SeedBlink Blog

What are the current trends in e-commerce and how would you expect them to evolve?

Florin Grozea (MOCAPP): The unprecedented global challenges in the last two years have accelerated the changes that were seen at the horizon in 2019:

All-in commerce: the barriers to entry into retail have fallen, both operationally and geographically, due to the access to integrated platforms and cross-border commerce solutions. Virtually anyone can build a relatively low-cost online store, in any country or region.

Social commerce and influencers as channels: social media has become a viable alternative for real-time interactions, augmented by branded content and live entertainment. Consumers are social beings who use digital networks to get informed, compare, buy, and comment. From this point of view, retail has evolved from a one-way business (offline stores) to a two-way business (online stores with ratings and reviews), and is moving towards a three-way business (store - opinion leader - consumer).

Sustainability & Diversity: Studies show that 88% of the US and UK consumers are more receptive to a brand if they know and approve its values, and sustainability and diversity are global trends.

Think globally, act locally: More than two-thirds of the cross-border companies believe that distribution chains have become too global and research ways to a more regional & local approach.

Technology and data: large technology companies have raised the bar in terms of customer experience, and retailers now need to learn from this data-driven approach. The large retailers are investing now in tech platforms, automation, research, gamification, artificial intelligence, and Big Data.

How does live commerce add value?

Mihai Dragan (Oveit): The concept of live shopping combines the benefits of e-commerce with those of an in-store visit.

It transforms the e-commerce shopping process into an interactive experience where shoppers watch live presentations of products, ask the questions they want answered, exchange opinions with other users and, when the time seems right, the product can be bought with a single click, without leaving the presentation. In other words: get live information, enjoy the entertainment offered by the live content created by popular creators and celebrities, and buy on the same platform.

Technology integrates live entertainment into the shopping concept, offering a new shopping experience to the consumers. They can follow their favorite influencer and participate in live product testing, right on the online stores’ websites.

You have recently shared with us a very good piece of news: the partnership between MOCAPP and Streams.live (Oveit). How do the two platforms complete each other and what are your plans for this collaboration?

Florin Grozea (MOCAPP): If brands previously engaged influencers in campaigns carried only within the social networks, the partnership between MOCAPP and Streams.live will allow the content creators to express themselves via live broadcasts too, right in the online store.

A recent study by MOCAPP and Cult Research shows that more than 57% of online shoppers consult the opinion of influencers they trust before making a purchase. The consultation process is quite difficult, however, as it requires access to multiple channels to get all the relevant information.

In November 2021, MOCAPP and Streams.live announced a partnership through which Romanian online stores can increase their sales by using Live Shopping.

Who are your services for? In which sectors/industries does it work best? And what is the target audience?

Mihai Dragan (Oveit): The concept of Live Shopping is applicable to retail companies and also to all brands that sell online, directly to the consumers.

Areas of high consumer interest are:

• Apparel & Fashion - 35.6%
• Beauty - 7.6%
• Fresh Food - 7.4%
• Consumer electronics - 4.6%
• Furnishings & Home Textiles - 3.6%
• Automobiles & local online-to-offline sales - 0.2%

One of the reasons retailers and D2C companies use Live Shopping is its higher conversion rate! In traditional e-commerce, 2% is considered a good conversion rate. In Live Shopping, the conversion rate is as high as 10%. It's practically 5 times higher, i.e. 5 times more transactions are registered due to Live Shopping.

Why do end consumers love these interactive shows?

Mihai Dragan (Oveit): Live shopping is notable because it combines the benefits of the in-store experience with those of e-commerce. Potential customers participate in such sessions from the comfort of their homes, watching how their favorite influencers showcase products they already use. A live video session allows shoppers to understand exactly whether a particular product is what they are looking for - and if so, they can buy it with a single click.

In addition, it's known that over 85% of online shoppers have at least one question about the products they are looking to buy – and, during these sessions, they have the opportunity to ask those questions and get instant answers from the influencer or the brand, but also from the other participants.

Unlike the traditional e-commerce experience - which tends to be fairly static and uninterrupted, live shopping offers a combination of shopping and entertainment. It helps shoppers understand exactly how to use the products in order to get the most out of them - and that's happening in an interactive show, run by an influencer who has already won the sympathy and trust of the potential buyers.

Do you have a success story to tell?

Mihai Dragan (Oveit): In December 2020, Groupe Renault launched three new Dacia vehicles on the Romanian market: Logan, Sandero and Sandero Stepway. As the pandemic situation at that time did not allow potential customers to visit the showrooms, our partners decided that the launch should be done online, in a virtual showroom.

With the help of Streams.live, buyers were able to initiate the process of buying a car right during the video experience offered live on the Dacia.ro website

During the 3 days of the event (02-04.12.2020), there were 9 live broadcasts, 15 minutes each. The sessions were simultaneously broadcast on the brand's website, Facebook and YouTube pages. Potential buyers on social media were encouraged to connect to Dacia.ro website to get the real live shopping experience. There, they were able to ask live questions (and receive instant answers from the support team) via the chat integrated into the video experience, and initiate the purchase process at the desired moment, with a single click.

According to the manufacturer's representatives, over 1,000 leads were generated during this event.