Interactive and live video commerce software service provider Swirl is launching a pilot program with online silver jewelry retailer GIVA that will integrate Swirl’s platform to “improve Giva’s customer experience and drive better engagement and sales conversions across its digital and social channels.”
If the pilot is successful, Swirl plans to develop “sophisticated enterprise-level virtual shopping solutions that can be easily integrated with their existing website, which can greatly benefit from this new-age live commerce technology,” the joint announcement said.
“We are seeing a huge shift in consumer demand who prefer product videos over images when it comes to online shopping,” said GIVA Co-founder Nikita Prasad. “We are quite confident that the trend of video-first eCommerce is here to stay, and it is just a matter of time before live shopping becomes the new normal for the industry. It is imperative for brands like us to be an early mover and provide a personal-touch experience that is unlike others.”
In addition to live videos, Swirl also uses immersive, shoppable, short-form videos to entice customers. The scalable solution adds an interactive layer to the video, using text, chat, WhatsApp, SMS and voice tools. It can be integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce or other online shopping interfaces.
Livestreamed commerce generated $60 billion in revenue in 2019, and the 2020 numbers are expected to be twice that total, according to a forecast by Coresight. The U.S. grabbed a larger slice of that pie in the past year or so, after only being responsible for about $1 billion of the 2019 bottom line.
Amazon’s streaming platform now includes daily shows on fitness, makeup and cooking. Walmart hosted live-streamed shopping events through a partnership with TikTok, and Nordstrom introduced a live-streaming channel in the spring that allows viewers to interact with the products being mentioned. Facebook also launched the Live Shopping Fridays event series in May, enabling consumers to see weekly beauty, skincare and fashion programming.