I spend a lot of time considering changes in consumer behaviour, all so I can spot any sustainable trends that can help businesses to grow, or dare I say it for those unprepared - add to their decline.
One of those huge trends has been that of 'live streaming' which in China has proven to not only be extremely popular, but also pretty lucrative for several brands.
Some in the west have interpreted 'live streaming' as show and tell TV Shopping, something that has succeeded in switching the consumer off and reinforcing the internal cynics that it's just a fad so why bother.
Just as retail companies in the late 90's looked to discover how to use the internet for something other than FOMO or just moving catalogue images and inventory online are we seeing similar behaviour with all these new 'social innovations' e.g. do more of what we did!
Radio is different than TV and Cinema etc.....
It seems it might be harder for 'livestreams' to maintain the booming pace they won during successive lockdowns and e-commerce sales holidays, both of which brought high-frequency media coverage with them, but I'm still not convinced retailers are leveraging this marketing opportunity in the right way.
Retail marketplaces have been successful for those wanting to 'sell' stuff due to the fact that the likes of Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and others have garnered huge numbers of followers and users.
So doesn't it make commercial sense that in order to benefit from access to significant audiences brands should elect to do the logical and social thing and 'go where the customers are'.
Let's be honest with ourselves one of the key reasons retailers work with social influencers is to access their tribe of engaged and loyal followers, mainly because they still haven't really grasped how to grow an engaged and loyal tribe of their own in the same way.
For a brand rooted in travel, the on-going international travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Louis Vuitton to rethink its approach to showcase upcoming collections.
But that doesn’t mean giving up the concept of doing a physical show. “I think fashion shows have to remain live.
There has to be an audience. There has to be anticipation,” said Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO. “We know people are not going to be able to travel, so let’s not have people travel to the venues. Let’s have the clothes travel to the venues.”
It seems that 'social media' is becoming the media and engagement platform of choice for these luxury brands.
Did I hear someone say 'retail theatre' and 'live streaming' by employees?
When the last model appeared at Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2021 Menswear show in Shanghai, the crowd became charged. As he walked onto the runway carrying an inflatable doll twice as big as himself, everyone raised their phones, eager to take a snap. “Oh my God, that’s Kris Wu!” Many in the audience screamed out his name. Shortly afterwards, the Weibo topic #Kris Wu Walks Runway With a 2M Doll (#吴亦凡背着两米高玩偶走秀#) quickly hit the social platform’s hot topic list.
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