Lazada Singapore CMO on why the future of e-commerce is combining livestreaming & entertainment

Lazada introduced innovations for in-app live streaming like gamification, and the integration of commerce.

With many people globally either in lockdown or doing social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), livestreaming has become a way for people to socialise with each other and with the brands they love.

In South East Asia, Lazada coined the term ‘Shoppertainment’, which it said are innovations that merge shopping with entertainment and social experiences, so consumers watch, play and stay.

These innovations include in-app live streaming, gamification, and the integration of commerce with these functions such as its ‘See Now Buy Now’ technology.

Lazada also livestreamed a music concert on its app simultaneously across its six markets in APAC, as part of its 7th birthday celebrations in March 2019, and again during its inaugural Women’s Festival a month later.

Michelle Yip, the chief marketing officer for Singapore at Lazada said: “We recently had our brand report that found consumers thinks of Lazada as a platform where we help them to connect with each other and a place for them to be entertained and relaxed.”

“It is quite interesting because you would think that people would just come to Lazada to shop, find a good deal or get vouchers. Lazada is a little bit more than just an e-commerce platform now because the user journey, preferences and needs have really evolved.”

Yip compared Lazada to a physical shopping mall, where people not only got to the mall to buy groceries but also to check out the latest activities. For example, she said the atrium of the mall is always full of activities where it is managed and led by brands.

As the shopping mall provides a space and also drives traffic to the mall to support the sellers within it, it is actually very similar to how Lazada runs its app and why it has introduced livestreaming.

“Sometimes people watch the livestream to be informed, for example, to taste wine. If our brand partners are trying to showcase events like a wine fair, a toy fair or a baby fair, we can do through these through live streaming too,” says Yip.

“We had a game show called “Guess it!” and it was really interesting was we were trying to look for different products to showcase. One of our sellers told us that the steering wheel lock is going to be super popular. We were doubtful, but it turned out to be actually the best stunning product during that livestream, simply because the demonstration was so compelling.”

source: https://www.thedrum.com/