At the end of October, Pinterest made a big announcement about the launch of PinterestTV. Yesterday marked the first day this live shopping series, hosted by creators, aired. Episodes will air Monday through Friday at 6pm Eastern via the Pinterest app.
Did you miss the first episode? Don’t worry. The episodes are available on-demand. Robyn Schall will host on Fridays and will allow viewers to purchase exclusive discounted goods from an array of brands like Crown Affair, Allbirds, and more.
Pinterest will be joining the growing trend of livestream shopping, which is expected to grow to $25 billion in industry-wide sales by 2023 in the US alone. China already has a $63 billion livestream shopping industry. So, this shows great potential for huge financial gain in the US.
Image via @pinterest on Instagram
How Did We Get to PinterestTV and Livestream Shopping?
The idea of live shopping first came in the early 80s through the form of the Home Shopping Network on television. Not much has changed except the platform. Today, we are finding more success in livestream shopping via social media and e-commerce retailer websites. This allows brands and/or influencers to pitch products and the viewers to buy them with just a click of a button.
Other livestream shopping platforms include Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and now Pinterest. Until recently, YouTube was the most recent platform to jump on the bandwagon earlier in the year. “YouTube Holiday Stream and Shop” is a week-long event starting next Monday.
This style is very different from the old Home Shopping Network versions. Everything is more fast-paced today and everything is more accessible for people. Not only can fans/shoppers communicate with the host or livestream, but they can also do so by just typing on their phone and hitting “enter.”
While the opportunity is vast for businesses, successful brands will need to have both a compelling sales pitch and the ability to improvise. This means any seller on PinterestTV should be ready to answer any and every question with great detail.
The idea of livestream shopping shows great potential for sales. However, there must be an understanding that there are several nuances in attention to detail to execute correct sales. For example, instead of just customers or followers, the people visiting these should be treated as clients; ongoing business should be nurtured and go beyond interaction during a potential sale. Retail sales turn into more sales rep-type work.
Through livestream shopping, businesses can reach their customers anywhere they are with their phones and pitch products directly. Thus, bringing a personal touch that can facilitate sales.
