MANY people have fought over a bag or a book during a social media live selling gig, where shoppers can tune in to a livestream while a host displays their wares (sort of like an auction). But for those interested in being on the other side of the camera, a company which started in 2019 has studios and training programs for live sellers and brands to showcase their items for better exposure and sales.
Hiyasmin Neri-Soyao, Shoppertainment Live CEO and former home shopping television host, opened her own selling studio in 2019 — a rudimentary one then with just a blanket and a ring light, she said during a press conference on Oct. 20. In the intervening two years, they’ve upgraded a lot, with seven studios — called “Livestyle” studio sets — in Quezon City which are equipped with different features for different categories: style studios for fashion and beauty, kitchen studios for cooking and home appliances, lifestyle studios for talk shows and homecare, technology studios for mobile and gadgets, and music studios and recreation studios for entertainment.
“With more studios, we expect more action for the market. The team’s confidence stems from handling the smallest local businesses to the biggest global brands as part of our roster of clients. Shoppertainment Live’s strength is making products sellable, handling diverse products such as cosmetics, clothing, electronics, and everything in between,” she said in a statement.
Shoppertainment Live enables big advertising agencies, multinational companies such as Unilever, Del Monte, etc., and e-commerce giants, namely Lazada and Shopee, to properly sell their products in an online broadcast setup, with in-house presenters from their talent pool.
During the press conference, she pointed out that in China during the pandemic’s early days in 2020, the live selling business earned $168 billion in revenue.
As for their team, they’ve done about 1,000 livestream e-commerce campaigns, partnered with 150 brands, and hit an average between 80-100 livestreams every month.
In a statement, she said, “Shoppertainment Live has seen 200% growth from its numbers last year in terms of the demand for livestreams from brands.” During the press conference, she said, “When you put it on social media, most of the people would really look for entertainment. When it comes to e-commerce platforms, they really have more intent to buy.”
Shoppertainment Live also launched an incubation program for influencer sellers (who are called “influensales”) through the Shoppertainment Academy, a company initiative that educates and equips Shoppertainment Live presenters to be sale-centric, entertaining, and engaging to the market.
Lawrence Lee, the company’s Chief Broadcast Officer, said that the Shoppertainment Live studios have the capability to produce 50 livestreams in a 12-hour day.
Mr. Lee, who once produced and directed home shopping TV broadcasts through ACJ O Shopping that once aired on ABS-CBN, said that during his stint on ACJ O Shopping, he had been sent to the South Korean headquarters of O Shopping (by home shopping company EJ ENM). There, he learned how to demonstrate a product properly. “There’s an art behind showcasing a product onscreen — how to sell and be creative the right way.” And that is just one thing that Shoppertainment Academy will teach. — JL Garcia