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:
For brands, this combination of in-store factors leads to:
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:
By adding 1-to-1 live commerce, brands can easily drive additional sales to their online business.