The Livestream Shopping War: How Amazon, eBay, TikTok, HSN & More Are Shaping the Future of E-Commerce

Nikara Johns
·8 min read

For Faryl Robin Gilston, Instagram has become a place to escape, connect and more importantly, shop, all thanks to Christos Garkinos, the creator and purveyor of his live-shopping channel Covet by Christos.

Garkinos launched in 2020, and to date, he has nearly $70 million in sales through his own website as well as Instagram, according to the founder. And he has grown his following base by nearly 300 percent, with customers taking advantage of a new way to shop for pre-loved luxury goods.

More from Footwear News

Gilston, who is no stranger to the fashion industry, having her own namesake footwear design and production company, said she’s addicted to the live shopping shows. “I’m obsessed,” she said. “This is a distraction. I can shop in the evenings, when my brain is fried. In a virtual world where I am sitting in front of the computer, and you’re in meetings from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and I don’t want to watch bad TV, this is really fun.”

As the livestreaming e-commerce market grows to an estimated $32 billion this year, the landscape continues to expand with new players — whether it be TikTok, which launched TikTok Shop last month — or with the likes of digital platforms such as Garkinos’.

While having access to vintage Chanel bags or Jimmy Choo shoes right from your bed is one perk, what keeps Gilston and thousands of other consumers tuned in is the idea of community.

“Walking into luxury stores, whether they can afford to or not, it’s a little intimidating. This allows you to learn, to watch, to ask questions, to communicate without judgment. Everybody is generous with each other and want to be supportive and helpful. It’s really the collective that I became so addicted to,” Gilston said.

Garkinos credits the product curation and trust he’s built with his audience for the rise in success, noting his continuous growth of 30 percent month-over-month. “As long as it’s entertaining, authentic and you feel safe shopping, livestream is going to continue here for the long term,” he said. “This is the new way of shopping. You just have to make sure the content is interesting, that it’s different, that you’re not staying in one lane and are pigeonholed. That’s the most important thing. Then it’s about developing new audiences.” As for his own next steps, Garkinos said he plans to expand Covet by Christos to TikTok.

TikTok Tackles Shopping

Now has never been a better time.

TikTok has become a breeding ground for livestream e-commerce, as content creators continue to amass on the daily.

“TikTok’s transformation into a shopping platform indicates that livestream shopping will continue to evolve and grow,” explained GlobalData analyst Smitarani Tripathy. “It offers a unique and immersive video-based experience that captures the attention of consumers. The platform’s emphasis on authenticity and relatability makes it more appealing to consumers who are looking for genuine recommendations.”

For brands, it’s yet another way to connect with a highly engaged audience. TikTok Shop offers in-feed video and live shopping, where users can shop tagged products directly from videos and lives in the For You feed, for instance.

According to Coresight’s 2023 U.S. Social Commerce Survey, 68 percent of all respondents reported that they use social media as part of the shopping process. And 54 percent of all respondents follow some type of influencer on social media, up 12 percentage points from last year.

Coresight Research analyst Sunny Zheng explained, “Given the power of influencers over consumers, with more than four in five consumers who follow influencers reporting that influencers at least sometimes affect their shopping behavior, brands and retailers should look to enter partnerships with influencers who align with their brand values and appeal to their target audience.”

Qurate Aims to Compete

For HSN, driving sales through video content via its longtime on-air personalities has been the company’s bread and butter, but the traditional model of linear broadcast isn’t enough to stay on top in this changing landscape. The company has been facing increased competition in the live-streaming space from social media and video-sharing channels, as well as online marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, and even retailer-owned platforms.

In Qurate’s second quarter earnings call, revenue decreased 7% to $2.5 billion. Although, president and CEO David Rawlinson said topline results were in line with the discretionary retail industry, which was impacted by softer consumer sentiment. He added that the company also made “meaningful progress” on Project Athens, its multi-year plan to transform Qurate, expanding gross margins in its video commerce businesses.

To strengthen shopper loyalty, HSN is taking a wide-ranging approach.

“It starts with scale. What keeps us ahead of the curve is just distribution,” said Rob Robillard, HSN’s chief merchandising officer.

QVC and HSN, for instance reach more than 200 million homes worldwide through 15 TV channels. In the online realm, Qurate has the QVC+ and HSN+ streaming experiences and its websites, mobile apps and social pages, where it offers live, on-demand and streaming-only content. QVC and HSN also stream hundreds of hours a week on Facebook Live and continue to build out a strong video presence across Facebook platforms, including IGTV and Reels, and it’s now dabbling in TikTok.

“Our mission is to get great products in front of as many women as we possibly can. We see these platforms as further extensions for being able to translate those product stories to a customer or potential customer or current customer,” added Robillard. “We have spent 40 years of existence telling incredible entertaining stories with great content. And succeeding in streaming is all about doing that. So we’re looking at the streaming platforms to be our opportunity to make sure the consumer is in more control than she’s ever been, in order to stay competitive.”

The Amazon Way

Amazon has been ahead of the trend for some time, having launched Amazon Live in 2019. Since then, brands have taken advantage of the mega consumer base Amazon has built, where more than 76 percent of direct sales from Amazon Live sponsored streams come from new-to-brand customers, the company said.

Compared to China, where live shopping is a major phenomenon (the market grew 20 times from 2017 to 2019, Coresight Research estimated), the streaming era is relatively new in the U.S. Although, Amazon says live shopping is a tremendous opportunity and it remains bullish on the sales potential, particularly in fashion and beauty. (Coresight Research expects the livestreaming e-commerce market in the U.S. to grow exponentially to $68 billion in 2026, from around $20 billion in 2022.)

“Fashion and beauty perform really well for live streams, because creators can demo the product and bring it to life,” said Julie Haleluk, global head of growth for Amazon Live Shoppable Videos. She cited Paige Desorbo and Lala Kent as two influencers who are making an impact. “Ultimately, the goal is to create as a frictionless of an experience at point of sale as possible for the customer. Customers are coming here every day across various shopping journeys and we see that video can add tremendous value to their shopping behavior.”

To stay ahead in this space, experts suggest companies provide educational content with a regular cadence. As a result, brands and retailers will see a boost in online viewership, participation and ultimately sales conversion.

EBay Goes Live

At eBay, for example, sneakers have proven to be a strong product for livestream content. “For us, live is sort of a reinforcement of a suite of tools. This is a way to really engage with the product to show we have a lot of depth and breadth,” explained Charis Marquez, global VP of fashion at eBay. “In the pre-owned world, really understanding what is the condition and what is the story behind the product is important. We sold a pair of Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1s for $60,000 on a live because [hearing that story firsthand] makes it so much more powerful.”

The company launched its eBay Live dedicated shopping platform last June. The first series offered a curated selection of highly coveted and rare trading cards from top eBay seller Bleecker Trading, and was hosted by trading card enthusiast DJ Skee. Since then, live auctions of luxury handbags, watches and the latest in street style have resonated with consumers.

“Live has been a really cool way for us to just connect with our audience in a different way. And frankly, that is why people stay with us. It really is about the community,” added Marquez. “We are definitely seeing Live continue the momentum that we were already seeing for within the fashion business.”

Best of Footwear News

Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.