In order to meet its ambitious goal of reaching $200 billion in global sales within the next five years, Walmart is ramping up its commitment to livestream shopping. Teaming up with TalkShopLive, the retail giant aims to expand its reach by notifying its followers about livestream shopping episodes in real time, with the ultimate objective of generating greater interest and boosting sales conversions.
To date, TalkShopLive has facilitated shoppable livestreams for retail giants like Target and Best Buy as well as celebrities such as Oprah, Jennifer Lopez, Dolly Parton and Bobby Flay.
Collaboratively, Walmart and TalkShopLive have devised a plan to offer a wide array of products, ranging from books and music to makeup and housewares, through a feature called Shoppable Simulcast which enables sellers to effortlessly stream their interactive shopping broadcasts on their Facebook business page using Facebook Live, while ensuring that the crucial shopping aspect of the experience remains intact. Facebook will be the first platform to introduce this feature.
Walmart will be the pioneer in using TalkShopLive’s Shoppable Simulcast product during a live show on Tuesday (June 20). The event will feature Ree Drummond, known as The Pioneer Woman who has collaborated with TalkShopLive on various shopping events. Drummond will unveil her latest furniture line during the event, which will be broadcasted on TalkShopLive, Walmart’s Facebook page, Walmart.com/live, and The Pioneer Woman’s Facebook page.
Through Shoppable Simulcast, sellers now have the capability to broadcast their streams to multiple destinations simultaneously, starting with Facebook as the first platform to roll out this feature. Once the stream goes live, up to four pages can broadcast it simultaneously. Facebook followers of retailers, brands, publishers, and talent receive alerts, enabling consumers to watch and shop directly within the social network, all in real time.
“Meeting customers where they consume content and cutting friction in path-to-purchase is top priority for TalkShopLive as we power livestream shopping and connect the retail landscape for our partners,” said TalkShopLive Co-founder and CEO Bryan Moore.
“We are thrilled to be working with Meta to make Facebook the first of our Shoppable Simulcast streaming destinations. Our Shoppable Simulcast product will enable our partners like Walmart to seamlessly connect with their existing audiences on social platforms while maintaining shopability.”
In March PYMNTS discussed the fate of livestream shopping as HSN and QVC pioneered the concept and succeeded with an older cohort of consumers. But now appealing to a younger audience, thanks to platforms like TikTok, livestreaming has become a market that is projected to reach $32 billion by the end of this year, nearly tripling its size compared to 2021. And by 2026, the market is expected to expand to a staggering $67.8 billion, representing over 5% of the total eCommerce industry.
Read more: Does Livestream Shopping Have a Future?
The leading platforms utilized by retailers for livestreaming include Facebook Live (55%), YouTube Live (52%), Instagram Live (46%), Amazon Live (30%), and a company’s dedicated app or website (28%).
Consumers are predominantly engaging with livestream commerce through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook (64%). Video-sharing platforms like YouTube and TikTok (53%), online marketplaces such as Amazon (31%), and TV networks like QVC and HSN (30%) also play a role in consumer participation.
“Customers are finding inspiration everywhere, especially in their social feeds. That’s why Walmart is engaging with customers on their terms, in places and channels they love,” said Justin Breton, director of brand experiences and partnerships at Walmart. “Through Shoppable Simulcast, we will reach even more customers during those crucial ‘aha!’ moments, and provide them with a seamless, digital shopping experience that shortens the distance between inspiration and purchase.”
While discussing the fate of livestreaming, included in that conversation was a brands and retailers need to ditch dependency from social platforms like Instagram, which terminated its Live Shopping experience back in February.
The discontinuation of the live shopping experience has had a substantial impact on numerous brands and agencies that rely on it as a crucial marketing tool for product promotion. Live Shopping on Instagram, introduced in 2020, has been extensively used by thousands of brands and creators. Although the feature has been discontinued, creators can still livestream on Instagram; however, they are unable to seamlessly incorporate product links during their sessions. That said, this limitation has led many creators to seek out alternative platforms that provide comparable functionalities.
Department store chain Nordstrom eliminated the need to rely on other platforms in 2021 and embraced livestream shopping as a marketing strategy. Similarly, Amazon has also incorporated livestream shopping into its platform, offering a variety of interactive videos from brands and influencers throughout the day — creating a resemblance to QVC-style programming.
And while with TalkShopLive, Walmart has launched more than 150 live shopping experiences, and will now facilitate live shopping experiences through Facebook, the retail giant has also capitalized on its own livestreaming platform (Walmart.com/live).
During a discussion on the future of livestreaming in March, PYMNTS concluded with a statement advising retailers, particularly those outside the likes of Walmart and Target, to embrace diversification and minimize dependence on other platforms.
That said, Shoppable Simulcast presents an opportunity for brands and retailers of all scales to not only simultaneously inform their audiences across multiple platforms but also leverage cross-platform marketing. Those who recognize the potential of this opportunity should make it a priority to inform their customers about livestream availability on alternative platforms to ensure that customers are aware they can stay up-to-date with the latest content across various destinations.
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