How Live Stream Shopping and Interactive Videos Are Changing the Way We Shop Online

If you want to learn how to keep your customers hooked from start to finish, you’re in the right place. We’ll break down the different stages a customer goes through in the buying process. You’ll also discover how live stream shopping and shoppable videos can influence customers at critical points throughout the buying process.

What You’ll Learn:

• The Buying Journey: A breakdown of the process the customer goes through.
• How video commerce can trigger a sense of need in customers by showcasing products in action.
• See how live stream shopping can guide customers with real-time interaction and make their decision-making process easier and faster.

The Online Buying Journey: What’s Going On?

The shopping process generally consists of three stages: recognizing a need, consideration, and decision. So how is this relevant to video commerce?
First, there’s the recognition of a need—the consumer experiences something that awakens an understanding that they “need” something. From there, the consumer starts looking for ways to acquire this “need.” They weigh the pros and cons, look for recommendations, and consider all the options. Finally, they make a decision that translates to a purchase. As a brand, how can you engage with your consumers at these critical points? Video commerce is the answer. It's an effective strategy for a brand to position itself at these key points.

Creating Active Desire:

As we’ve already determined, the whole process starts with a “need.” As a brand, you can create that need with video. When a customer watches a video that showcases a product in action—whether it's a new gadget, a fashion item, or a beauty product—they can easily see how it fits into their life. This visual storytelling creates a sense of need, even if the customer wasn't actively looking for the product before. This is where shoppable videos shine—they showcase products to potential customers, making them very accessible. Video commerce grabs the viewer's attention and makes them realize, "I need this." Your videos can also be targeted at specific audiences with a high potential interest in your brand (learn more about targeted marketing using data). By creating compelling and relatable content and promoting it on the right platforms (insert link), you can create “active desire.”

Customer Consideration and Decision:

Once we’ve grabbed the consumer's attention by creating a “need,” they have now moved on to the consideration stage. It's at this point that they will start looking for ways to acquire this “need,” look for recommendations from trusted sources, weigh the pros and cons, and consider all their options. Video commerce can be extremely powerful here for a number of reasons:

1. Shoppable videos, where a purchase link is embedded directly in the content, make the buying process incredibly straightforward. It cuts down on the time customers spend deciding, which means they’re more likely to make a purchase. This seamless experience allows customers to go from discovery to purchase in just a few clicks, without the hassle of searching for the product elsewhere.
2. Live video’s unique features can also sway customers towards making the purchase. Real-time interaction with hosts—especially a person the consumer identifies with and trusts—the ability to ask questions, and receive instant feedback all build trust and urgency. The immediacy of live video, combined with the ease of clicking a link that takes the customer straight to the cart, eliminates barriers and encourages immediate purchases. It’s a great strategy for today’s customer-centric world. It's the perfect blend of personalized engagement and convenience, making it easy for customers to go from "I need this" to "I bought this" in seconds.

Understanding where your customers are in the buying process allows you to meet them exactly where they are. Our platform is present at all of the key points, keeping shoppers engaged from the moment the “need” is recognized to the second they decide to buy. It’s all about making sure they feel confident and ready to make that purchase.