[B-SIDE Podcast] Shoppertainment: The rise of livestreaming commerce

April 24, 2023

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Shoppertainment is seen as a more authentic form of advertising, as it provides a personal touch and allows businesses to interact with consumers in real time, according to an expert.

In this B-Side episode, Pierre Faucher, country manager of Intrepid Philippines, talks to reporter Patricia Mirasol about the opportunities in shoppertainment.

This trend originated with a change in consumer behavior, Mr. Faucher said. “The consumers are fed up with TV (television) commercials; they prefer storytelling.”

Shoppertainment is a convergence of content and commerce that offers a $1 trillion opportunity in the Asia Pacific by 2025, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

“It is (content that) provides entertainment…,” Mr. Faucher noted. “What counts is that the shopper feels entertained.”

Examples include the use of augmented reality, such as when people use an app to check what a couch looks like in their living room before buying it, or the use of gamification elements, such as when people are rewarded for achieving their fitness milestones through leaderboard rankings and physical prizes.

It also includes livestreaming shopping, where products are promoted by brand representatives through a livestream event.

Each platform plays a different role, Mr. Faucher said. The social networking site Facebook is for product discovery, whereas Shopee is for product awareness within the shops on its e-commerce website.

In the Philippines, microvlogging platform TikTok has by far gained the most interest for shoppertainment purposes, Mr. Faucher said.

“One best practice is to not go for scripted livestreaming, so people can feel the host is authentic…You don’t want to script your influencer,” he added.

Recorded remotely on April 18, 2023.