What You Need To Know About Live Shopping For Your Jewelry Business
By Emmanuel Raheb
Founder and CEO, Smart Age Solutions
Even if you’ve never heard of “live shopping” before, you’ve probably experienced a version of it. Remember all of those home shopping channels where the host promotes an item live on TV and encourages you to buy? Of course you do. Even after decades, channels such as the Home Shopping Network and QVC are still going strong!
Live shopping (more descriptively known as live-steam shopping) is the next evolution of this remarkable marketing method and it’s now happening on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and even directly on websites. It brings the convenience of shopping from home into modern times.
The signature benefit of live shopping is that the special offer remains only valid during the promotion period on the stream. This creates not only a sense of urgency with the audience, but a sense of excitement. If marketed correctly, live shopping can become an event in itself!
With live shopping, people can ask questions, leave comments, and even call-in to speak with you. Jewelry sales are made in real-time and once the stream is over, the deal has expired. It’s very interactive and fun!
The live shopping business model has proven extremely popular in China and other parts of Asia, with some companies making this their entire business model. They have no physical stores, and some businesses don’t even hold physical inventory. Their whole approach is to sell direct to their audience through live shopping.
Benefits of Live Shopping
Here are some of the top benefits of adding live shopping to your digital marketing strategy:
- It provides an engaging experience.
It lets smaller jewelry stores compete against much larger companies, big fashion brands, and other online-only or traditional “brick and mortar” businesses.
- It can quickly generate jewelry sales.
It gives the jeweler the ability to quickly clear slow-moving inventory and overstock, while giving the customer a great deal. Everyone loves a special offer when there’s limited supply.
- It builds your jewelry store’s brand awareness.
Live shopping becomes another reason for people to pay attention to your store. People love live events because they’re unscripted and you never know
what’s going to happen. Combine this with a great deal shown only to your live shopping viewers and you have huge potential. There’s no better or faster way to build your jewelry store’s brand than to be in front of your audience for 30 to 60 minutes or more. It reinforces your value as a local trusted jeweler and they’ll remember you.
- It’s the antidote to the Covid shutdowns.
With the pandemic still raging and waves of closures happening, a live shopping event can’t be canceled by Covid. Selling through live shopping is something a staff of 1 or 2 people can do safely in your store and it’s a great alternative to selling in person. Remember, many customers -- although homebound -- still have money to spend and are looking to “reward themselves” with something nice. Live shopping gives you a chance to reach this captive audience and sell your jewelry.
In conclusion, live shopping brings the experience of shopping at the store direct to people’s homes. People like to do business with people they like, know, and trust. A live shopping event welcomes people into your jewelry store and they can get to know you while you learn more about them. How powerful is that?
Of course, people will still shop through your website. It’s expected. But, how many jewelry store owners do you know who host live shopping events? Not many. Live shopping is the perfect way for you to differentiate yourself from every other similar jeweler in town.
Live shopping is still in it’s infancy and not everyone knows about it or has the dedication to make it a priority. If you need any help setting up your live shopping event, contact us. We’re here to help you succeed. By starting early, you can get a jump over your competition and make your jewelry business soar!