Brands turn to social networks to enhance the reach of their sales

The Live Commerce is an option that allows users to buy during live broadcasts through a social network. During 2020, at the height of the pandemic, TikTok was the most downloaded platform and offered the option to purchase while the user was watching short videos. In October of that same year, Instagram added the option to “buy” through Instagram TV, and months later, it added it to the Reels.

According to an annual e-commerce report prepared by Tiendanube, during 2021 Facebook was crowned as the social network preferred by entrepreneurs since 85.45% of cloud stores have a presence in it, followed by Instagram (78.18%), WhatsApp (54.55%) y TikTok (27.27%).

It should be noted that Facebook closed the function that allows creators to broadcast and sell products live in October of this year, in order to focus its efforts on directing this market towards the trend of short videos known as Reels.

“Live Commerce is the living example of how the electronic commerce is making use of technology for the benefit of users and seeking to improve and complete their shopping experience. It is a reflection that users are dictating the trends and a sample of the evolution that online sales are having, to help businesses implement more complete tools that lead them to close their sales. E-commerce is a reflection of how an industry listens to its customers, understands where they are and how they are buying, managing to adapt to those needs”, said Gerzayn Gutiérrez, Head of Brand & Communications at Tiendanube México.

According to specialists, there are two categories that stand out in the implementation of Live Commerce integrations: 62% of the stores that have implemented it are focused on Fashion, while 36% are on Health and Beauty.

It should be noted that 90% of cloud stores that have integration use it on key e-commerce dates. Hot Salein May, it has become the season where Live Commerce has been used the most as a sales strategy, and it is expected that The good endhave similar numbers.

“Live Commerce is here to stay, promoting the advancement of static advertising through a post on social networks and takes us back to television commercials, with the difference that here, the user interacts with the brand live, establishing a conversation and has a high probability of ending up in the purchase of the product. This trend reminds us that electronic commerce is growing by leaps and bounds and that in the coming years we will continue to see its evolution”.

Advantage

In interview for The EconomistEzequiel Rubín, Country Manager of Olist in Mexico, considered that the key to the operation of the Live Commerce lies in the content that is shared by video, since that is where the people who make their purchases in this way are concentrated, especially Generation Z and Millennials, according to a study by the consulting firm McKinsey.

“The operation changes depending on the company that implements this strategy and also depends a lot on the industry to which it belongs, but it is very likely that B2B companies will join this trend,” he says.

“In Mexico, being an ecosystem for electronic commerce, without a doubt this new branch can be a great boost for companies to connect with the audience in a more personal way. According to a study cited by Snoop Consulting, this video streaming segment is expected to generate more than $100 billion in revenue by 2024.”

According to the specialist, among the advantages of Live Commerce is that this sector offers multiple benefits for its consumer, among which are:

• The opportunity to get personally close to the client and thus strengthen it, through two-way conversations where what the client is looking for or has to comment is listened to and valued.

• The amount of content that companies can generate, so that their consumers are immersed in the dynamics of the company to sell products.

• The ease and speed of purchases that this branch offers.

Finally, he pointed out that according to studies carried out by Olist, they detected that during the first semester of 2022, the electronics category occupies the first place among the most requested products in marketplaces, being cell phones, audio systems, consoles, computers and video games, the most featured in sales

“Without a doubt, the electronics and beauty categories are a constant among the products with the greatest demand among e-commerce users, mainly due to the exclusive offers and discounts that cannot be found in physical stores and because of the convenience it offers the digital channel,” he said.

“This creates a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to join the digital channel in these sectors and have greater opportunities to sell their products during this event.”

alba.servin@eleconomista.mx