Shiseido and Bobbi Brown among brands in SEA turning to livestreaming amid COVID-19

By Amanda Lim

- Last updated on GMT

Cosmetic brands are turning to livestreaming in South East Asia as a way to supplement the loss of physical interaction with consumers. GettyImages
Cosmetic brands are turning to livestreaming in South East Asia as a way to supplement the loss of physical interaction with consumers. GettyImages
A growing number of cosmetic brands are turning to livestreaming in South East Asia as a way to supplement the loss of physical interaction with consumers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While livestreaming has become the norm in China, the rest of the Asian countries have yet to reach the massive popularity seen there.

However, the implications of COVID-19 have accelerated the demand for livestreaming.

South East Asia’s leading e-commerce platform Lazada has seen more brands and consumers embrace its livestreaming platform, LazLive.

“LazLive offers a closed-loop for in-app purchase, which enables higher transaction and a more seamless experience for consumers. Today’s public health crisis is driving an increased demand for digital shopping experiences. LazLive is a valuable tool for our brands and sellers to engage with consumers under our collective new normal,”​ said Pierre Poignant, CEO of Lazada Group.

According to Alibaba Group’s SEA arm, it saw 27 million audience tune into its LazLive platform in April alone, which resulted in a 45% increase in total gross merchandise value (GMV) month-on-month.

Kathy Zhang, regional head of livestreaming, Lazada Group told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that beauty brands were increasing in popularity on LazLive.

“Beauty and personal care brands are paving the way in livestreaming content, as products in these categories require product demonstration on its application, uses, and what the final output might look like,” ​said Zhang.

Recently, the company partnered with Shiseido to host a livestreaming session for the Thai market.

Over 90,000 viewers tuned into the session and the LazLive exclusive promotional item managed to sell out in 30 minutes.

This generated 40 times GMV for the brand compared to a regular hour on the e-commerce platform.

“As consumers continue to stay home during this period, many may turn to livestreaming as a way to explore trending beauty and personal care brands and engage with others in a like-minded space to simply distress which improves overall mental health,” ​said Zhang.

The company is also working with Estee Lauder-owned Bobbi Brown with an Offline-to-Online Promoter & Affiliate Programme in Thailand.

With this programme, Bobbie Brown’s offline sales team have been able to educate viewers on how to pamper their skin and create the perfect looks on LazLive.

“Bobbie Brown’s offline sales team have also been highly effective in educating viewers on how to pamper their skin and how to create the perfect looks on LazLive, while still supporting promoters in maintaining sales during their stay-at-home period,”​ said Zhang.

With the success of LazLive, the company is aiming to increase daily livestreaming sessions by 50% and expect total viewers to rise by 40%.

Here to stay?

Post-pandemic, Lazada does not believe livestreaming will remain a tool for brands to break out in case of emergency but remain a crucial part of its overall strategy.

With the promise of exclusive deals and the ability to see live demonstrations as well as ask questions in real time, Zhang believes livestreaming provides a richer shopping experience for the consumer.

“These interactions create a communal space that is highly engaging and entertaining for both our sellers and customers,”​ she said.

Additionally, livestreaming could help circumvent the hygiene issues of cosmetic testers in brick-and-mortar stores.

“The benefit of shopping online is that consumers do not have to go down to a brick and mortar store to physically sample or test products from a common container, so there is no risk in cross-contamination,”​ said Zhang.

“Post-COVID-19, consumers may still prefer to practice personal hygiene to prevent any potential spread of the virus and turning to livestreaming still retains that interactive shopping experience.”

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