made use of different camera angles. There was a wide shot which provided an overview of the ingredients and equipment that Chef Mel Dean was using. A close up shot was used when Chef Mel Dean was explaining the functions and the benefits of the air fryer or the cooker. This variety of shots made the live stream more engaging and entertaining for the viewers.
There was also a top-down angle shot of Chef Mel Dean’s work station. This allowed for a birds-eye view of the ingredients and for a closer, more detailed look at how Chef was preparing the food.
Shopavision E-commerce Livestreams
Shopavision also hosts regular e-commerce live streams to sell a variety of products. During the live stream, the hosts demonstrate the product and also give a review of it to let their audience learn more about what is being sold.
Product reviews are also a powerful sales tactic many live sellers adopt during their e-commerce live streams. In fact, China’s “King of Lipstick” Li Jiaqi rose to fame as a lipstick live seller on Taobao by personally applying and reviewing every single lipstick that he features on his stream.
By giving objective reviews to each product that he showcases, he gives his viewers an insight into the product quality and useability of the product. This makes it easier for the viewers to decide which product is the best for them.
Wang Lei’s Facebook Livestreams
Since April of 2020, Wang Lei has been actively selling products via his Facebook page and garnered thousands of viewers. He would answer questions that his viewers had about the product throughout the live stream session.
Furthermore, to make his e-commerce live streams more interesting and engaging, Wang Lei even cracks jokes and (jokingly) curses at his viewers. According to Wang Lei, the more he scolded his viewers, the more they would want to watch his streams.
Systema, Gum Health Matters Studio Livestream
Systema had a Facebook livestream in November 2020 that featured Alvin Ng, the brand ambassador of Systema, to promote their products.
However, the livestream was not simply about hard-selling products. The host, Kelly Latimer engaged Alvin in a series of games and quizzes regarding general gum health to keep viewers engaged.
They even allowed the viewers to participate by asking them questions. Those who got the answer correct by commenting in the chat-box would win prizes in the form of Systema products.
The multi-camera set-up for this livestream allowed it to look dynamic, switching from one close up shot to another quickly.
Lastly, they brought in Dental Specialist Dr. Daylene Leong for a Question & Answer session to answer the viewer’s queries. All these interactions were only made available with the real-time streaming through the use of professional equipment.
Shiseido, Face Line Color Livestream
Early this year, Shiseido had a Facebook livestream to showcase their hairstyling techniques. Through the help of 2 professional hairstylists, Ken Chong and Linus Loh, they showcased their skills on the hair of 2 online influencers.
Throughout, they explained how Shiseido products helped them with their styling, while also explaining the entire styling process. There were also multiple camera angles, which made the livestream look more dynamic. The close-up shots allowed the viewers to see the hairstylists’ techniques up close.
At the end, they also had a live QnA session in which viewers can comment their answers and stand a chance to win prizes from Shiseido, which kept the viewers engaged till the end.
Guardian LIVE! Loreal Paris X Maybelline Livestream
At the end of last year, Guardian did a livestream in collaboration with Maybelline and Loreal Paris on Facebook. By inviting guests such as Fauzi Aziz from The Smart Local and Gina Tan from Maybelline, they had an interactive livestream with activities and prizes.
Throughout the livestream, the main goal was for Fauzi to do a K-Pop makeup for Gina using Maybelline and Loreal Paris products. There were also discount codes and quizzes throughout the activities for people to win prizes by commenting their answers.
They were able to garner an impressive total of 4.1k views and over 800 comments. Although, the livestream would definitely have been better with professional camera equipment instead of a phone camera. Rather than holding the livestream at a Guardian store, a studio set-up would have made it more professional.
SK Jewellery Auspicious Collectible Livestream
Sk Jewellery had done a series of e-commerce livestreams in mid-2020, with this specific one streamed in June that year. All of their livestreams involved the host, Ms Vicky Toh, showcasing the various valuables for sale such as paintings, decor, as well as accessories.
The livestream made use of graphics that would appear at the bottom of the screen to showcase the name and price of each product, which was informative for the viewers.
The livestream was also quite polished, with proper lighting and even a pre-recorded close up shot of a bracelet being played halfway through. This makes the overall livestream feel more professional.
The latency of the livestream was good as well, as viewers could text in real-time and reserve the products before they are all sold out.
iShopChangi iShopathon Studio Livestream
Last year, iShopChangi had a 3 month long campaign from August to October of 2020, where they would livestream every Thursday night to encourage viewers to shop at their online website.
They would invite Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), such as influencers like Sylvia Chan and actor Joanne Peh to play games using products that are on sale on the website. The celebrities were very candid with their reactions, and the audience could connect with them well. Thus, the viewers could enjoy and trust the content they were watching.
The livestreams were all very professional, using quality cameras and lighting equipment for their hosts. There was even a custom made studio backdrop, which was used for all of the livestreams.
A multi-cam set-up was used, where one would remain as a wide shot and the other would zoom into the hosts faces. The camera movements were smooth and professional.
The content were entertaining, and the viewers could comment in real time to support their favourite influencers. Promo codes were also given out to the viewers at points during the livestreams.
Pomelo x TikTok Exclusive Collaboration Livestream
Earlier in February 2021, Pomelo and TikTok had a collaboration where Pomelo sold designs of their clothes with TikTok branding on them.
Since early 2020, Pomelo has developed in-app livestreaming to promote their products. At the same time, they have also been actively streaming on Facebook to gain a wider audience.
With this recent livestream, they invited KOLs to try on the clothing and promote it to the viewers. After putting the clothes on, they turned off the lights to showcase the clothing’s reflective material, and took TikTok videos. They’ve also included the KOL’s height and measurements on screen, so that viewers have a point of comparison.
This is an interesting collaboration, as TikTok also allows their users to go live on their platform. This show us that everything is starting to go live and digital, and it is time for people to adapt.
With the help of professional cameras, lighting equipment, and livestream software, Pomelo’s livestreams can definitely be given a huge upgrade.
Making Payment for Products
After the live stream, buyers will need to contact the sellers via direct messaging to discuss the payment method and delivery details. In Singapore, these are the common methods of payment:
- Mobile payment modes like “PayNow” and “PayLah”
- Bank transfer payments
These hassle-free modes of processing payments provide convenience to both buyers and sellers. Long gone are the days of having to pay cash to a seller upon a physical meet up session to collect the items.
Ordering capture software like Upmesh can help to track the payments from your clients. This saves you the hassle of manually tracking the orders to confirm if payments have been made.
Vivid Snaps Live Streaming Team
Our team works with corporate client and brands to deliver professional live streaming production. Brand and commerce live streaming can be executed in a green screen studio, culinary studio, your office and almost any indoor location with an Internet connection.
Professional E-commerce Live Stream
If you are ready to go professional with your e-commerce live stream, you will require a live stream service provider who can help to take your live streaming up a notch.
At Vivid Snaps, our live streaming crew will manage the technical aspects of your e-commerce live stream so that you can focus on selling your products and engaging with your viewers. Drop our project coordinators today and we will get back to you.
