Why live commerce demands a new media playbook

A live shopping experience can feel thrilling and dynamic, with bids accelerating in real time and purchases decided within the platform. Live commerce changes how people discover products by relying more on content than on advertising, and it changes how decisions are made by keeping them in-platform. The approach shifts emphasis from price to value, supported by branding and product category. Commerce behaviors are evolving quickly, and existing media models need to adapt to real-time participation. Adoption varies, with many consumers initially unaware or untried, so launches benefit from targeting communities most likely to adopt live shopping first.

"I slide my finger across the bottom of the screen to bid. I get a thrill, thinking, "This Prada skirt could be mine." I'm quickly outbid. I can feel the energy increase in the room, as the pace of bids accelerates. The women in front of me wins the skirt - no hard feelings."

"For years, ecommerce growth has largely been driven by optimisation: Smarter targeting; better attribution; faster checkout journeys; more efficient performance media. But live commerce is exposing something the industry has quietly known for a while, that consumers don't always shop in linear and logical ways."

"Live commerce shifts the focus from price to value. Product discovery is increasingly happening through content, rather than through advertising. Purchase decisions are happening in-platform. And audiences are expecting commerce experiences to feel more immediate, participatory, entertaining, and - as I experienced - thrilling."

"In our initial survey, just 42% of Australians were aware of live shopping, and only 19% had trialled it. We knew that live shopping had the ability to capture audience interest, with overseas markets like China, the UK and US seeing higher rates of adoption. Therefore, we needed a strategy that launched within communities most likely to adopt live shopping to encourage live streaming."

Read at Mumbrella