Christof and Christiane are thrilled. They are standing on the river bank in Heilbronn, both wearing swim shorts and swim shirts. “Black is beautiful,” says Christof, holding a pair of black shorts in his hands. Customer Marcus asks what size Christof wears. He is 180 cm tall, he says. He wears size L above, size M below. Christof and Christiane are employees at the discounter Lidl. But instead of sitting behind the desk, they stand live in front of the camera – and want to bring the equipment for the trend sport stand-up paddling to the customer.
cooking shows or live shopping
The discounter calls its so-called live shopping program “Lidl live”. This is a mixture of teleshopping and Tupper party – but trimmed to young. At Lidl, they put it this way: “Whether it’s exciting live shopping events, cooking shows in live streams or digital wine tastings – we’re now bringing entertainment into your everyday life and providing you with exciting insights, tips and great brand experiences.” But instead of doing teleshopping in front of the television sitting, Lidl customers look at their smartphones. As with QVC or HSE shopping channels, moderators, often so-called influencers, present products that viewers can then buy directly with one click. The main difference between live shopping and traditional teleshopping is that viewers can interact directly with the moderators. You can ask questions directly in the chat and get advice. Anyone who has a similar stature to Lidl employee Christof now knows what size they probably need to buy – without ever having to enter a shop.
“Inspired by the core range in the online shop, we are planning further live shopping events on a flexible basis about once a month in the future,” says the Lidl press office. Next, the discounter wants to offer a digital wine tasting. Customers can order a wine package in advance and then try it together with wine experts such as Carolin Klöckner, a former German wine queen, on the day of the event. In addition to wine, Lidl also recommends the right cheese or baguette.
While live shopping is still quite new in Germany, the concept has long since caught on in Asian countries: The tech giant Alibaba reckoned with a market volume of 300 billion US dollars in China alone last year. By 2021, Chinese online retailers were already generating more than 20 percent of their sales from real-time videos. Some influencers in China achieved billions in sales within just a few hours with their live streams.
“Asia is considered to be at the forefront of the live video shopping phenomenon,” said Alex von Harsdorf, founder of Livebuy, a company focused on live shopping. Livebuy offers other companies the technology that retailers can use to embed live sales shows on their website. Customers include more customers such as Douglas, Tchibo – or the discounter Lidl. In China, “live video shopping is an integral part of everyday life for many people,” he continues.
