Matt Granite, who goes by The Deal Guy, streams daily on Amazon Live, covering everything from kitchen gadgets to snowblowers. Under each video is a carousel display of the products he\u2019s discussing. When a viewer clicks that item and buys it, Mr. Granite gets a cut, with commissions varying from 10 percent for luxury and beauty products to 1 percent for Amazon Fresh items. Mr. Granite\u2019s YouTube channel still brings in more revenue through ad rolls and sponsorships, but he said the revenue and audience numbers for his Amazon Live videos have grown over the past year.<\/p>\n
This type of shopping, called e-commerce livestreaming, lets brand representatives, store owners, influencers \u2014 and really, just about anyone \u2014 stand in front of a smartphone and start a conversation with viewers who tune in, Jackie Snow reports for The New York Times.<\/p>\n
Amazon isn\u2019t the only company trying out this type of hawking on an American audience.<\/p>\n
Instagram allows some influencers to sell products on livestreams through Instagram Shopping.<\/p>\n
Facebook made similar moves for small businesses this year.<\/p>\n
Tik-Tok livestreamed a shopping event with Wal-Mart.<\/p>\n
Both Est\u00e9e Lauder Companies and L\u2019Oreal Group have hosted streams for some of their beauty brands.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody is thinking about this,\u201d said Mark Yuan, a co-founder of And Luxe, a livestream e-commerce consulting company based in New York. \u201cBut they are rushing to it because of the pandemic. Before they had a choice. Now they have no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
E-commerce livestreams are still a niche enterprise in the United States, but they are big business in China, where they drive about 9 percent, or about $63 billion, of the country\u2019s online market. Kim Kardashian West went on a popular Chinese influencer\u2019s stream and sold out her perfume stock within minutes after 13 million people tuned in. At least one Chinese college offers e-commerce livestreaming as a degree. Chinese retailers have also innovated during the pandemic lockdowns, with more streams focused on one-on-one consultations and store walk-throughs.<\/p>\n