March 2023 | livecommerce How 1-to-1 live commerce brings the in-store experience online

It wasn’t too long ago when shopping only took place in stores. In 1999, Amazon began selling more than books and Alibaba launched in China; the first iPhone was released in 2007 turning e-commerce into an “anytime” and mobile experience; and Instagram launched in 2010 with checkout only introduced in 2019.

In-store sales conversion is 50% versus only 3% online

Although e-commerce will grow by 56% to $8.1 trillion in 2026 (Statista), and digital is the dominant channel for most aspects of life, sales conversion online is still only about 3% (Shopify) compared to 50% in-store (Forbes). This may seem surprising as we hear how fast e-commerce is growing, how our friends haven’t stepped into a grocery store in months because they order online, and how the retail apocalypse turned busy shopping streets into ghost towns with empty storefronts.

What is it about shopping in-person that drives more sales?

In a nutshell, e-commerce is designed to be efficient and transactional. It saves us time to buy online because we can do it anytime and anywhere, we don’t need to travel to visit a store and we can receive goods at our door in days (if not sooner).

When we shop in-store we benefit from two factors that are a bit challenging to re-create online: We can browse, and we can get help from a real person. Talking to an expert salesperson whether it’s a simple question about stock availability or getting more information about the product helps customers to make decisions about what to buy. In fact, Forbes reports: interacting with sales associates in-store drives 81% more transaction value for brands. Shopping in-person and in-store gives customers:

• Personalized experiences
• Immediate access to expert product knowledge from a salesperson
• Ease to discover and browse merchandise
• Quick checkout process

For brands, this combination of in-store factors leads to:

• Higher sales conversion
• Larger basket size as customers purchase more than 1 item
• Repeat purchases
• Overall higher lifetime value

81% more transaction value when customers interact with sales associates in-store

So how can brands bring the power of in-store shopping to customers digitally?

1-to-1 live commerce is the answer. Live commerce is when the customer and salesperson connect over an interactive video call. The salesperson can be engaging with a group or 1-to-1 with a single customer. During the video call, like being in a store, the salesperson can educate customers about the product, provide a demonstration and answer questions specific to the audience. For customers, they have an expert on hand while they access product pages, add items to cart and checkout. The experience brings the best of in-store shopping online: Expert help with a real person AND ability to browse and discover new products.

With live commerce brands are experiencing in-store KPIs online

Brands investing in 1-to-1 live commerce are seeing the results:

• Sales conversion mirrors in-store performance
• 1-to-1 conversations are personalized and last on average for 22 min (depending on the item)
• Customers continue to engage with the salesperson after the interaction via email, SMS or in-store helping brands build deeper and longer-lasting relationships

By adding 1-to-1 live commerce, brands can easily drive additional sales to their online business.