Livestream shopping has proven a tough nut to crack in the U.S. despite the format’s wild success in China and other overseas markets. And while livestream commerce is growing in America (thanks in large part to TikTok) it still represents less than 5% of U.S. ecommerce, well below the 60% of ecommerce sales the format drives in China.
Those numbers aren’t stopping Amazon though; in fact, the company sees this still relatively low penetration rate as a huge opportunity. After launching its livestreaming platform Amazon Live in 2019, the company doubled down on the format in 2024 with the debut of a dedicated shopping channel on Prime Video and Fire TV. Today shoppers regularly engage with Amazon Live content across brand “stores” on Amazon.com, the in-app Amazon Live feed and the Amazon Live FAST (free advertising-supported TV) channel, as well as on third-party social platforms.
“We’re seeing strong traction among U.S. shoppers, valuing authentic storytelling and creator-led experiences that feel informative and entertaining, not transactional,” said Alisa Stern, Head of Strategic Deals and Business Development at Amazon Live in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Brands that focus on storytelling and lifestyle relevance are finding measurable success combining live shopping, online video, Fire TV and social.”
Livestreaming Taps into Consumers’ Desire for ‘Retail-tainment’
One company seeing those solid results is General Mills, which saw a 5.6X year-over-year sales lift on the products it was promoting after integrating Amazon Live into its full-funnel media strategy.
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In another example, General Mills’ pet food brand Blue Buffalo used insights from previous live shopping events and its other Amazon marketing efforts to hone its live commerce strategy with impressive results — by targeting specific high-intent audience segments through the careful selection of a creator who would be able to speak to them authentically (Natalie Negrotti), Blue Buffalo saw a 14X higher purchase rate from previous livestreams.
Blue Buffalo’s experience suggests that livestreaming success may be as much of a science as it is an art, but at the heart of it all is what Stern calls “retail-tainment,” combining entertainment, education and shoppability.
Key to Success: Helping the Livestream Live on
Today on Amazon, advertisers are finding success by pairing their live shopping events with display, video and streaming TV placements, enabling them to reach customers across multiple touch points by turning a single piece of live content into a suite of creative assets that can run across all of their media placements, both on and off of Amazon. This hybrid approach to live commerce makes livestreaming less of a one-off gamble and helps brands feed the insatiable beast that is today’s advertising ecosystem.
“Successful brands approach Amazon Live as an opportunity to build community and trust through authentic storytelling,” said Stern. “We recommend focusing on real-world product context and choosing creators who bring credibility and personality to the message. Consistency is key — build anticipation before the event, engage viewers during the stream and continue the story afterward through remarketing and on-demand clips.”
Livestreaming Proves Particularly Powerful with Brand Fans
As to the question of whether livestreaming is an avenue worth pursuing in the first place, Amazon’s specific formula for live commerce showcases how successful the format can be, particularly in engaging with loyal shoppers. Within the Amazon shopping platform, livestreams live in each brand’s digital store, which Stern said is part of the recipe for success because it’s “a space where customers are already highly intentional in their shopping journey.”
Getting a shopper to your brand store already makes them much more likely to purchase more, and to do so more frequently — Amazon shoppers who visit a brand store show a 71% higher average order value, purchase 54% more frequently and have a 52% higher add-to-cart rate, according to Stern, which “makes Amazon Live content an incredibly effective way to turn engagement into measurable action.”
And brands also are seeing that live content is particularly successful among shoppers that follow their brand on Amazon: “Customers who follow brands on Amazon generate 81% more views and a 95% higher click-through rate compared to non-followers, and followers of creators spend 94% more time watching and view 25% more content. That engagement translates directly into business results — followers drive 137% more product purchases,” Stern shared.
“Whether you’re an emerging brand or a household name, video on Amazon is becoming an essential part of the full-funnel mix — helping advertisers educate, entertain and convert customers in a single experience,” she added.
Stern will be sharing more about Amazon’s “retail-tainment” philosophy and the video commerce successes of brand partners like General Mills at this week’s Amazon Unboxed conference for advertisers, which kicks off today.
