DMA Convo: HKTVmall on how to leverage live commerce to drive long-term sales

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE is proud to present Digital Marketing Asia – Hong Kong, a conference about uncovering transformative trends impacting marketing leaders and decision-makers that will arm digital marketers for 2024 and beyond.  

Taking place on 26 and 27 October at The Mira Hong Kong, our 39 speakers will share with us their insights and experiences on the post-cookie world, the new digital experience in North Asia, social commerce and putting AI into practice. 

Speaking at the session “Live commerce: Just for top of funnel or can it also drive sales in Hong Kong?” is Ken Chan, director, business development and marketing HKTVmall, who has solid experience in branding, digital marketing, social, media, communications and go-to-market omni-channel commercial execution capabilities. 

Differentiating between live commerce and traditional eCommerce, Chan told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that live commerce takes more effort to understand what consumers actually want. “Live commerce is about social talkability, if a customer wants to purchase a product, the host needs to find the right angle to capture attention in less than 25 seconds,” he added. 

There have been examples of brands leveraging live commerce to drive sales, by marketing to the right audiences, at the right time, with the right vibes, said Yolanda Wong, associate director, international business development, HKTVmall.  

“I’ve seen brands incorporating DJs in their live commerce channels to play relevant music or live selling products under the Eiffel tower, live commerce is more than just selling products, it’s more about the experience,” she added. 

Live commerce has been a prominent trend in the China market but it still hasn’t taken off in Hong Kong. Chan attributed this to the challenge of handpicking livestream hosts with proficiency in communication skills and good knowledge of the brand within the local market. 

When it comes to measuring the return on investment of live commerce businesses, Chan said this is not about a one-off conversion, but the entire customer experience that generates desirable ROI.  

In a world of shrinking budgets, marketers who want to start their live commerce businesses, need to test and learn, "for HKTVmall, we have also experienced plenty of failures and that paves the way to our success," he added.

He added that authenticity is also key, “It’s not the amount of brand campaigns you're doing, it's how much you understand the needs of consumers and deliver the best service.” 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What is the difference between live commerce and traditional eCommerce?

Ken Chan, director, business development and marketing HKTVmall: A mixture of live commerce and traditional eCommerce results in another level of business. Live commerce requires in-depth knowledge of the needs of consumers, so we need to understand consumers in the first place. Second, live commerce is about on-track social talkability, if a customer wants to purchase a product, the host needs to find the right angle to capture attention in less than 25 seconds. 

On the other hand, interactive conversion is also key. We often face challenges when interacting with consumers on live streams, if a consumer is looking for an anti-hairloss shampoo, we need the host to be an expert of the brand to explain and sell the right product. Live commerce is not easy, every marketer needs to step into this area, be it brand builders or product owners, it’s about leveraging product selling to achieve brand building. It takes time and effort to succeed within the live commerce landscape.  

Livestreaming is meant to respond to consumer needs in real-time. If a customer wants to physically touch a Hermes bag, then the host should be able to do it for them or try on different colours to match different outfits. Hosts can also give personal advice on which outfits look great on different occasions.  

Yolanda Wong, associate director, international business development, HKTVmall: I’ve seen brands incorporating DJs in their live commerce channels to play relevant music or live sell products under the Eiffel Tower, live commerce is more than just selling products, it’s more about the experience. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Why hasn't live commerce taken off in Hong Kong?

Ken Chan, director, business development and marketing HKTVmall: A good live commerce business depends on the right platform, every brand targets different audiences, so where is the medium of consumption? Instagram or Facebook? We at HKTVmall have picked the right platform mapping with the right target audience.

However, it’s hard to handpick livestream hosts with proficiency in communication skills and good knowledge of the brand within the Hong Kong live commerce market.

Marketers should invest in long-term planning, it is not only about the one-off conversion, it is about the entire consumer experience. The more you know about the consumers, the more it can help you define your business strategy in the future.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: In a world of shrinking budgets, how can marketers spend wisely on their live commerce businesses?

Ken Chan, director, business development and marketing HKTVmall: In a world of shrinking budgets, it takes time to achieve long-term sales via live commerce, be it selling FMCG products or a service, marketers need to prepare for different versions of storytelling that tap into the current social trends. If you want to sell a product in 10 seconds, it’s simple. However, if you want to capture the attention of one million consumers, there are a lot of ways. So we need to keep our eyes open to look for raw materials in our daily lives.

One of the things that we are competing with the local media is consumers’ time. They may turn to entertainment news and gossip columns on local news sites, how can we transfer their attention and time to this brand or product? It’s a long-term strategy.

Every marketer needs to test and learn, for HKTVmall, we have also experienced plenty of failures and that paves the way to our success. Authenticity is also key. It’s not the amount of brand campaigns you're doing, it's how much you understand the needs of consumers and deliver the best service.

Related articles:

DMA convo: Marketer Philip Chau on how to formulate the roadmap for crafting a next-gen digital experience
DMA Convo: Marketer Alice Au on how to transform brands’ presence on WeChat and Xiaohongshu
DMA Convo: HSBC's Cheuk Shum on how to better work with AI-generated celebrities in digital campaigns
DMA Convo: Marketer Daniel Koo on how enhanced digital UX across platforms can elevate user experience