Live commerce: a new generation of commercial animation for brands and retailers

Born in China, Live Commerce is growing rapidly among French retailers. With the current health situation, it is no longer possible for brands and retailers to rely on their usual in-store trade marketing activities such as shelf displays or product demonstrations. They therefore need to go digital: this is why Live Commerce is being deployed in France.

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Towards digital trade marketing

With the omnipresence of digital in our lives, the way we consume is changing. Before making a purchase in a shop or on the internet, 89% of consumers research and compare products to make sure they are making the right choice.

Brands therefore need to differentiate themselves from others in order to attract consumers' attention. This is where retail entertainment comes in. 

This strategy is based on the use of entertainment to increase customer engagement. Various marketing actions can be mentioned such as:

• Competitions to win products;
• Sponsored posts on social networks;
• Gamification that dramatises the customer experience.

These trade marketing actions aim toincrease online sales by giving consumers a different shopping experience.

COVID 19 and commercial animation

With the health crisis and the closure of the majority of physical outlets, in-store sales events, the pillars of trade marketing, have had to cease. It is no longer possible for consumers to test beauty products or mattresses, or to watch a demonstration of a food processor.

With the increase in online shopping, it is urgent for brands to reinvent their commercial animations or risk losing customers and therefore sales. For 72% of shoppers, the impossibility of testing a product is one of the reasons that slow down their online purchase. This observation has led to the emergence of a new form of digital animation: live commerce.  

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Live Commerce: an ideal alternative to animate with or without points of sale

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The aim of Live Commerce is to transpose into digital form the product demonstration that was done in shop. These live sales are an opportunity for retailers to promote a brand by creating an event around one or more products to increase sales. 

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For pure players, Live Shopping has several advantages:

• The digital experience is humanised through interaction with the live moderator;
• Putting the product in a situation gives even more qualitative information to the product page; 
• There are fewer returns because the buyer has been able to see the product in action.

For retailers with physical outlets, Live Shopping allows :

• Maintain the link with the customer when physical sales are not possible, 
• Strengthen the brand's presence in the mind of the consumer,
• Capture a larger number of prospects than is usually possible in-store,
• And finally to increase sales of the product concerned in the shop.

For brands and retailers, trade animation boosts sales. Live Commerce is a digital trade marketing channel that provides a different and engaging shopping experience for customers. The result: increased sales both online and in-store.