Livestreamers and E-commerce: Characteristics and Challenges

Livestreaming e-commence (LSEC) has emerged as a recent innovation in the developing e-commerce ecosystem. Livestreamers are individuals, or groups, who engage in real-time broadcasting via streaming platforms, utilizing internet technology to deliver live audio and video content to a public audience. Livestreamers are a form of consumer influencer who may become celebrities with their own fan base that forms around their personalities and reputations. Part of this process involves the formation of a trust-centered relationship between a livestreamer and their fans. The e-commerce shopping experience is more transactional rather than experiential compared to in-store shopping. LSEC is one solution to transforming e-commerce shopping into an experience. Livestreamers monetize their activities by promoting products and services and this can include offering livestream shopping opportunities by selling products/services directly, advertising revenue, brand deals and sponsorships and via affiliate programmes in which a commission is earned every time a ‘shopper’ clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase.