BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Why Livestreaming Is The Next Big Trend In Beauty, From Clinique To Beautycounter

Following
This article is more than 3 years old.

When Beautycounter opened its Santa Monica store in December, it also debuted a livestreaming studio where customers from around the world can virtually peruse the store online and shop.

“Through our new store with livestream shopping capabilities, we’ll be able to grow and engage with our community without limitation,” says Gregg Renfrew, founder and chief executive officer of Beautycounter.

At Clinique, Game of Thrones’ star and global brand ambassador Emilia Clarke hosted the brand’s first celebrity livestreaming event, “Get Ready with Emilia Clarke” last summer. As Clarke talked about the Clinique products she uses to get ready, the products popped up on screen, allowing viewers to click and buy. She appeared again in December with a Clinique consultant to chat about which beauty products to switch up for the holidays.

Missed the sessions? Clinique records the videos, called “Skin School” so shoppers can watch on-demand.

Enter the world of livestreaming, where entertainment meets e-commerce and consumers shop real-time while watching live videos. It’s already a major market in China, and analysts forecast that live-streaming is about to transform retail in the U.S.

“Consumers are keen to engage directly with the brand and ask questions with an immediate response, which is missed from not being able to shop as frequently in-store,” says Heather Ibberson, retail analyst at Edited, a retail market intelligence company. “A mix of expert opinion from the brand’s education team and an affiliated influencer is essential for livestream success.”

According to Coresight Research, the livestreaming market in the U.S. is expected to reach $25 billion by 2023. In China, livestreaming is estimated close to $129 billion in 2020, according to iiMedia Research Group.

Livestreaming appears to be a sure-fire way to boost engagement.

“There are multiple factors that make the shoppable livestream successful,” says Erin Schmidt, beauty industry analyst at Coresight Research, a global advisory research firm specializing in retail and technology. Case in point: Clinique’s aforementioned Skin School, which the analyst describes as “engaging and seamless.”

“As they talk about their favorite gift set or demonstrate how to apply a contoured cheek, Clinique’s products appear in the video for consumers to click and purchase,” Schmidt says.

It seems this entertainment-meets-shopping formula yields financial benefits; Estée Lauder EL reported in November that its brand sales, which include Clinique as well as La Mer and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, increased 60% over its first quarter partially due to consumer engagement on livestreaming, Schmidt says.

Bobbi Brown’s “Skin Sessions” feature experts breaking down products, such as weightless foundation, and how to use them. During one video, viewers asked the host questions like “What moisturizer did you use?” or “What eye cream do you recommend” and got an answer immediately in the chat.

“The future of digital is through live-selling, livestreaming and leveraging store associates’ beauty expertise and their relationships with customers to become the next generation of influencers,” Schmidt says.

There’s another potential perk from livestreaming—reduced returns, as “consumers have a better sense of the product specifics, the ‘store associate’-type explanations from the influencers, and the ability to ask questions live,” notes Katie Thomas, lead analyst at Kearney Consumer Institute.

What Platforms Host Livestreaming

Beauty is a significant vertical in the influencer landscape, notes cultural strategist Sarah Unger, co-founder of Cultique, a cultural insights firm, and shifts in platforms where influencers congregate are often led by beauty content creators.

“Twitch and other livestreaming/game-oriented platforms are expanding into lifestyle and entertainment, with beauty leading the charge,” Unger says.

Beauty brands are not waiting for social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to improve their livestreaming capabilities, says Ibberson, noting that Swedish video platform Bambuser allows brands to host their own livestreaming events.

As more social media platforms offer livestreaming on their apps, the analyst predicts live-streaming will take off. “Currently, [livestreaming] is available on Instagram for business accounts that have checkout capabilities,” Ibberson says.

Who’s Shopping Livestream

The majority of livestream viewers comprise Gen Z and millennials, says Schmidt, noting that more than 41% of TikTok users are below 24, while 77% of 15 to 25-year-olds in the U.S. use YouTube.

“These young consumers are under substantial influence by the creator’s recommendation and prefer to purchase through livestreaming programs,” Schmidt says.

Livestream shoppers may also include a sophisticated and mature audience, with beauty brands like Bobbi Brown and La Mer participating in the virtual space.

“This customer wants to get a personalized experience and be able to directly ask questions about their skincare concerns to a brand expert,” Ibberson says. “This is also how they discover the brand's product assortment and are introduced to new product launches.”

Analysts say it’s only a matter of time before livestreaming and social selling dominate the landscape.

“Livestreaming is the modern-day home-shopping network,” says Alex Fitzgerald, principal in the consumer and retail practice of Kearney. “In the U.S., the gap that remains is marrying the social community with the seamless commerce. We see social networks being the most likely platform and commerce integration to happen directly with brands.”

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn