6 Social Media Platforms for Live Shopping in 2021

We’ve all read the headlines, “live shopping projected to be the next big thing in eCommerce.” But how true is it?

Live shopping, also known as live commerce, allows brands to use influencers and key opinion consumers to promote products through live video and interactive content.

Think of it like QVC, but via social media.

And FYSA: Live shopping has been all the rage in China this past year, and it’s projected the US is not far behind.

• 2/3 of Chinese shoppers have purchased a product via Livestream in the past year (McKinsey)
• According to Coresight, live shopping generated $60 billion in global sales in 2019 with U.S. sales accounting for $1 billion of that slice (Shopify)
• Live shopping has been tested by some of the biggest names like Tommy Hilfiger, Walmart, Bloomingdales and even Petco.
• And it’s only getting more popular, with expected revenue from global live stream shopping sales to hit $500 billion by 2023.

China seems to be the trendsetter for all things social media lately, and just like TikTok rose to meteoric heights, we project that live shopping will take hold and blow up faster than any of us ever anticipated -- and social media channels in America are taking notice.

These 6 social channels have already launched their own in-app live shopping features to help you get on board before live stream shopping is officially the next big thing.

Facebook Live + Shops

Facebook launched its live shopping feature back in May by promoting the new tool with “Live Shopping Friday” weekly events. Facebook touted the events as a way for shoppers to “... discover the latest products from your favorite brands and ask questions about size, fit and tips in real-time."

Since wrapping the weekly promotional events in July, all businesses are able to utilize the new feature through Facebook Live + Shops.

Instagram Checkout + Live Rooms

Through Instagram’s “Checkout” feature, brands and influencers can now tag products directly in their live streams. From the live stream, consumers can click to shop the product from the brand’s Instagram Shop, directly in the app, while asking questions in real-time with the influencer.

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Take the live shopping experience one step further on Instagram and include a brand rep to help moderate the convo with Instagram’s Live Rooms!

Amazon Live Creator

Amazon started live shopping back in 2019, hosting live streams daily on their app, Amazon Live Creator. These live streams feature both Amazon Influencers, as well as brands hosting their own live streams.

Though you aren’t able to directly tap into your influencers’ audiences streaming through Amazon Live, you can still have your influencers promote the live stream on their own channels and encourage their followers to join.

TikTok Live

TikTok Live has not been officially launched just yet but has been tested a couple of times, partnering with Walmart for two separate events. After the first event, Walmart saw 7X more views than anticipated and grew their TikTok followers by 25%.

Keep an eye out for when this feature does drop so you, too, can capitalize on these amazing results.

Youtube Merch Shelf

In July, YouTube announced they would begin piloting a feature to allow viewers to shop products directly from their already established live stream videos. Already primed for shopping as the second largest search engine in the world, this pilot program takes their shopping feature one step further from their merch shelf that allows viewers to shop products being featured in live videos directly from the creator’s channel.

Pinterest Live Streams

Although live shopping is not a feature quite yet, Pinterest did launch live streams back in May, along with a slew of other in-app shopping features.

We're testing live events! @Pinterest will bring Creators and Pinners together for a 3-day virtual event on the app on May 24-26th. We’ll give Pinners access to drop into live-streamed, studio-style sessions directly on Pinterest. https://t.co/nWR1iLB3XM

— Marie-Joëlle Parent (@mariejoelle) May 13, 2021

You may not be able to directly link to products in the live video, but we bet with the way Pinterest is forging towards positioning itself as THE eCommerce Search Engine Giant that you should be able to very soon.

Looking to incorporate live shopping into your digital marketing strategy? Let VizSense help navigate these new waters with you! Influencers are the perfect spokespeople for driving conversions on live social media streams, and we’re happy to prove it.