In the world of cinema there is an expression “instant classic”, which translated in a simple way into Portuguese means instant classic or immediate success. She refers to films that reach the consecration of both academia and specialized critics, as well as the general public. I took the liberty of using this analogy to point out what many analysts still believe to be a trend, but which, in my view, arrives in Brazil as a consolidated reality with no return: Live Shopping.
This movement represents a revolution in the marketing and retail markets. In 2020, according to the MCC-ENET index, developed by the Metrics Committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Digital Economy (camara-e.net) in partnership with the Compre & Confie Movement, Brazilian e-commerce grew 73.88%. Naturally, it is not wrong to say that the pandemic has helped to accelerate this process both among corporations and in changing people’s habits.
However, I understand that the pandemic, from a technology point of view in e-commerce, has really been that, a catalyst not only for the public to seek more online purchases, but for companies to prepare to serve the this demand in the present, taking projects that were planned for five or ten years off the paper.
The numbers released by NielsenIQ|Ebit and Neotrust regarding sales made by Brazilian e-commerce during Black Friday of 2021 confirm the strengthening and the investment rush of the brands in the digital universe. More than R$ 5 billion in sales were made, which represents a growth of more than 5.5% compared to 2020. In the week before the event, between November 18 and 24, sales of virtual stores increased by 31 %, recording R$2.8 billion in the period. That is, even if in 2020 the stores were closed and it is natural that there was a significant increase in online purchases – a fact that actually happened, 25% higher than 2019 -, the expansion trend continued even with the opening of physical stores .
On the other hand, and complementing the scenario, research shows that more than products, people are looking for a new and profound experience with brands. In addition, the desire for convenience and hyper-customization of service and offers justify not only the increase in e-commerce, but also a restructuring of the sector, with investments, mainly, in technology to meet the expectations and needs of the consumer, in addition to to be able to predict different behaviors of the public in a contextual way.
With all of this, Live Shopping unites concepts and transforms the shopping experience. According to Emarketer, in China alone, live commerce sales will reach US$ 131 billion in 2021 and will be responsible for 37.4% of total social commerce sales in the country.
You may even question that the model is not at all new, as it resembles those old television programs where the presenter showed the products, on the screen a number appeared to call and make the purchase. Live Shopping goes far beyond this frozen structure. It’s all supported in the Consumer Experience (CX). Now, the transmissions take place live so that there is real interaction with the consumer, who can participate, send questions, choose what interests them most to see and complete the purchase with just one click on the screen while watching an iterative program
More than ease for the public, all this interactivity generates behavior data, preferences, audience, among others, respecting the laws of sharing and using data. And here’s the treasure pot at the end of the rainbow for the brands. With the use of a suitable, lightweight and accessible cloud platform, and an IT infrastructure focused not only on collecting data, but on transforming it into intelligence, through Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Analycs, generating real-time insights , organizations will be able to immediately respond to the interaction in an assertive, precise manner and offer a more innovative and personalized experience as has never been done before, not forgetting to think and implement integrated information and technological architectures and supported by cyber security practices to ensure trust and loyalty.
The arrival of 5G next year will provide a deepening of this whole picture. The new technology will allow speeds between 50 and 100 times greater and an immense volume of data exchange between different types of devices, through the Internet of Things (IOT), reaching up to 10 Gbps (gigabytes per second). correct data, capable of producing intelligence and generating insights in real time to improve communication, relationship and loyalty will be essential to boost sales, but mainly to remain relevant to the consumer, maintaining a communication that starts in a channel and remains continuously in the others.
For all these factors, it is important that organizations, no matter what their business is, are prepared to embrace this revolution that is already knocking at the door. Those who are able to respond more effectively to the challenge of generating new experiences for their customers with data intelligence will reap the rewards of this new era.
Sílvio Dantas is director of Applied Innovation Exchange at Capgemini Brasil
