How to build strong customer relations with live shopping

In recent years, live shopping has become increasingly popular in e-commerce. Brands and retailers leverage it to engage customers in real-time, showcase products, and increase sales. However, the benefits of live shopping extend far beyond its role as a sales driver. In fact, live shopping can be a powerful tool for building strong customer relations - a crucial element for long-term e-commerce success. Building strong customer relations can cultivate customer loyalty and retain long-term customers, increasing revenue from repeat purchases. Here we'll dive into how live shopping can help you build strong customer relations.

Understanding live shopping

To begin with, let's take a step back and understand what live shopping is, and how both retailers and customers can benefit from it. 

Live shopping is a video-based online experience where retailers showcase products in real-time while engaging with customers through live chat. Brands and retailers can connect their e-commerce system to a live shopping platform, enabling product purchases in the live stream. All orders and payment processes will be integrated with the current checkout flow allowing customers to shop without leaving the live show. Typically, live shopping events are hosted by a brand expert or influencer who provides product recommendations and answer questions in real-time. Customers can ask questions, make purchases, and share their thoughts in real-time, creating a sense of community and excitement around the shopping experience. Live shopping offers a more personalized and immersive shopping experience than regular e-commerce and can help customers make more informed purchase decisions. 

Live shopping is a powerful tool for building long-term customer relations

In today's e-commerce environment, the Customer Acquisitions Costs is more than ever, making the development of customer loyalty and focus on and a crucial factor for success. Effective communication is key to building customer loyalty and long-term relations with customers. Another important aspect of fostering good customer relationships is exceeding customer expectations. When customers are satisfied, they are more likely to return. Studies show that return customers tend to buy more over time and refer others to your company.

Live shopping events offer retailers a unique and engaging way to connect with their customers in real-time and build trust. During the live stream, you're not only selling a product; you're also making an emotional connection with your customers. Shoppers want to connect with someone knowledgeable about the products, similar to the experience of visiting a store, and live streaming can provide this connection in the online shopping experience. Viewers are often highly engaged and feel more connected to the brand during a live shopping event because they can see the products in real world settings, ask questions, share their opinions with like-minded people, and receive immediate feedback from the brand expert. Through this real-time interaction, retailers can build stronger customer relations and create a sense of community around their brand, leading to repeat purchases and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Moreover, live shopping is an excellent way to attract Gen Z and enhance your brand appeal to this customer group. According to Forbes, the interactivity of live shopping aligns well with Gen Z's need for dynamic online experiences. This generation has grown up with social media, instant messaging, video games, and live streams, making live shopping a natural fit for their digital lifestyles. McKinsey reports that some companies have seen up to a 20% increase in engagement from younger audiences through live shopping events. 

7 ways to enhance your customer relationships with live shopping

Here are seven ways in which live shopping can help you connect with your customers and build long-term customer relations:

• Be Authentic: Customers value transparency and honesty. According to Forbes, 90% of customers say authenticity is important in deciding which brands they support. Live shopping provides a perfect opportunity for putting a face on your brand and/or webshop and letting customers meet the 'real people' behind the company. Being authentic will help to build trust with your audience and create a more personal connection.

• Personalized product recommendations: During a live shopping event, the host(s) can offer personalized product recommendations that resonate with their audience. By tailoring the shopping experience to each customer, you can show that you understand their unique needs and are committed to helping them find the right products quickly and easily. Instead of browsing a large selection of products, customers can receive targeted suggestions based on their interests and preferences, saving them time and making the shopping experience more enjoyable. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and repeat purchases over time.

• Live customer support: Live shopping also provides the opportunity for real-time customer support, which can help build trust and credibility with your audience. During a live shopping event, customers may have questions about the product or service being promoted, such as how it works, how to use it, or its features and benefits. By addressing these questions and concerns in real-time, retailers can show they are committed to providing excellent service and support, enhancing the customer's overall experience.

• Encourage dialogue: Live shopping is all about creating a two-way conversation between you and your customers. During the event, you can foster the discussion by posting questions, encouraging viewers to ask questions, and providing feedback in the chat. These actions will help to create a sense of community and strengthen the relationship between you and your customers. In addition, responding to comments and questions in real-time and letting customers know that you value their opinions shows that you're actively listening and helps to create a sense of trust and appreciation, which enhance your customer relations and give you valuable insights into your audience's interests and expectations. 

• Interactive features: Interactive features, such as polls, quizzes, surveys and giveaways creates excitement around your brand. By engaging with your customers this way, you show your customer that you value their inputs and it can help you can build stronger customer relations by fostering a sense of community. 

• Marketing permissions: Research shows the the significance of collecting marketing permissions from new customers as it allows brands to send marketing materials, drive repeat purchases, and strengthen customer relations. Moreover, with the decline of third-party cookies, shifting towards a first-party data approach has become essential. Hosting live shopping events on a live shopping platform can provide access to email marketing permissions from viewers signing up to the chat, allowing you to drive sales through target marketing afterwards.

• Improving the user experience: Live events can provide valuable customer data that you can analyze to gain insights into your customer preferences and behaviors. You can use this data to enhance the customer journey, improve the overall experience on your e-commerce site, and create live event formats that match the needs and preferences of your customers. By doing so, customers will be more satisfied with the overall experience, leading to repeat sales, brand loyalty, and stronger customer relations. 

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Examples of brands that have used live shopping to build customer relations 

Several brands effectively utilized live shopping to strengthen their customer relations. For instance, Kjær & Sommefeldt has hosted numerous live shopping events on the Liveshopper platform on their website, featuring product demonstrations, vineyard visits abroad, and key opinion leaders. During these events, customers can ask questions and get personalized recommendations from Kjær & Sommerfeldt's wine experts.

Likewise, e-tailer LirumLarumLeg has organized multiple live shopping events on social media and their website using the Liveshopper platform, highlighting the latest products and topics relevant to their primary audience, parents. In these events, customers can shop and engage directly with the founder and guest of the house via live chat.

Conclusion

In conclusion, live shopping can be a powerful tool for building stronger customer relations in e-commerce. By providing personalized recommendations, live customer support, and interactive experiences, live shopping can help retailers and brands connect with their customers in a more meaningful way. With the growing popularity of this trend, now is the perfect time to consider incorporating live shopping into your customer engagement strategy.

Building strong customer relations is a critical factor in e-commerce success, and live shopping is a powerful tool to help you achieve that goal. So why not give it a try and see how it can help you take your e-commerce business to the next level?