Facebook launches summer livestream shopping series

Dive Brief:

Every Friday starting May 21 through July 16, Facebook will feature shoppable live videos from beauty and fashion brands via brands' Facebook Pages. They can also be accessed in the Shop tab or bookmark on mobile, the social network announced on Tuesday.
During the livestreams, customers can find new products, ask questions about size and fit, and receive tips in real-time. Customers can purchase items they want by tapping on the products featured in the stream and purchasing them through the Facebook platform, the company said.
Among the brands and retailers participating in these streams are Clinique, Sephora, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and Abercrombie & Fitch, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Since the COVID-19 pandemic sparked in-store shopping concerns, established livestream commerce platforms have revamped their approach to reach homebound shoppers, and new players have entered the space.

The pandemic has, for example, pushed livestream shopping veterans QVC and HSN to adapt their operations, products and promotional techniques. In February, QVC also launched a livestream shopping channel on YouTube TV to expand its reach to a new set of consumers.

Others have worked to break into the space. LG TV last October introduced a free shopping platform via its Shop Time app that allows customers to buy directly from retailers, including QVC and HSN, while Nordstrom in March launched an interactive livestream platform, which lets shoppers chat live with brands and shop on its website.

Facebook's livestream shopping series follows the platform's previous partnership with Anne Klein to launch its Facebook Shop live in-app shopping feature. This time around, the platform noted in its announcement that Live Shopping will allow brands to "build relationships with customers, provide new entertaining content, answer questions and streamline the purchase process through convenient checkout with Shops."

Livestream startups are also benefiting from the increased interest in the shopping format. In March, livestream shopping platform Whatnot raised $20 million in Series A funding, while a month earlier livestream commerce player Talkshoplive raised $3 million in seed funding.

The livestream shopping industry is already popular in China, but research from Coresight estimates that the livestream shopping market will reach $6 billion this year and grow to $25 billion by 2023. Its consumer survey also found that more than half (60%) of shoppers have integrated social networks into their shopping journey.