Over 380,000 Channel Friends in Just Two Days After 'Kakao Shopping Live' First Broadcast
Increased Use of Naver Smart Store 'Live Commerce Tool'
[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Amid the growing demand for contactless shopping due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), South Korea's two major portals are fiercely competing in the online shopping market. The 'live commerce' platform, which allows users to shop via an application while watching online live broadcasts, is gaining attention.
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 23rd, Kakao Commerce recently launched the first broadcast of its live commerce platform, 'Kakao Shopping Live.' Kakao Shopping Live is a service that enables users to watch real-time videos and shop within the chat window of 'KakaoTalk (KakaoTalk),' the national messenger with about 45 million monthly users.
As of the morning of the same day, KakaoTalk users who registered the Kakao Shopping Live talk channel as a friend exceeded 387,200. The predecessor of Kakao Shopping Live was 'Talk Deal Live,' which conducted six pilot broadcasts from October last year until last month. The first product introduced through Kakao Shopping Live on the 21st was 'Fila sneakers,' and it was reported that about 20,000 people watched the broadcast early on via the KakaoTV Live app.
A Kakao Commerce official said, "We plan to sell popular and verified good products under special conditions through live commerce, targeting Kakao Commerce products such as gifting, shopping, and Makers," adding, "Recently, we established a dedicated organization to focus on the live commerce project." He also added, "Various show hosts will introduce products directly in each episode."
Naver has also been supporting 'live commerce tools' for Smart Store sellers registered on Naver Shopping since March. Smart Store sellers can introduce products through real-time live videos using these tools. The tools provide features such as ▲real-time chat with customers ▲pre-tagging of products ▲URL sharing. A Naver official explained, "Customers can receive product information through real-time chat with product experts without visiting the store, and sellers have the advantage of increasing customer contact points."
The early childhood education brand 'My Little Tiger' succeeded in selling out a set prepared in just one hour through the live commerce tool, recording sales of 290 million KRW, while the overseas luxury purchase agency channel 'Kate London' had over 30,000 viewers in one hour and achieved sales exceeding 250% of its recent daily sales. Naver plans to enable up to 320,000 Smart Store sellers to utilize the live commerce tools within the first half of this year and increase opportunities for sellers' live content exposure. A Naver official stated, "We will continuously review and improve the functions needed by sellers and users."
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