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The runaway success of livestream commerce in China has made headlines in the U.S., but replicating that magic has so far been thwarted by back-end tech challenges, changing user behavior and talent issues.
There are many differences between the markets in China and the U.S.—more evolved tech platforms and higher rates of mobile commerce, to name two—but there are hints that livestreaming is taking hold, despite platforms like Meta rolling back Facebook’s version of live shopping in August 2022 to focus on Reels as more people use the short-form format.
TikTok’s introduction of Shop in the U.S. in September 2023 presents the most significant new opportunity, as parent company Bytedance hopes to replicate some of the success it’s had in China with TikTok’s cousin, short-form video app Douyin.
“There’s a huge interest [from marketers] in video; livestreaming is a part of that,” Sky Canaves, senior analyst for retail and ecommerce at Insider Intelligence. “If more creator talent around livestreaming takes up, brands could start paying more attention to that.”
Retailers, brands and publishers have dabbled in livestream commerce over the last few years, including efforts from BuzzFeed and Cosmo, to Amazon Live and Walmart’s partnership with platforms like TalkShopLive, and creator-led channels at Saks, Zappos and Nordstrom.
While growth can still accelerate, and shopper behavior continues to change, the stuttering suggests live shopping’s earlier hype stems from a pandemic-era trend that might have been overblown.
Breakout creator stars
TikTok Shop has 200,000 merchants and 100,000 creators selling via its affiliate program, per Modern Retail’s January report. Nurturing that creator pipeline is crucial since viral success comes down to talent. It’s likely more brands will start taking notice and aligning themselves with creators when there are more break-out success cases.
“The association with direct sales might be a little cringy for U.S. creators,” said Canaves, suggesting the explicit tie to selling products might be less palatable.
