Amid the current advances in the retail industry, live shopping has established itself as a dynamic force in every customer’s journey. With real-time product demonstrations, said development fostered a more immersive interaction with retailers, allowing shoppers to directly address their concerns and enquiries during a live session.
In this exclusive interview piece, UpTech Media sat down with Hiyasmin Neri-Soyao, co-founder and CEO at Shoppertainment, to look closely into the opportunities offered by live commerce for an effective customer shopping experience across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
The discussion further delves into the general and specific impacts these evolving trends offer to the overall customer journey, featuring additional insights from Lawrence Lee, chief broadcast officer at Shoppertainment.
Navigating the demands of consumers during live commerce operations
In the Philippine setting, issues of internet flexibility hinder customer engagement in live shopping events given some parts in the country need faster or more internet.
“Some areas in the Philippines experience slower or limited internet access, making it difficult for potential customers to participate in live shopping events,” shared Soyao.
According to her, this challenge goes along with the necessity of offering more discounts to encourage more purchases during live sessions.
“To boost viewing and consumption behaviour, we need to offer more discounts, which can incentivise consumers to engage more actively,” she added.
Understanding these pain points, Soyao sees the demand for solutions that both enhance consumer experience and address infrastructure limitations. She further notes live shopping experiences can be significantly enhanced through live platforms incorporating advanced technology like augmented reality (AR).
“These AR tools allow for entertaining aesthetic visuals and offer customisation options that can engage viewers more deeply, making the shopping process more interactive and enjoyable. This added layer of immersion can drive better customer engagement and elevate the overall live selling environment,” said Soyao.
Over the next few years, Soyao also envisions artificial intelligence as a crucial tool to address the demand for extended live shopping hours and costs of manpower and resources, especially for live commerce operators.
“As AI technology evolves to sound and appear more human-like, customers are likely to adapt quickly, making the experience of watching and shopping through an AI seller more seamless and appealing,” she said.
She further cited an AI live seller that offers 24-hour service as an example, allowing customers to interact and ask questions at any time. “This could lead to greater engagement and increased sales over time,” added Soyao.
Unlocking opportunities in the Philippine retail market
As for the Philippine retail market, Soyao identified three essential strategies businesses can adopt to cater to the needs and preferences of Filipinos. These include (1) an omni-channel approach; (2) enhanced customer service; and lastly (3) live selling campaigns.
“Ensuring accessibility through both online platforms and physical store distribution can provide a seamless shopping experience for consumers,” she stated, referring to the omnichannel approach.
In terms of customer service, she also pointed out that the country needs better warranties and support for online store purchases. This enhanced approach can establish trust and reliability among customers, ultimately driving more online transactions.
Soyao further advised running live selling events can humanise brands, creating a more personal connection with consumers and fostering real-time engagement.
“These strategies can help retail businesses stay competitive while meeting evolving customer expectations in the Philippines,” reiterated Soyao.
Quantifying customer satisfaction, on the other hand, Soyao elaborated some measures essential to evaluate a live commerce experience. As such, she highlighted real-time polls and engagement feedback as a means to gather immediate responses through direct interaction with the presenter. This approach helps in the evaluation of their satisfaction and preferences in real time.
“All the collected data can then be analysed on the back end of the live platform used, providing valuable insights to improve future live commerce sessions and enhance customer experience,” she supplemented.
Balancing customer journeys with operational challenges
Despite enhanced customer journeys, industry leaders also acknowledge the transition had a huge impact in the context of operations and broadcast. Lawrence Lee even described the shift to live commerce as “groundbreaking, fast, and even more dynamic.”
“Engagement is very raw and pure, and interaction is real-time. Grey areas are often eliminated; if customers or viewers like what they see, they’ll tell you,” he told UpTech Media.
As he sees it, this aspect of the story has little to no filters, given viewers or customers can express their opinions directly. For instance, if they don’t like your content, they can also voice their feedback.
Lee moreover argued engagement alone does not guarantee conversion. “There are instances that livestream engagement is high but conversion is low, and there are some live streams where the engagement is low, yet the conversion is fairly high.”
To confront said challenges, he believes businesses should prioritise better platform support, learning the language of each platform, and taking advantage of its features. Consistent efforts in these areas will help educate, build awareness, and connect with the target audience.
Ultimately, Lee underscored the importance of incorporating human connection for these transactions, particularly where hosts, acting as brand experts, address concerns and questions from viewers or customers.
“Human touch/connection is important, compared to just chatting with a bot. Businesses can benefit from the real-time raw feedback from viewers on how to improve customer experience, service, or products sold,” he further remarked.
Embracing the advances brought by live commerce, it’s no secret that the e-commerce industry is rapidly expanding at an unexpected pace. For Lee, this trend is “exciting and sometimes unpredictable.”
It even pushes boundaries for better customer engagement, with more personalised and real-time interactions at its core. There are only instances, however, where some formulas from traditional media do not translate into digital.
“It’s definitely something new, fairly young, and still growing at a very fast pace,” he concluded.
Live commerce may still have some operational gaps at present, yet its potential to transform shopping experiences offers a competitive edge in the industry. By adopting cutting-edge solutions that address these challenges, businesses can further deliver a more dynamic and proactive customer journey.
