Why Live Commerce Makes Sense For Independent Retailers

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a behavioral shift in how people shop. Offline shopping requires big time and resource commitments and Online shopping is largely driven by search and transaction which doesn’t fulfill the inherent joy that shopping gives. Because of this, GenZ and Millenials are looking for experiential shopping avenues, online.

On the other hand, 30% of Indian retailers had to shut shop due to the pandemic and the remaining are trying to survive by going online. But they are not able to.

Read the article to know why.

The dilemma of Independent Retailers

Getting listed on and winning that trusted badge on established ecommerce marketplaces is not an easy feat. Once that's achieved, a plethora of challenges knock on the door of every seller. How to get my first set of customers? How to get reviews on products? How to handle returns? How to compete against big players with cut throat prices? There are no simple answers.

When marketplaces don’t work, sellers go to social media. There are many success stories but there are plenty who never make their first sale. Merely, 20% of instagram accounts have more than 10k followers. The conversion rates of followers to customers are as low as 0.5% and time invested to convert each customer individually is staggering. Since social media is not moderated, customers get frauded a lot and therefore ask for video calls and unfiltered images before making a purchase. Even after that, there is no guarantee that a right product would get delivered.

Then what is the right channel for SMBs to sell and grow online without the never ending hustle of fighting with big brands and dealing with trust issues online?

The Answer is Live Commerce.

But Why Live Commerce for Independent Retailers?

Because they are experts at direct selling. Remember when you enter an offline shop like an apparel shop, the seller asks you what you are looking for, and shows you a bunch of selected products based on your requirements. Well there are 40 Million+ retailers like that in India who are looking for channels to sell online but what comes natural to them is selling directly to a customer and making a sale instantly.

Live Commerce provides them the power to use their expertise and replicate it online. Imagine hundreds of jewelry sellers from all different parts of India going live daily like a market providing the most engaging and real shopping experience. Or a traditional sari seller from Banaras going live from their shop, the possibilities are endless. The solution is providing them a simple to use platform which they can leverage to reach millions of consumers. For the consumers, it’s like street shopping, but from your couch.

Unsurprisingly, Live shopping is not something new. It is already a well-known trend in China, Germany, and North Europe, with many big hits. While India is still at a nascent stage, China is aiming towards a sales revenue of trillions of yuan.

So how can you sell using Live Streaming?

We are Grabbit Live, a live commerce marketplace tailor made for independent retailers looking to grow online.

Have an offline shop but don’t know how to sell online? Selling on instagram but struggling to grow? Have a hobby but don't know how to monetize it? Grabbit Live is your solution.

We help you through the entire process from creating your shop catalog, hosting shows, getting buyers, powerful tools to sell more within the live show and understanding your customers through actionable insights. We act as your partners in the growth journey right from the start.

Here’s our primer on best practices to host a live shopping show

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