Amazon sellers have an opportunity! Amazon Live leads the e-commerce live streaming market

Matt Granite is not only a journalist but also a consumer. He has been shooting videos for a long time and often shares his videos on his YouTube channel The Deal Guy .

In 2017, his unadorned performance style caught the attention of Amazon, which began flying him to New York every few months to record videos for shopping events like Homecoming or Prime Day . He began experimenting with remote video recording in 2019 , so when the coronavirus hit, he had some preparations in place and began turning the basement of his Toronto home into a studio.

“ The only silver lining of this pandemic is that creators like me are ready to connect with shoppers from home , ” he said .

Now, he streams live on Amazon Live every day , sometimes multiple times a day , showing everything from kitchen gadgets to snowblowers . Below each video is a carousel showing the products he’s introducing . When a viewer clicks on and buys the item, Granite gets a commission , which ranges from 10% for luxury and beauty products to 1% for Amazon Fresh items. Although Granite still makes most of his money from ads and sponsorships on his YouTube channel , he says his revenue from Amazon Live videos has grown over the past year, and the number of people watching his live streams has also increased .

Live streaming is another way Amazon is offering customers to shop : real - time interactive video shopping, pioneered decades ago by companies like the Home Shopping Network and QVC but now increasingly popular online.

This type of shopping, called livestream shopping , allows brands , store owners, influencers and just about anyone to stand in front of a smartphone and engage in conversation with viewers tuning in. Amazon Style Code Live began in 2016 with livestreams hired by the company covering beauty and fashion products. It was followed by Amazon Live in 2017 , which covered more products .

Starting in 2019, the number of livestreams increased as brands were invited to promote products through an app called Amazon Live Creator . Last July, those who were recognized by Amazon as influencers also gained access to the app . Now, at any given moment, there are dozens of livestreams . They show people things like fitness classes, cooking demonstrations and makeup tutorials .

“It’s my personal goal to make Amazon Live the favorite way for customers to shop, but it’s early days for us and we have a lot to learn, but we’re excited to continue building new apps on behalf of our creators and customers , ” said Munira Rahemtulla, head of Amazon Live, in a statement.

Amazon isn't the only company trying to do this in the U.S. market.   Instagram allows some influencers to sell goods during live broadcasts through Instagram shopping . This year, Facebook took similar measures for small businesses. TikTok and Walmart have conducted shopping live broadcasts . Estée Lauder Companies and L'Oréal Group have both hosted live broadcasts for some of their beauty products .

“ Everyone has been thinking about this, but because of the pandemic , they are rushing to push live streaming ,” said Mark Yuan , co-founder of And Luxe , an e- commerce live streaming company in New York . “Before the pandemic, they had other options, but now they have no choice . ”

Yuan and Zhang founded And Luxe to help bring Western brands into China, but they have also recently seen an increase in inquiries from Western companies looking to enter the e-commerce livestreaming market. “ So far, no American company has fully mastered the livestreaming trick ,” Yuan said. He believes that success in e-commerce livestreaming requires more than just adding video to the typical e-commerce experience , but also a mix of non-shopping content that attracts new audiences, limited-time deals, and even products that are only available during livestreaming . This applies to all large tech companies trying to expand their audiences. ”

"If they want to become an e-commerce live streaming platform , they will have to make big changes, " Yuan said.

While livestreaming e-commerce is still a niche business in the U.S., it’s big business in China, where livestreaming accounts for about 9% of the online market share , or $63 billion. Kim Kardashian West brought goods to China on Viya’s livestream , clearing out her perfume stock in minutes in front of 13 million viewers. Chinese retailers have also innovated during the pandemic, with more livestreaming focused on one-on-one consultations and shopping guides for online stores.

The pandemic seems to be attracting more people to use Amazon Live . Felicia Jones , an influencer in North Carolina , said Amazon contacted her last year and asked her to join the Live program. She decided to try live streaming for the first time in November after taking a shower and was about to use a shampoo product she got from Amazon. This time she found herself talking to an audience of 1,500 people. Now, she tries to live stream on Amazon regularly.

Ms. Jones said that according to the analytical data provided by Amazon, her live broadcasts usually attract 1,000 to 10,000 viewers, and the number of viewers watching at the same time can reach hundreds. This has already made her a Class A anchor. She can benefit from it, such as better display positions, and will also get priority answers to questions she encounters.

According to Coresight Research , a global consulting and research firm specializing in retail and technology , the U.S. e-commerce live streaming market could be worth $11 billion by 2021, up from $6 billion in 2020.

Deborah Weinswig, founder and CEO of Coresight Research , said consumers are ready, but retailers and technology issues are holding the industry back. But a company with the product, payment tools and inventory will still break through and could surpass big tech companies including Amazon in real-time live streaming revenue.

Deborah Weinswig said: “There will be live streaming companies that become unicorns in the industry.”