Amazon has launched a QVC-style livestream store in India, expanding its offerings in its key overseas market, where it has staked more than $6.5 billion to win customers.
The retail group on Friday rolled out the new service called Amazon Live, which allows an army of more than 150 creators to host live streams and plug products into the videos. The idea is that influencers, with a large following already, will drive their fans to the shopping app and influence them to buy products. Every time they can sell something, they get a discount.
Amazon Live currently hosts live streams in a variety of categories, including electronics, fashion and beauty, and home decor in the app. The videos had averaged 30 to 600 simultaneous views at the time of publication. The company says it will run 15 live streams per day between 10 a.m. and 1 a.m.
The launch follows Flipkart, owned by Walmart, Amazon’s main rival in India, which is also testing a similar offering on its app early this year. Amazon itself quietly launched Live in the US in 2019, trying to get a share of an emerging shopping trend popularized by YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
Live shopping originally gained traction in China, where many influencers consistently sell items worth millions of dollars in a single broadcast. Austin Li, a popular influencer, sells over $1 billion worth of goods in one session.
But whether the model will work in India remains a big question.
In the meantime, New Delhi is preparing to tighten rules to stamp out false and paid reviews of products on e-commerce websites and social media platforms. A framework of regulations aimed at people who endorse merchandise will: released soonthe government said.
Amazon Live section on Indian shopping app. Image Credits: londonbusinessblog.com
On a FAQ page, Amazon identified the influencer program as an extension of its Amazon Associates (affiliate) program. The company requires these influencers to have an account with YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook to be eligible.
According to a recent report from investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein, Amazon is lagging behind Flipkart in India on several key metrics and struggling to penetrate smaller Indian cities and towns. Amazon has so far offered “a weaker proposition in ‘new’ commerce” in the country, the report added, pointing to innovations by Flipkart and unicorn social commerce platforms Meesho and DealShare.
At stake is one of the world’s last major growth markets. E-commerce spending in India, the world’s second largest internet market, is expected to double in size to more than $130 billion by 2025.