New Report from MRM Commerce and Mavrck Finds Content Creators Are Ready to Work with Brands in the Rapidly Growing Live Shopping Space

78% haven’t been tapped to collaborate for branded live shopping opportunities, an overwhelming number of them —86%—said they are ready and willing to partner in this space.

MRM, the leading digital-first marketing agency and Mavrck, the leading all-in-one advanced influencer marketing platform, released a joint study, “Ask the Creators: Insights on Live Shopping.” The study surveyed Mavrck’s vast network of influencers to learn more about content creators’ perspectives on shoppable live streams.

While not entirely new, social commerce has accelerated in the past couple of years as social platforms have bridged gaps between commerce and content. Live shopping is an organic next step for how consumers are already making their purchases. It combines the ease of online shopping with the in-store experience to create shoppable entertainment at consumers’ fingertips. While it will take some time for U.S. shopping to fully advance to where live shopping is in Asia, there are countless opportunities for brands to start experimenting while it’s relatively young.

Commenting on the study, MRM Commerce’s Head of Social Commerce & Partnerships, Taylor Siegel said “We’ve been entrenched in the social commerce space for some time now and are excited to see the early signs of it gaining momentum more broadly. We’ve found an incredible partner in Mavrck through their leadership in influencer marketing platforms and their direct access to a vast network of content creators. There are endless opportunities for brands to leverage within the live shopping space and the time is now to get in early.”

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Instagram was the go-to social platform that creators said they were utilizing for live shopping experiences, and TikTok was an emerging second, particularly from creators in the 18-34 age cohort. “We see that many creators, especially those who have built their audiences originally on Instagram, are experimenting with Instagram’s live shopping capabilities to start,” said Sean Naegeli, Chief Creator Officer and Co-Founder of Mavrck. “TikTok is quickly catching up with their livestreaming shopping functionality and we predict this will be a huge opportunity for creators to monetize and for brands to expand their revenue from social commerce. Brands should start their live shopping planning now.”

The survey of both full-time and part-time creators revealed a series of insights across social platforms, creator demand, personal shopping habits, and content to highlight key areas where brands can start to fill in gaps.

Influencers Are Eager to Partner with Brands for Live Shopping Content

• 78% of respondents admit they haven’t yet been tapped to collaborate for branded live shopping opportunities
• 86% of respondents said they are ready and willing to partner to create branded live shopping content
• 68% of respondents said they had participated in general live streamed brand partnerships that did not include shoppable features

Influencers Share Their Personal Shopping Habits

• 79% of respondents admitted they had never made a live shopping purchase themselves if they were to make a purchase
• 86% of respondents agreed items less than $100 would be a fair price point for live shopping purchases
• When asked what types of items would prompt live shopping purchases, 45% of respondents said they’re more likely to purchase fashion apparel from a shoppable livestream; 23% said they’d most likely buy skincare or cosmetics items; and 15% said they’d purchase home decor

The Best Platforms for Live Shopping Experiences

• Out of the content creators who had participated in live shopping, over 65% identified Instagram as their preferred platform for go-live capabilities
• TikTok was the second-preferred platform at 16%, followed by Facebook (8%), Amazon Live (6%), Twitch (3%), and YouTube’s beta live shopping (2%)
• Responses aligned with demographic preferences by platform – 81% of respondents who preferred TikTok for live shopping fell into the 18-34 age range, and 55% of respondents who preferred Facebook to go live were between 35-44 years old

The Best Content for Live Shopping Experiences

• 59% of respondents said “how-tos” and tutorials were the most compelling content for live shopping
• Styling livestreams were also notably popular at 20%, followed by “shop with me” livestreams at 14%
• Results of this survey point to a profoundly human experience: for most, showing rather than telling a story is the preferred way to experience a new product or service

Brands operating in the U.S. should begin including live shopping experiments in their overall social strategies while the opportunity is still emerging. Overall, the study has revealed that there’s much to learn from content creators when it comes to future success in live shopping as the marketing industry continues to explore the full range of insights and data available within social commerce.