Ted Baker unveiled a livestream shopping experience last week with the aim of bridging the gap between physical and digital. But can it emulate the livestream success seen in China? Retail Week reviews what worked and what didn’t.
Livestreaming has become a huge phenomenon in China, with 9% of all ecommerce sales in the country estimated to have come via the channel last year. Many expect a similar trend to make its way west.
As part of its strategy to revitalise the struggling fashion brand, Ted Baker has jumped on the trend early, launching its first livestream last week after it struck a partnership with streaming specialist Bambuser.
However, judging by its first foray, Ted has some way to go if it wants to replicate the success of its Asian counterparts.
Part of the problem is that its livestream wasn’t actually live.
The event, which took place last Thursday at 8pm and attracted 2,500 viewers across Europe, ran for around 15 minutes and featured a pre-recorded session from DJ and influencer duo Jordan and Loanne Collyer, who showcased a handful of items from Ted Baker’s spring collection.
Shoppers could click through to product pages and add items to their baskets while the “live” stream continued to play in the corner of the screen.
However, while a member of Ted Baker’s team was on hand to answer any questions in the live chat, any interaction with the hosts was noticeably absent – and viewers commented on this.
Making it more of an event
In China, livestreaming is made into an unmissable event – like a frenetic TV show you can’t turn off. During Alibaba-owned Tmall’s Singles’ Day livestream, a swathe of celebrities took part and heavy discounts were awarded throughout the broadcast.
The Singles’ Day livestream raked in 498.2bn yuan (£55.1bn) across an 11-day period, with 800 million consumers participating and live performances from Katy Perry and a number of Asian pop stars.
Ted Baker’s premium image may make offering rolling discounts a no-no, although the retailer did give a 20%-off code for viewers of the stream.
The two influencers were adept at explaining their styling choices and Ted Baker included two brief “tea breaks” where the host answered a number of pre-recorded questions, but the whole event was missing any pomp.
With DJs as hosts, one might have expected some music and entertainment, rather than a simple show-and-tell.
Ted Baker has said it hopes to make the event a regular occurrence with the next instalment, which takes place in April, focusing on the new womenswear lines.
The hosts and date are yet to be announced, but Ted Baker should consider a few tweaks in order to get the most from its innovation.
Ted Baker chief customer officer Jennifer Roebuck says: “We are striving to be an early adopter of relevant technologies within our industry to provide a best-in-class online customer experience.
“We are aiming to bridge the gap between the online and offline world and engage our audience further through digital channels.”
While the livestream certainly transcends the channels, missing the live – and, dare I say it, fun – element is rather crucial and may be detrimental to Ted’s long-term aims.
No comments yet