Setting up shop online comes with many benefits, including using new technologies to get ahead of the competition. Right now, there’s a growing new way to shop online, with eCommerce in the Far East already being rocked by the successful use of a very familiar bit of tech.
Through 2020, many people found themselves needing to adapt to and use live streaming and live video technology. Adoption isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon, with the global market value for live streaming tipped to pass $240 billion over the next four years. As the audience continues to grow, eCommerce owners should consider utilizing live streaming for their platforms.
Live streaming normalized by popular entertainment
Emerging from dedicated live stream platforms and the live showings of sports from around the world, the technology has now been harnessed by some of the biggest entertainment platforms in the world. While Twitch is often pointed to as the big name in live streaming, even propelling some of its streamers to celebrity status, it’s the fact that YouTube has entered the field that showcases the power of live streaming.
Twitch does still represent nearly three-quarters of all live hours watched between major platforms, clocking in over 2.7 trillion hours in a single quarter. Still, YouTube Live videos continue to increase in viewership, and even Twitter is hosting thousands of live-streamed events. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have also joined the fold, allowing anyone on their platforms to quickly turn on a live stream to connect to their followers.
These live streams are often fairly passive, with viewers sometimes able to talk directly to the live streamer through the text chat. Live streaming is leveraged to its full capacity in popular entertainment in online casino gaming. On this live casino Ireland site, there are dozens of real, authentic casino and gameshow titles being run by professional croupiers in a studio and live-streamed to players. Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt, Crazy Time, and Lightning Roulette are among the most popular of these real-time gaming inventions.
Live eCommerce has started in the east and will come west

In 2016, Taobao Live struck gold. Powered by Alibaba – a colossal retailer in China – the platform started to live-stream events, which allowed viewers to tune in and buy the products being sold in real time. Since this breakthrough, the approach has been refined, tapping into the “fear of missing out” phenomenon with in-stream offers, promos, and special items. In 2020, Singles’ Day reaped $7.5 billion in 30 minutes.
Outside of China, live eCommerce hasn’t been so quick to get off of the ground, but it’s certainly coming. In India, Shopr.tv raised $1.7 million to fund its live commerce start-up, and in the US, start-up OOOOO is set on crafting a $400 billion market for live eCommerce. If you are planning to expand your business internationally, then click here to ensure smooth shipping.
With social media being such a hub for live content in western markets, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the major platforms are looking to integrate live shopping. Recently, TikTok teamed up with TalkShopLive to start getting the infrastructure for this venture going.
Live eCommerce is inevitable in markets beyond China, so all eCommerce business owners should start to look into ways of leveraging the tech for themselves before their competitors get ahead.