Hosting a livestreaming shopping event from your kitchen table sounds like an easy way to make some extra money. And the popularity of these home-grown, live shopping shows has exploded globally.
The entertainment value of seeing neighbours hawking handmade jewellery, home decor, antiques or flea market finds keeps potential buyers hooked.
The idea is very similar to the teleshopping channels, where a presenter speaks about different products giving detailed descriptions, showcasing its features and explaining its pricing, where viewers interested in buying the product can simply pick up the phone and call the channel to make the purchase.
The main difference now is that the medium isn’t the television anymore and is the smartphone instead; the communication is two-way and interactive; and the hosts are social media influencers. According to statistics, live shopping generated $60 billion (Dh235 billion) in global sales a year earlier.
Home-based boutiques are a trend now
Selling women's clothing and accessories, including purses, on live-streaming shopping events at global online platforms, is currently a rapidly growing trend worldwide.
Many have converted their living room and dining room into a boutique space, hosting live events maybe two to three times per week. All the while building his or her online network on social media.
One particular social media group has grown to over 15,000 members and serves as a platform for about 300 Live sellers to help buyers in the span of over five years.
On that group, some people just post items for sale, but the vast majority of them do one-hour Lives. Sellers are scheduled in fixed time slots each week, just like a TV show.
Many of those who have made money through this are shooting for a 24-hour-a-day livestreaming service. Most of them also receive a small fee and provide training to the sellers on how to build viewership and increase sales.
The consumers also have a chance to communicate with the influencer or expert on live chat, creating a personalised and interactive event and increasing the conversion and add-to-cart ratios.
Cosmetics and fashion companies have been the first to adopt the concept in the UAE, but experts evaluate how the trend is rapidly expanding to other areas, such as car retail and real estate, and into home-based businesses.
Go live now, rebroadcast later
US-based Pinkey Stewart is a relative newcomer to hosting online shopping events. She's been handcrafting jewellery for about six years. Stewart launched her website in 2019 and began hosting live-streaming shopping events in late 2020 when the world reeled in the pandemic.
How are the shopping events working out?
“It depends,” she admits. “It's so diluted now,” as more social networks compete for users' attention. She's had livestreams with just two or three viewers at a time, but often more people watch the rebroadcasts, which remain online and can be seen at a viewer's convenience.
However, the shows build a relationship with the viewer, she says, and that enhances trust.
Having an eye for good buys
You can start selling online by purchasing just a couple hundred dollars' (Dh400 to Dh800) worth of inventory, or less, sellers explain.
Starting out your first year, experts view that if you can make $10,000 (Dh36,732), you're doing great.. But don't quit your day job when starting out, they add.
Many such business was built on resale inventory bought by thrifting at flea markets, second-hand stores and the like. You need to have an eye for finding bargains and pricing items for sale, experts add.
Expert tips for getting started
Matter experts further warn new sellers to avoid overhead, such as having a brick-and-mortar location. Doing live shopping events from your home is a low-risk way to start.
Some tips offered by the experienced live-streaming event sellers include:
• Evaluate shipping services online. Customers these days expect low-cost and preferably free shipping.
• Check your technology. Let’s say you are doing video streams using your computer and you notice aesthetic problems. You may then need to start using smartphone with attached lighting to achieve a better look.
• Consider flea market sales for in-person opportunities to sell merchandise, gain exposure for you and your products and get real-time feedback from potential customers.
• Explore online vendor shows. These virtual vendor events are often connected to a regional or national conference or trade show in most countries worldwide.
The logic is simple: People buy from who they like. Expectations may be that you'll jump out of the gate with a large amount in sales, and that doesn't always happen.
Now that’s one of the tests for micro retailers or home businesses today – to be able to cut through the clutter and noise of every technology that is available at the tip of their fingers and employ what suits their business best.
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