Amazon changed the way we shop. A new clutch of GenZ era startups are here to completely change the narrative. Here's how
By now, we all know how the e-commerce bandwagon is slowly eroding brick & mortar stores out of business. But it seems like the new top dog has some real new threats to deal with.
LIVE STREAM SHOPPING
One early observation I unearthed while researching was that China seemed to pioneer most of these emerging trends. I will use graphs & data to highlight the same. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Chinese do seem to know a thing or two about online shopping.
Live Stream shopping has blown up big time not only in China but also in Russia. It seems like the modern iteration of telemarketing (those crazy Naaptol channels). Here instead of seeing random telemarketers, you tune in to social media influencers you follow regularly. Imagine Mr. Beast (or your fave fitness influencer) selling protein shakes or MKBHD (tech nerds will know) recommending a smartphone. Usually, apparel, consumer electronics, and beauty products sell well under this kind of shopping. The graph below will make you cognizant of the increasing influence of live stream shopping in China.
Source: Speakerdeck
SOCIAL COMMERCE
Instead of selling stuff on an e-commerce site, the influencers will rather sell goods on the platform where they already have an established audience (like Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram). This is social commerce in a nutshell. The focus here is on:
easing the process of selling goods on such platforms
allowing creators to carve out a new revenue stream for themselves.
integrating new UI features that can make shopping easy. (Twitter & Instagram are already working on this).
The image above is a good representation of how this might work out. The graph below will also highlight its uptrend in Asia.
Source: Statista
GROUP BUYING
A truly interesting concept, group buying has been pioneered by a relatively unknown Chinese giant called pinduoduo which has given Alibaba a real run for its money. In 2019, such platforms had GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) of around 150-200 million yuan every day.
The image below is a simple explainer of this business model:
Source: YCombinator
Some perks of this model:
Bulk buying- low cost to both buyer & seller
Social validation & hunt for value buys boost sales.
Shipping at one place- lower cost
India too has a similar startup called GoBillion which will aim to legitimize group buying in India's mammoth domestic market.
OTHER TRENDS
I have dived into D2C & Thrasio as well below in much more detail.
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