The past couple of years has pushed the consumers to the online front of shopping, which has increased the marketing arms of war of companies to new heights and directions.

Companies have started to look for outside-of-the-box answers to their marketing needs, such as live shopping or alternative and virtual realities. Now that the consumers haven’t been able to go to shops in-person, they have started to miss the feeling of it.

“Live shopping” type of marketing is one way to fix the need for an in-person shopping experience, without the need for the customer to go visit the stores personally.

Apart from the mediums of sales, the values and themes of companies have also begun to tilt to a more sustainability-oriented direction, which has been working out great in the modern climate.

Sustainability

Sustainability and longevity have been rising trends in the modern climate, both figuratively and literally. Brands that have been, or have started to promote sustainability in their production, marketing, and other aspects of business have been seeing great results in gaining new customers and retaining old ones.

With climate change becoming a more and more serious issue, it’s not estimated that sustainability will lose its importance in the coming years. 

According to research by the LIVEL team, the amount of searches with the keyword “sustainability” has risen from 164 thousand searches in late 2016, to 619 thousand searches in early 2022. 

Companies have approached the subject in various manners, such as the reselling of used clothes and products. Or moving away from plastic packaging, and preferring greener methods of transporting their products to the customers.

Reuse

Reuse, reselling, etc. have also gained a lot of attention in the business world. Companies have started picking up on the idea of paying customers for their old clothes, electronics, and such. Some of the leading reselling stores such as depop.com have almost doubled their store visitor numbers, and the numbers still keep growing.

Apart from companies focusing solely on reselling used and old products, companies that are known for selling new products have also started dabbling in trendy and sustainable models such as this. For example, Ikea has already set up a section where they sell old and used furniture.

Stores that focus on electronic appliances have also started offering rewards, such as better deals, when a customer bring in their old appliance in return for a new one.

Effects on live shopping

Live shopping is one of the new up-and-coming trends that is still mostly thriving in the Asian market. Live shopping is expected to gain popularity in the western market, in the coming years.

When stores started moving online these past few years, customers got accustomed to shopping online for everything, but they also started missing in-person shopping experience. Live shopping is the next best thing to that feeling, as it allows the customer to interact with the salesperson and see the product being sold “in action”.

Other technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, have also tried to emulate the in-person shopping experience. The problem with these models is that people dont either have the necessary equipment needed to do shopping this way, as virtual reality headsets are still quite expensive.

Live shopping on the other hand is easily reachable. Apps such as LIVEL live shopping app do not require any special equipment or knowledge. Just a phone or a computer is enough to join one of these virtual sales events. Live shopping events are also easy to set up for the seller too.

The seller only needs a phone, or a computer with a camera, internet connection, and a platform, like LIVEL to do the live shopping stream on. Of course, when doing live events with a larger budget, the seller may opt to spend money on props, or even influencers to do the selling for them, but it’s not needed.

Younger generations are the main target audience for most live shopping events, which corresponds well with sustainability, as younger folks tend to be more knowledgeable and interested in sustainability and the future.

Adding elements of sustainability to a live shopping event should be considered, as it spreads awareness, and gives the seller's company’s image a boost in a positive direction.

How would you go about adding sustainability as a theme to a live shopping event?

To talk of sustainability with confidence, your products, and business model must be sustainable first. If you have those down then you can do the following for example.

Talk about your product from a sustainable perspective, if your product is made from recycled materials, tell of its lifecycle. If your company doesn't use plastics in its packaging be sure to mention that. And so on. The way to tie sustainability together with ones marketing and e-commerce is very different from company to company. There is no one singular right way of doing it, but its important to bring it up in a way or another, so your customers know you are a company with good intentions.

Conclusion

The worry about climate change and the environment has been showing its face in all media, and mediums in the past years, and the worry is only growing. Many companies have started being more environmentally friendly and have shown concern for the future. This has been helpful, not only for environmental awareness but also for the image of these brands.

Showing your concern and understanding for sustainability through your marketing and e-commerce work is a great way of showing that your company, brand, and store care about the future.

Companies and brands that are sustainable are seen as trustworthy trendsetters.