Flick Live launches - the first live shopping app in Africa
Shopstar, a local e-commerce platform, has launched Flick Live, dubbed the 'first live shopping app in Africa'. Flick Live is described as a social commerce platform in which brands and retailers can sell their products, interact with viewers and gain potential customers in real-time live streams.
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How it works
This live shopping platform works by integrating with any existing e-commerce store, such as those already run on Shopstar, or by other third parties, such as Shopify, WooCommerce and others.
All inventory is automatically synced, and any new orders are created on the source platform. Sellers then host a live show on Flick Live, selling their products via highly personal and engaging shopping video experiences.
Customers can purchase products directly from the live stream without leaving the app or video, while engaging and connecting with the seller in real-time, giving feedback and getting product suggestions. They can follow their favourite brands, watch them live and check out the app. They can also get notified when there are big sales on, or scroll through and discover new brands.
Flick Live works on a simple cost structure with success-based pricing, meaning sellers are only charged a commission when they make sales.
To download the Flick Live app visit: www.flick.live or visit the Google Playstore or Apple App Store.
Shopstar CEO, Chris Edington, explained that the development made sense as the next logical step for the e-commerce platform.
“We always work very closely with our customers, who are creative entrepreneurs starting and building their own enterprises. The feedback they gave us was that they were always looking for new ways to connect with their customers. Live shopping provides an exciting new way to do social commerce.”
“Our research showed that the future of shopping is social – 63% of people aged 18-34 watch live stream content regularly. We needed to be able to meet them where they are, instead of waiting for them to come to us. It’s an opportunity for seamless interaction with minimum effort, but maximum impact, ” he continued.
Elizora Olivier, Shopstar COO, says:
Live shopping has been a global phenomenon in Asia, Brazil, India and the Americas, and with conversion results upwards of 40% on sales, it was hard to ignore that the African continent was lagging behind the rest of the world. And yet, having the youngest population and the highest smartphone penetration worldwide (just under 90% of all traffic across the Shopstar customer base is mobile), we knew that this was technology that needed to be developed for the African market.
