Recently, Australia's eCommerce and retail community gathered at ICC Sydney for Online Retailer Conference & Expo, the country's largest eCommerce conference, where thousands of digital and marketing leaders get across the latest developments in the industry. I delivered a presentation on how to win in the content-driven digital commerce landscape, and what follows are the highlights that I’m sure you’ll also find valuable.
Working with brands globally, we have a front row seat to what’s around the corner, and how brands are tapping into the latest shifts. Here’s what’s on the horizon.
There's No More Social Media. There's Just Media
It’s clear to everyone now that our social feeds stopped being where we see our friends’ content. New algorithms replaced most of their content, and now social media behaves less like a social network and more like a media channel or a TV. The shift ‘from posting to programming’ was well covered in our last article, and it remains the essential groundwork for social media’s next wave. Algorithms now favour sticky entertainment. But the real change is what comes next when discovery, entertainment and purchase collapse into a single feed.
In an effort to catch up with TikTok, Meta recently announced the progressive global rollout of live video ads, in-stream shopping and live commerce tool integrations. Soon, across all social platforms globally, the same feed that first captures a new customer's attention will also be where the transaction closes.
Live Commerce Is Here
Brand teams are already stretched across more channels than they can comfortably manage, and understandably wary of adding another to the pile. But live shopping is the next frontier worth paying attention to. Live commerce sales continue to surge in markets like the US, where the channel promises access to new audiences and conversion rates as high as 20% during a live stream.
Beyond TikTok, brands can also host live shopping on Whatnot and eBay Live, now available in most global markets. These marketplaces lean heavily into discount-driven appeal; value offers, bargain deals and overstock clearance, or at the other end of the spectrum, one-off collectibles and vintage pieces. While that suits some brands well, these kinds of platforms aren't always ideal for premium and luxury names. As an alternative, brands are turning to apps like Firefly, embedding them into their Shopify sites to host live streams and syndicate across social media.
Premium brands can also consider pre-recorded streams, which allow far more control over the filming, editing and set design, and make it possible to craft intentional, well-paced segments. Zara is a standout example of how effectively this approach can work at the premium end.
They streamed a 2-part series, that was shoppable online in real time.
Live Commerce Is a Brand Performance
Everything from the styling of the set to the choice of host is an extension of your brand, and the best streams treat it that way. Your host, above all, should embody its energy and feel unmistakably on-brand.
Live streams should tell a story. A stream that holds attention has a shape to it, a beginning, a middle and an end, with peaks along the way that give people a reason to stay. Each session is well choreographed, with giveaways, bonuses and headline offers timed intentionally to build momentum.
Most of all, it should feel like a conversation, because the real magic is in the exchange with your audience. Live commerce is one of the few formats where a brand can talk with its audience in real time, answering questions as they come in and greeting people by name.
Author: Effie Asafu-Adjaye
Effie Asafu-Adjaye is the Founder of Beautiful Sparks. Beautiful Sparks helps beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands become known, loved and remembered through sharp positioning, strategic storytelling, and campaigns that connect with the right customers. Read more about Effie here. Linkedin.
