If you’ve been paying attention, we’ve been spending a lot of our energy lately talking about our newest product, verbLIVE. That’s because in today’s increasingly virtual world, livestream selling is crucial to modern sales success. Experts predict that retail e-commerce sales will reach $4.13 trillion in 2020, and livestream selling is quickly becoming an important part of that industry. In fact, 400 million users watched Alibaba’s 60,000-plus livestream shopping shows last year, generating nearly $28 billion. And with more people staying home and relying on virtual experiences, that number is likely to rapidly increase.
verbLIVE combines our interactive technology with state-of-the-art, effortless live-streaming capabilities to provide a modern way to connect with anyone, at any time. It’s a totally unique and effective way to engage with your audience, no matter what you’re selling. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been testing out verbLIVE in a variety of use cases to see how it can be applied across the e-commerce spectrum. Here are a few of our favorite verbLIVE experiences and what we learned from them:
Case Study #1: A Clothing Boutique
Located in Downtown Campbell, CA, Bombshell Boutique has been serving up fashion, personal shopping, and retail therapy for over 13.5 years. Owned and operated by Brooke Ramirez, it features quality, trend-setting merchandise at affordable prices. Bombshell touts the motto of “Fashion for All”—clothing styles range from contemporary to boho, casual to street, and more, and many customers have three generations in their family that all shop at the boutique.
As Bombshell Boutique’s business model relies heavily on its ability to provide warm, personalized interactions, being forced to temporarily close its doors as a result of the area’s shelter-in-place order has been a huge setback. And while e-commerce is a great alternative for many physical retail stores in these unique circumstances, a large number of the boutique’s regular customers are in an older age demographic that is historically less inclined to shop online. Ramirez was searching for a more socially intimate environment to promote her merchandise and encourage the sense of community that her customers have been missing in light of recent events.
Bombshell Boutique partnered with Verb Live for a 30-minute live shopping experience. During this event, the hosts modeled a variety of pre-selected looks for the audience, who were able to ask questions, socialize and provide feedback via the chat feature. The displayed pieces were then available for instant purchase via clickable, in-video links.
Using Verb Live provided Ramirez with a shopping experience that far exceeded that of a typical e-commerce site. For her customers who were desperately missing the sociality of going into her store and perusing, the event provided a relaxed opportunity to connect with other shoppers and chat with friends. Additionally, having a chance to see merchandise on interactive models, along with the opportunity to ask questions about sizing, fit and fabric made viewers more likely to make a purchase.
A simple user interface also contributed to the overall success of the event. “I think one thing that really helped was how easy the whole thing was,” said Ramirez. “If a shopper was interested in the product, they just clicked on the picture and could immediately purchase it.”
Ramirez also notes that having a real-time, exclusive experience was a key factor in driving sales. “It gave buyers the chance to see things they might not have found by simply browsing the website, and many of logged on already prepared to make a purchase—it was just a matter of deciding what to buy,” she said. The result? $1,113 in sales over just 40 minutes.
Case Study #2: An Independent Seller of Handmade Goods
Fashionable Face Masks is a family-run shop that sells custom and pre-made face coverings. Since face coverings are currently flooding the market as result of widespread mask mandates, one of shop owner Sarah’s biggest challenges is showcasing the value of her product, and helping potential customers understand why they should purchase from Fashionable Face Masks instead of another vendor—especially those vendors that boast lower price points.
There are a few key qualities that differentiate Fashionable Face Masks from its competitors; primarily, the wide range of sizes to ensure an accurate fit, and the opportunity for custom orders. While these two features certainly position her company’s individuality, they can be difficult to effectively explain via a traditional online shopping platform.
Fashionable Face Masks partnered with Verb for a 30-minute live-shopping experience, where Sarah used verbLIVE to share some valuable tips about fit and sizing, compare different style options, and show off some of her favorite patterns.
Sarah is not only a successful business owner, she’s also a full-time mom, which means that she doesn’t have a lot of time to spend marketing her company. verbLIVE is available on all devices and setting up an event is quick and intuitive, meaning that you can go LIVE in under a minute! Using verbLIVE provided a low-stress, efficient way for Sarah to connect with and provide education to her potential customers in a short amount of time. And, since she had complete visibility of all participants throughout the event, she was able to see who was participating and exactly how they interacted, setting the stage for effective follow-up efforts.
“I LOVE how beautiful the presentation of my products looked! My masks looked great in their round buttons, and it was so easy to just pop the next button on the screen,” Sarah said
When partnering with verbLIVE, Sarah’s primary goal was to help her customers learn more about sizing, and how fit can be dependent on different face shapes and mask styles. Allowing viewers to make an instant purchase while listening to that information was just icing on the cake. It was a strategy that worked, as several viewers admitted to making unplanned purchases as a result of her detailed descriptions. In fact, Sarah’s total earnings from the event were over $400, which was much higher than her total earnings from any other day—and those orders were all the result of just 30 minutes of exposure!
Case Study #3: A Virtual Garage Sale
A local collector of interesting, celebrity-themed merchandise was looking for a more efficient way to market his curated collection, titled, “Nick’s Nuggets.” Although the items were listed on eBay, the sale host, Nick, was having a difficult time gaining traction there. “I just felt like they were getting lost in an endless sea of products,” said Nick. “There are people out there who might really want a cardboard cutout of Cate Blanchett, they just don’t know it yet.”
Nick and his business partner, Jackie, partnered with verbLIVE for a 20-minute event primarily as a way to get exposure to his eBay store. Throughout the event, they showcased a total of 12 obscure celebrity items, pointing out the cultural relevance of each. They utilized the chat feature to answer questions about each item’s condition and origin and as each was presented, a customized button was added to the screen so viewers could place bids on their favorite products.
“It was a really fun, relaxing environment, which was perfect for the inventory we were sharing,” Jackie said. “It allowed us to sell in a way that was genuine for us, as we were able to start the stream prepared with all our selling links and pitches, and then just be our natural selves and have fun with it.”
At the end of the event, Nick’s products received more than 15 bids, which was far more than the one or two his items normally receive. “One thing I really love about verbLIVE is that you don’t have to be a natural salesperson,” said Nick. “I could just be myself and connect with my audience in an authentic way that made them more likely to make a purchase.”
Case Study #4: A Puppy Party
The dog breeding industry is one of the many that has seen its fair share of ups and downs during the current pandemic. While more people than ever are taking advantage of being homebound by adding a furry friend to the family (in fact, “twenty percent of respondents to a Nielsen survey in July said they adopted one or more dogs or cats between March and June, up from less than 5% over the same time last year”), the challenges of lockdowns have made it difficult for breeders to find and meet families who will be a good fit for their pups. Restrictions have also posed a problem for many prospective adopters, who often want a chance to meet and interact with a dog before putting down a deposit.
One Utah-based breeder, Jake, tackled this problem by using verbLIVE to host a “puppy party” to show off his recent litter. He used the time to highlight the individual traits of each dog, discussing their care and temperament. Utilizing the chat feature allowed him to respond to specific questions from families looking to adopt, who were then invited to click the in-video links to fill out an application and place a deposit on the puppy of their choice. In the end, each of the puppies were able to find a loving home.
Who Can Use verbLIVE?
Hopefully these cases studies have illustrated that the answer is: everybody! So far, each of our case studies were able to find great results with the platform, and we can’t wait to see who we’ll partner with next.
LIVE is for anyone looking to…
- Remotely collaborate
- Effectively train from a distance
- Deliver high-end, interactive presentations
- Sell in real time, without a storefront, limitations, or the restrictions of being stuck to one platform
It’s a frictionless, web-based platform, meaning that no download is needed, and it’s available on ALL devices. verbLIVE also boasts complete visibility of participants—so you can see who’s with you and how they’re interacting—as well as instant analytics (like real-time ROI when livestream selling) to provide the information you need to make tailored, data-driven decisions. Simply put, it’s the livestream e-commerce solution you’ve been waiting for.
Are you ready to go Live? We have several other unique companies lined up to test out verbLIVE, and we’re on the lookout for anyone else who is willing to help us highlight its versatility. If you’re interested in scheduling a case study, click here!
